On September 18, 2024, Yitang Zhang, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the Honorary Director of the Min Sihe Center for Number Theory Research at Peking University, delivered a Chern Lecture entitled "My love for mathematics" at Chern Institute of Mathematics (CIM). Before the lecture, Yulu Chen, President of Nankai University, met with Prof. Yitang Zhang at CIM and exchanged views on the development history of NKU's mathematics discipline and how to provide support to boost Tianjin's economy with the University's science and education resources. Chengming Bai, Vice President of Nankai University, Weiping Zhang, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at CIM, together with the heads and faculty members of CIM and the School of Mathematical Sciences, Nankai University attended the meeting. Present at the meeting were also Youwei Chen, the son of Jingrun Chen, who came from Beijing for his first-ever meeting with Yitang Zhang.
As a famous Chinese mathematician, Prof. Yitang Zhang is well-known for his profound academic attainments and unique way of thinking. Over 500 teachers and students listened to the lecture, during which Prof. Zhang shared with the audience his love for mathematics and his research work on the twin prime conjecture.
Prime numbers are the building blocks of arithmetic, and the study of their distribution has always been one of the major themes of research in number theory. The twin prime conjecture is one of the long-standing classic problems produced in the study of prime numbers. Prof. Yitang Zhang contributed enormously to the study of the twin prime conjecture and his research results were published in the top math journal Annals of Mathematics.
Prof. Zhang mentioned that, the twin prime conjecture was thought to be insoluble by many top mathematicians, however, a feeling of unfulfillment drove him to keep studying on this problem. "Never lose your curiosity and always try to catch the feeling of unfulfilment", Prof. Zhang emphasized. He suggested the listeners, instead of blindly following the existing research ideas, to be brave and believe in the possibility of making breakthroughs.
Prof. Zhang's lecture at Nankai University provided a valuable learning opportunity for teachers and students, who got the chance to have a further understanding of mathematical research through face-to-face communication with the internationally renowned mathematician. Inspired by Prof. Zhang, the teachers and students of NKU's mathematics discipline will be more determined to make remarkable contribution to the development of mathematics.
