Latest news with #WangHong
South China Morning Post
25-06-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Star mathematician Joshua Zahl leaves Canada for China after solving century-old puzzle
China has secured a major academic coup with the recruitment of mathematics luminary Joshua Zahl, recently celebrated for solving the more than 100-year-old three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture. Zahl is leaving Canada's University of British Columbia (UBC) to take up a full-time position as a chair professor at Nankai University's Chern Institute of Mathematics (CIM), according to the Chinese educational institution's website. Zahl and his collaborator Wang Hong from New York University posted their milestone proof in a 127-page preprint paper on the open-access repository arXiv in February, and the feat was immediately hailed by the prominent UCLA mathematician Terence Tao. Writing on his blog a day after the paper appeared, Tao described the achievement as 'some spectacular progress in geometric measure theory', confirming that Zahl and Wang had resolved 'the three-dimensional case of the infamous Kakeya set conjecture'. Tao, who is also Zahl's doctoral mentor, has long been focused on the Kakeya problem. He published his ideas on the conjecture in 2014 on his blog, providing a foundation for Zahl and Wang's work. 'It's like perfecting a perpetual-motion machine. It's magical; they are getting more out of the output than they put in. Their approach proves the three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture,' Tao wrote.
South China Morning Post
12-03-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
China's innovation blitz, kung fu bot goes open source: 7 science highlights
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor flies during a flight demonstration in Seongnam, South Korea on October 18, 2023. Photo: AFP While US stealth fighters like the F-22 Raptor grapple with delaminating radar-absorbent coatings – a vulnerability likened to 'moulting cicada wings' – China claims to have found an ancient solution for its fifth-generation jets. Chinese mathematician Wang Hong is an associate professor at the New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Photo: Handout Chinese mathematician Wang Hong has solved an 'infamous' geometry problem called the Kakeya conjecture within three dimensions. It is considered a breakthrough that could have implications for imaging, data processing, cryptography and wireless communication.
South China Morning Post
07-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese maths star solves geometry problem, Hong Kong actor bankrupt: SCMP's 7 highlights
We have selected seven stories from this week's news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Chinese mathematician Wang Hong has solved an 'infamous' geometry problem called the Kakeya conjecture within three dimensions. It is considered a breakthrough that could have implications for imaging, data processing, cryptography and wireless communication. Premier Li Qiang speaks during the opening session of the NPC in Beijing. Photo: AFP Two starkly divergent views of the future were laid out on opposite sides of the Pacific on Wednesday, as Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledged more aggressive spending to drive growth, while US President Donald Trump vowed to scale back the federal government to balance the books.
