Shing-Tung Yau
First ethnic Chinese Fields medalist and leader in geometric analysis.
Shing-Tung Yau is a Chinese American mathematician and educator, recognized as the first ethnic Chinese recipient of the Fields Medal. Born in Shantou, China, in 1949 to Hakka parents, his family moved to British Hong Kong when he was a few months old following the Communist takeover. His father, a Kuomintang scholar, and his second-oldest sister died when Yau was thirteen, after which he became more devoted to his studies. He attended Pui Ching Middle School and studied mathematics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1966 to 1969, leaving without a degree due to early graduation. In 1969, he entered the Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was inspired by John Milnor’s papers and formulated a generalization of Preissman’s theorem. He earned his doctorate in 1971 under Shiing-Shen Chern. Yau held positions at the Institute for Advanced Study, Stony Brook University, Stanford University, and the University of California, San Diego, before moving to Harvard University in 1987, where he became the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics. In 2022, he retired from Harvard and moved to Tsinghua University as a professor and director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center. Yau was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982 for his contributions to partial differential equations, the Calabi conjecture, the positive energy theorem, and the Monge–Ampère equation. His work has profoundly influenced differential geometry, geometric analysis, convex geometry, algebraic geometry, enumerative geometry, mirror symmetry, general relativity, and string theory, as well as applied mathematics and engineering. Notably, he was stateless when he received the Fields Medal, holding no passport, and did not obtain United States citizenship until 1990.
- born
- April 4, 1949
- field
- Mathematics
- nationality
- Chinese American (stateless until 1990)
- known_for
- Resolution of the Calabi conjecture, positive energy theorem, contributions to partial differential equations and geometric analysis
Lore & Background
Shing-Tung Yau was born in Shantou, China, in 1949 to Hakka parents. His family moved to British Hong Kong when he was a few months old, during the Communist takeover. He was raised in Yuen Long and later Shatin, and his schooling was conducted entirely in Cantonese. After his father, a Kuomintang scholar, and his second-oldest sister died when Yau was thirteen, he began reading his father’s books and became more devoted to his schoolwork. He studied mathematics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 1966 to 1969, graduating early without receiving a degree. In 1969, he left for the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1971 under Shiing-Shen Chern. He held positions at the Institute for Advanced Study, Stony Brook University, Stanford University, and the University of California, San Diego, before moving to Harvard University in 1987, where he became the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics. In 2022, he retired from Harvard and moved to Tsinghua University as a professor and director of the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center. Yau was stateless from 1978 until 1990, when he obtained U.S. citizenship; he has stated that when awarded the Fields Medal in 1982, he held no passport and should be considered Chinese. He is the first ethnic Chinese Fields medalist, recognized for contributions to partial differential equations, the Calabi conjecture, the positive energy theorem, and the Monge–Ampère equation. His work has impacted differential geometry, geometric analysis, convex geometry, algebraic geometry, mirror symmetry, general relativity, and string theory.
Reader's Guide
Yau’s work reshaped modern differential geometry and geometric analysis, with his most celebrated results including the resolution of the Calabi conjecture, the positive mass theorem in general relativity, and the boundary-value problem for the Monge-Ampère equation. He also contributed to the topological theory of minimal surfaces, the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau theorem, and gradient estimates for partial differential equations. His impact extends across convex geometry, algebraic geometry, enumerative geometry, mirror symmetry, general relativity, and string theory, as well as applied mathematics, engineering, and numerical analysis. Beyond research, Yau founded and directed several mathematical institutes, primarily in China, and was noted by John Coates for his unparalleled success in fundraising for mathematical activities in mainland China and Hong Kong. He established the multi-disciplinary Institute of Mathematical Sciences in 1993. Yau’s work has also influenced the development of modern differential geometry and geometric analysis as fields, and his results were compiled into textbooks co-authored with Richard Schoen. His career included professorships at Stony Brook University, Stanford University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University, before moving to Tsinghua University in 2022.
Did You Know?
- Yau co-authored an autobiography with science journalist Steve Nadis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Shing-Tung Yau?
Shing-Tung Yau is a Chinese American mathematician born in 1949, best known as a pioneer of modern geometric analysis and differential geometry. He made history as the first person of Chinese ethnicity to be awarded the Fields Medal.
How does Shing-Tung Yau's work connect to physics?
His positive energy theorem showed that any physically reasonable isolated gravitational system must possess non-negative total mass-energy, a result with lasting impact on general relativity. His geometric-analysis techniques have also been applied in string theory and other branches of theoretical physics.
Why is Shing-Tung Yau considered a milestone for Chinese and Asian mathematicians?
As the first ethnic Chinese Fields Medalist, he broke a long-standing barrier in a field historically dominated by Western institutions. His journey from mainland China to top U.S. research universities also made him a visible role model for subsequent generations of Asian mathematicians.
What is Shing-Tung Yau's nationality and academic background?
Yau was born in China in 1949, later moved to the United States, and held professorships at Harvard and Caltech. He remained legally stateless until 1990, when he finally obtained American citizenship.
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