Zhang Yitang

Zhang Yitang is a renowned mathematician known for his significant contributions to number theory, particularly in relation to the twin prime conjecture. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Peking University before moving to the United States for further studies, where he earned his PhD from Purdue University. His breakthrough came in 2013 when he published a landmark paper in the Annals of Mathematics, demonstrating that there are infinitely many pairs of prime numbers that differ by no more than 70 million. This work earned him numerous accolades, including the 2014 MacArthur Fellowship and the Chern Prize in Mathematics.