Chinese math prodigy lands NYU's most prestigious professorship at 35 (opens original article in a new tab)

Chinese mathematician Wang Hong, 35, was named a Silver Professor at NYU, the most prestigious professorship at the university, for solving a century-old geometry problem in 2025.

• Chinese mathematician Wang Hong, 35, was appointed to NYU's Silver Professorship, the university's most prestigious named professorship.
• Wang solved the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture in 2025, a century-old geometry problem, with collaborator Joshua Zahl.
• Wang has received multiple major awards, including the 2026 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize and a Clay Research Award.