Adedokun Waliyu 
Jacob Tsimerman, a professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto, has won the Fields Medal, a high-profile international award often described as the “Nobel Prize for mathematics.”
The prestigious award is handed out every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40 and recognizes extraordinary research achievement and the promise of future discoveries.
“It’s a big honour getting this award for me,” Tsimerman said following the award presentation at the International Mathematical Congress in Philadelphia on Thursday. He credited his parents with fostering his interest in mathematics as a child.
“They gave me puzzles as a kid, and I really liked that, and they would seek out other ways to allow me to engage with math. We tried tutors at some point, I went to various clubs, there were certain schools and programs – there was no sort of one thing. It was mostly letting me spend my time doing math and being very supportive of that, and also continuing to try and engage.”
Established in 1932, Tsimerman is the first scholar based at a Canadian institute and only the second Canadian ever to receive the award.
“It was just a huge thrill; we’re so proud of Professor Tsimerman,” said Stephen Wright, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T. “This really recognizes the pinnacle of intellectual accomplishment in mathematics. Not just that, but the promise of future contributions as well. It’s a thrill for Canada, for the university, and for our Faculty of Arts and Science.”
The U of T is home to the Fields Institute, a world-renowned centre that advances mathematical research in Canada.
“It originated in Canada; the Fields Medal is named after a University of Toronto professor, John Charles Fields, so it’s good that it’s finally being awarded to a person who did most of his work in Canada,” said Kumar Murty, a professor of mathematics.
Tsimerman was honoured in part for proving the André-Oort conjecture, a problem that has challenged mathematicians for decades.
Tsimerman’s win is also a huge inspiration to young Canadian students.
“It’s kind of encouraging for people doing research; it tells us don’t give up,” said PhD student Ziyi Liu, who was on hand at the U of T to watch the announcement.
“I feel so hopeful and so proud, very patriotic,” added high school student Emir Kardos. “I don’t feel like I’m going to win a Fields Medal, but it just feels like an honour to be witnessing this.”
Tsimerman also had some advice for students who feel uncertain about their future in modern mathematics with the emergence of artificial intelligence.
“I think the world is changing and the math profession as it exists now, I don’t think it will exist the way it exists now,” he said.
“People tend to get despondent; it is very easy to become distraught at the big changes that are happening, especially if you placed your value in something that is going away. But I would encourage people, first of all, not to give up on themselves, to keep learning and improving themselves because you don’t know how the world will turn out. And however it turns out, the safe thing to do is to invest in yourself, to keep learning, to keep being excited, to keep figuring out the world. And also to engage with AI, and to keep engaging with it because it’s going to be a big part of our world going forward.”
This is the latest honour in Tsimerman’s career, which includes election as a Fellow to both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Canada, the Ostrowski Prize and the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize.
Tsimerman began his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the U of T at the age of 16, graduating two years later. He earned his PhD from Princeton in 2011 and then went on to become the youngest person to be appointed a full professor in the U of T math department.
