Mathematical Genius

Mr. Truong Ich Duong (1955) comes from an intellectual family in Shanghai (China). His father was a professor of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University, and his mother was a civil servant.

At the age of four, he could remember the capitals of 100 countries and the names of emperors from various dynasties. At five, he showed an interest in mathematics, and by the age of nine, he had proven the Pythagorean theorem. At twelve, Mr. Duong studied calculus.

With exceptional mathematical talent, Mr. Duong was a student at Tsinghua High School (affiliated with Tsinghua University). However, due to his involvement in the 1968 "return to the countryside" movement (where educated youth from the cities returned to their hometowns to integrate into rural life), he only completed junior high school.

In 1977, when China resumed the college entrance examination, Mr. Tang borrowed high school textbooks to study on his own. Thanks to his diligence, intelligence, and strong self-study abilities, he mastered general knowledge, especially mathematics, within a few months. In the 1978 college entrance examination, Mr. Tang scored highly and was admitted to the Mathematics Department of Peking University.

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Professor of Mathematics Zhang Yitang. Photo: Baidu

Upon entering university, his grades in all subjects were excellent. Therefore, Professor Phan Thua Dong, a mathematics professor, was very impressed with Mr. Duong. The professor not only guided his scientific research but also helped Mr. Duong consolidate his deficient knowledge. Furthermore, the then-president of Peking University, Professor Ding Shizong, also highly regarded Mr. Duong.

Refusing to return home, he stayed in America working as a waiter for 7 years.

In 1985, after receiving his master's degree, thanks to the help of mathematician Mac Ton Kien, Mr. Duong secured a scholarship to pursue a doctoral degree at Purdue University (USA) at public expense. After his research, Mr. Duong chose the 'Jacobi Conjecture' as the topic for his doctoral dissertation. It took him two years to complete the dissertation, and the proof would be based on the research results of mathematician Mac Ton Kien.

During his research, Mr. Duong concluded that the conclusions in Professor Mac Ton Kien's "Jacobi Conjecture" were incorrect. This angered the professor, who refused to send him a letter of recommendation to prevent him from gaining a foothold in the academic world, and research organizations rejected Mr. Duong.

Aware of the situation, Peking University offered Tang a professorship. However, he refused, determined to stay in the US and work as a waiter for seven years to earn money to complete his doctoral program. He did everything from washing dishes and carrying trays to delivering packages. Unable to afford living expenses, Tang had to sleep in a friend's basement.

Despite the hardships, he didn't give up, determined to prove that what he was doing was right. During that time, he considered returning to China, but quickly abandoned the idea because he hadn't achieved anything significant in the United States. Finally, in 1992, at the age of 37, he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation.

Success in later life

After receiving his PhD, Mr. Duong always sought opportunities to teach at universities to prove his abilities. In 1999, thanks to a friend's recommendation, Mr. Duong was invited to be a visiting lecturer at the University of New Hampshire (USA). Although the income was low, he had a stable job that didn't require manual labor. There, he became famous for his outstanding teaching talent.

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Facing numerous difficulties during his doctoral dissertation defense, Professor Truong Ich Duong only achieved success in his later years. (Photo: Baidu)

Thanks to his tireless efforts, at the age of 50, Mr. Duong became a full-time lecturer at the University of New Hampshire (USA). In 2008, Mr. Duong began researching the number theory of 'Double Prime Number Conjecture' . The research lasted five years, and in 2013, he successfully reached a conclusion and published an article in a scientific journal.

At the age of 58, his name officially entered the academic world and he became a renowned mathematician. In addition, he published a paper on 'The Distance Between Prime Numbers' , proving the existence of countless prime pairs with a distance less than 70 million.

These successes gave him the opportunity to proudly present his research findings in the mathematics lecture halls of Harvard University and win numerous awards such as: Outstanding Scientist , Shaw Prize , and the Rising Star Award for Outstanding Researcher …

At the age of 60, Mr. Duong was invited to become a professor of Mathematics at the University of California (Santa Barbara, USA). While at the peak of his career, in 2018, he decided to return to his homeland to dedicate the rest of his life to his country.

Currently, Professor Zhang Yitang serves as the Director of the Panchengdong Institute of Mathematics at Shandong University. Returning to China to contribute in his later years, mathematician Zhang Yitang is committed to breaking traditional thinking and developing Chinese mathematics to be on par with other nations worldwide .

After being appointed professor at the age of 30, the female lecturer decided to leave the US and return to China. Following many years of teaching at the prestigious Princeton University (USA), Professor Yan Ning decided to return to China, hoping to give more young people the opportunity to explore their potential.