Yitang Zhang facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yitang Zhang
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Zhang in 2014
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| Born | February 5, 1955 Shanghai, China
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| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Peking University (BS, MA) Purdue University (PhD) |
| Known for | Establishing the existence of an infinitely repeatable prime 2-tuple |
| Awards | Ostrowski Prize (2013) Cole Prize (2014) Rolf Schock Prize (2014) MacArthur Fellowship (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Number theory |
| Institutions | University of New Hampshire University of California, Santa Barbara Sun Yat-sen University |
| Thesis | The Jacobian conjecture and the degree of field extension (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | Tzuong-Tsieng Moh (莫宗堅) |
Yitang Zhang (Chinese: 张益唐) is a Chinese-American mathematician. He was born on February 5, 1955. He is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since June 27, 2025, he has also been a professor at Sun Yat-sen University.
In 2013, while working at the University of New Hampshire, Zhang made a huge discovery. He proved that there are always pairs of prime numbers that are close together, no matter how large the numbers get. This amazing work earned him several awards. These include the 2013 Ostrowski Prize and the 2014 Cole Prize. He also received the 2014 Rolf Schock Prize and a 2014 MacArthur Fellowship.
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Early Life and School
Zhang was born in Shanghai, China. His family's old home was in Pinghu, Zhejiang. He lived with his grandmother in Shanghai when he was young. Around age nine, he figured out a proof for the Pythagorean theorem. When he was 10, he learned about Fermat's Last Theorem and Goldbach's conjecture.
During a time called the Cultural Revolution in China, Zhang and his mother had to work in the countryside. He worked as a laborer for 10 years. Because of this, he could not go to high school. After the Cultural Revolution ended, Zhang went to Peking University in 1978. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1982. He then studied with Professor Pan Chengbiao, a number theorist. He received his Master of Science degree in mathematics in 1984.
After his master's degree, Zhang received a full scholarship to Purdue University in the United States. He arrived at Purdue in January 1985. He studied there for six and a half years. He earned his PhD in mathematics in December 1991.
Career Journey
After finishing his PhD, Zhang found it hard to get a job as a professor. For several years, he worked in different jobs. He was an accountant and a delivery worker for a restaurant in New York City. He also worked at a motel in Kentucky and a Subway sandwich shop. At one point, he even lived in his car while looking for work.
In 1999, Kenneth Appel hired Zhang as a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire. A lecturer is a type of teacher at a university. Zhang worked there until January 2014. After his big discovery about prime numbers, the University of New Hampshire made him a full professor.
In 2014, Zhang spent some time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In the fall of 2015, he joined the University of California, Santa Barbara. On June 27, 2025, he also took a full-time position at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.
Amazing Math Discovery
On April 17, 2013, Zhang announced a major breakthrough in mathematics. He proved that there are endless pairs of prime numbers that are less than 70 million apart. This means that no matter how large numbers get, you will always find prime numbers that are relatively close to each other.
This discovery is very important for understanding prime numbers. It is similar to the idea of the twin prime conjecture. The twin prime conjecture suggests there are endless pairs of prime numbers that are exactly two apart (like 3 and 5, or 11 and 13). Zhang's work showed that there are infinitely many pairs within a larger distance.
His paper was accepted by Annals of Mathematics in May 2013. This was his first published paper since 2001. Other mathematicians, like those in the Polymath project, have built on his work. For example, James Maynard later showed that prime pairs can be even closer, within 600. The Polymath project then lowered that number to 246.
Awards and Recognition
Yitang Zhang has received many important awards for his work.
- 2013 Morningside Special Achievement Award in Mathematics
- 2013 Ostrowski Prize
- 2014 Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number Theory
- 2014 Rolf Schock Prize in Mathematics
- 2014 MacArthur award
He was also chosen as an Academia Sinica Fellow in 2014. He was an invited speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2014.
Political Views
In 1989, Zhang joined a group interested in Chinese democracy. He has stated that his views on this topic have not changed.
