Meet the mathematicians whose ideas opened new worlds—and earned the most celebrated honour in mathematics before the age of forty.
A defining story from the Fields Medal archive—and the ideal place to begin exploring the lives behind modern mathematics.
Maryam Mirzakhani
From handwritten sketches and winding curves to some of the deepest structures in geometry, Maryam Mirzakhani changed how mathematicians understand surfaces, motion and space.
Explore the collection by the branch of mathematics where each breakthrough changed the direction of modern research.
Curved spaces, manifolds, knots, surfaces and the hidden shape of reality.
Explore →Prime numbers, arithmetic, cryptography and the deepest patterns in numbers.
Explore →Calculus, differential equations, dynamics and continuous mathematics.
Explore →Symmetry, abstract structures, graphs and elegant mathematical reasoning.
Explore →From curved spaces and manifolds to topology and geometry, these discoveries changed how mathematics describes the universe.
More Geometry & Topology documentaries will be added as the archive grows.
View all Geometry & Topology →Prime numbers, Diophantine equations, arithmetic geometry and elegant proofs— discover the minds that transformed number theory.
More Number Theory documentaries will be added as the archive grows.
View all Number Theory →From differential equations and harmonic analysis to probability and optimal transport, these ideas transformed modern mathematics and physics.
More Analysis documentaries will be added as the archive grows.
View all Analysis →Groups, symmetry, representation theory, combinatorics and algebraic geometry— the language behind some of mathematics' deepest ideas.
More Algebra & Combinatorics documentaries will be added as the archive grows.
View all Algebra & Combinatorics →First awarded in 1936, the Fields Medal recognizes extraordinary mathematical achievement before the age of forty. More than an award, it has become a glimpse of where mathematics is heading next.
The first Fields Medals are awarded at the International Congress of Mathematicians.
The medal becomes the world's most prestigious recognition for young mathematicians.
Topology, geometry, number theory, algebra and analysis reshape the landscape of mathematics.
Maryam Mirzakhani becomes the first woman to receive the Fields Medal.
Every four years the medal points toward the mathematicians most likely to define the future.
Every great theorem begins with a curious mind. Continue exploring the mathematicians whose ideas reshaped science, technology and our understanding of the universe.