The International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM) was founded in 1998 by Shing-Tung Yau, president of the ICCM and chairman of the Board of Governors of the Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences (SIMIS). A conference is held triennially to bring a large international mathematical community to converge in China, to celebrate recent outstanding achievements of fellow mathematicians. Several major awards are announced at this conference. In between the triennial conferences, the ICCM also convenes an annual conference as a means to promote research collaborations and to share research findings. On January 3, 2025, the ICCM officially settled its headquarters in Shanghai, as part of SIMIS. Future ICCM sponsored activities are therefore expected to take place in Shanghai.
Mission: Strengthen ties among Chinese mathematicians worldwide, explore recent advances in mathematical sciences, and promote the development of mathematical research
Highlight Moments
1998.12.12-16 1st ICCM in Beijing
“This is a historic moment, bringing together Chinese mathematicians from all over the world for the first time to discuss their research. Both the results and the display are quite spectacular.” —— Professor Shing-Tung Yau
2001.12.17-22 2nd ICCM in Taipei
The Morningside Lifetime Achievement Award in Mathematics was established this year. The first award was given to Shiing-Shen Chern for his work in the foundation of mathematics in PRC society, his influential contributions to differential geometry, and his job of nurturing excellent mathematicians in and out of China.
2004.12.17 The opening ceremony of the 3rd ICCM in Hong Kong
The opening ceremony of the congress was held in HKCEC (Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center）and in commemoration of Shiing-Shen Chern. The congress established “International Cooperation Prize” in recognition of seminal figures who devoted more energies to mathematics development in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan through cooperation, cultivation, and supports for Chinese mathematicians. The first ICCM International Cooperation Prize was awarded to Professor John Coates for his great dedication to fostering Chinese mathematicians.
2007.12.17-22 4th ICCM in Hangzhou
This congress announced the New World Mathematics Award (ICCM Graduation Thesis Award) to award the top level of mathematical academic papers for worldwide undergraduates, postgraduates, and PhD candidates in mathematics. The congress organized the panel discussion “Women in Mathematics”, with participants she-power in mathematics Melissa Chiu-Chu Liu, Dusa McDuff, Chuu-Lian Terng, and Claire Voisin. The congress organized the seminar “Challenges facing Higher Education in the 21st Century”,with participants world-leading mathematicians.
2010.12.18-22 5th ICCM in Beijing
With the gist of commemoration of Mr. Shiing-Shen Chern and Mr. Hua Luogeng, the congress took place in Beijing. Wang Mudao, professor of Mathematics at Columbia University, and Wu Xiangjue, Robert W Chair Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, won the Morningside Mathematics Gold Award for their outstanding contributions to differential geometry and geometric partial differential equations and the overall adaptation of small amplitude solutions of two-dimensional and three-dimensional water wave problems. Wu Xiangjue became the first female mathematician to win the gold medal of Morningside Mathematics Prize.
2013.7.14-19 6th ICCM in Taipei
The Morningside Mathematics Outstanding Achievement Award was conferred to Zhang Yitang for his breakthrough in the twin prime number issue. In Zhang’s group report, the famous mathematician Dr. Jean-Pierre Serre asked Zhang a question about the use of the exponential and the key steps in Zhang’s proof process (related to the work of Hermann Weyl’s algebraic curve on finite fields). Zhang Yitang gave a perfect answer straightway, to which Serre was astonished and highly praised. Then the conversation was spread as a legacy admits Chinese mathematicians on ideas exchange during the congress.
2016.8.6 The opening ceremony of the 7th ICCM in the Great Hall of the People
More than 1500 people attended the opening ceremony, with excellent participants Zhang Wei, professor of mathematics at Columbia University, and Li Si, professor of Mathematics Science Center and Department of Tsinghua University who won Morningside Mathematics Prize, Yin Wotao, professor of Mathematics at University of California (LA) who won Morningside Gold Medal in Applied Mathematics, Chen Binglong, Lan Kaiwen, Lei Leming, Yin Jun, Ying Lexing, and Yun Zhiwei who won the Morningside Silver Medal of Mathematics.
2019.6.9-14 8th ICCM at Tsinghua University
Yun Zhiwei, professor of Mathematics at MIT and Zhu Xinwen, professor of Mathematics at California Institute of Technology were honored with ICCM Mathematics Golden Award for their great work and significant contribution to the integral Springer theory, rigid self-serving formalism, inverse Galois problem and the Gross-Zagier formula to higher order derivatives, and in reasoning Coherence Conjecture, Kottwitz conjecture and in geometric Satake equivalence.
2022.7.31 The opening ceremony of the 9th ICCM in Nanjing
The ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award was established, in recognition of leading mathematicians with distinguished achievements for the lifetime service to Chinese mathematics society. The first honor was given to Lo Yang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences for his brilliant academic achievements and important contributions to the advancement of Chinese mathematics, as well as his outstanding leadership and extensive influence.
The 10th ICCM will be held in Shanghai in January, 2026.
Awards
ICCM Medal of Mathematics, established in 1998 and early entitled “Morningside Medal of Mathematics”. This medal is the top award for world-wide Chinese mathematics, named as “Chinese Fields Medal”. It recognizes the outstanding mathematicians of Chinese descendent under the age of 45 for their achievements in the research of pure and applied mathematics, and for their great contributions to the development of mathematics.
Chern Prize, established in 2001 in honor of Professor Shiing-Shen Chern, recognizes mathematicians and individuals of Chinese descent who have made enormous contributions to mathematical research or public service in mathematics development.
John Coates International Cooperation Award (formerly named “ICCM International Cooperation Award”), established in 2004, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of mathematics in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in collaborating, teaching, and supporting Chinese mathematicians.
ICCM Mathematics Contribution Award, established in 2022, recognizes the leading mathematicians with distinguished achievements for the lifetime service to Chinese mathematics.
Past Medalists
ICCM GOLD MEDAL OF MATHEMATICS
2022 Ding Jian
2019 Zhiwei Yun / Xinwen Zhu
2016 Wei Zhang / Si Li
2013 Xuhua He / Ye Tian
2010 Mu-Tao Wang / Sijue Wu
2007 Xu-Jia Wang
2004 Kefeng Liu / Zhouping Xin
2001 Jun Li / Horng-Tzer Yau
1998 Chang-Shou Lin / Shouwu Zhang
ICCM GOLD MEDAL OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS
2016 Wotao Yin
2013 Xianfeng Gu
2010 Jun Liu
2007 Jianqing Fan
2004 Yizhao Hou / Zhiliang Ying
ICCM SILVER MEDAL OF MATHEMATICS
2022 Shuang Miao / Hao Wu / Eric T. Chung / Yu-Wei Fan / Gao Chen
2019 Baohua Fu / Zhengwei Liu / Pinyan Lu / Peng Shan / Zhengdao Yu
2016 Bing-Long Chen / Kai-Wen Lan / Ronald Lok Ming Lui / Jun Yin / Lexing Ying / Zhiwei Yun
2013 Chieh-Yu Chang / Xiaoqing Li / Hao Xu / Tai-Peng Tsai
2010 Jungkai Alfred Chen / Meng Chen / Jixiang Fu / Juncheng Wei
2007 Chiu-Chu Liu / Lizhen Ji / Shi Jin / Chiun-Chuan Chen / Ye Tian
2004 Jin-Yi Cai / Ai-Ko Liu / Xi-Ping Zhu
2001 Daqing Wan / Chin-Lung Wang / Sijue Wu / Nanhua Xi
1998 Raymond Hon-fu Chan / Chong-Qing Cheng / Kefeng Liu / Tong Yang
CHERN PRIZE
2022 Chin-Lung Wang / Ngaiming Mok
2019 Wenwei Lin / Shing Toung Yau
2016 Xi-Ping Zhu / Ronnie C. Chan
2013 Si-Chen Lee / Bong Lian
2010 Jiaxing Hong / Conan Nai-Chung Leung / Wen-Ching Lee
2007 Shiu-Yuen Cheng / Mu-Tao Wang
2004 Lo Yang / Fanghua Lin
2001 Jiu-Kang Yu
CHERN PRIZE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
2001 Song-Sun Lin
JOHN COATES INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AWARD
2022 Leon Simon
2019 Vaughan F.R. Jones
2016 Björn Engquist
2013 Jean-Pierre Serre
2010 Richard M. Schoen
2007 Stanley J. Osher
2004 John H. Coates
MORNINGSIDE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN MATHEMATICS
2001 Shiing-Shen Chern
MORNINGSIDE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN MATHEMATICS
2013 Yitang Zhang
MORNINGSIDE MENTOR AWARD IN MATHEMATICS
2013 Chengbiao Pan
ICCM MATHEMATICS CONTRIBUTION AWARD
2022 Lo Yang
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