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Jacob Tsimerman won the biggest prize in math. Now he’s working on the most important problem of his career.When he won the Fields Medal last week, Jacob Tsimerman accepted the most prestigious honor in math wearing a powder-blue tuxedo with satin lapels.Then he made an announcement as striking as his tux. After the ceremony, the four winning mathematicians were asked what they planned to do next. One said he would keep working on partial differential equations, one said he wanted to experiment with artificial intelligence and one said she had absolutely no idea. That left Tsimerman.“I’ll be starting a position...

The world of mathematics is in uproar over rumours that its most prestigious prize will be turned down next week by one of its brightest stars. The Fields Medal, the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in mathematics, is awarded every four years to young mathematicians who have made the biggest impact in their fields. It is due to be presented by the King of Spain in a ceremony in Madrid on Tuesday 22 August. But Gregori Perelman, who has been widely tipped to receive it, has resigned his post at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics in St Petersburg, Russia, and...

Grigory Perelman, a reclusive Russian mathematician who solved a key piece in a century-old puzzle known as the Poincaré conjecture, was one of four mathematicians awarded the Fields Medal today. Grigory Perelman, a reclusive Russian mathematician who solved a key piece in a century-old puzzle known as the Poincaré conjecture, was one of four mathematicians awarded the Fields Medal today.