Fields Medal Recipient June Huh Pledges Greater Role in Advancing Math in S. Korea

June Huh, the Korean American mathematician who won this year’s prestigious Fields Medal, poses for photos with his son upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on July 7, 2022. (Yonhap)

YEONGJONG ISLAND, July 9 (Korea Bizwire) — June Huh, the Korean American mathematician who won this year’s prestigious Fields Medal, said Friday he is “happy and delighted” to win the award and pledged to play a greater role in advancing the field of mathematics in South Korea.

Huh made the remarks upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, late Friday morning.

On Tuesday, the 39-year-old Princeton University professor, who also serves as a distinguished professor of mathematics at the Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS), became the first-ever scholar of Korean descent to win the award handed down by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) every four years.

“I am a bit heavyhearted because (the award) seems to have enlarged the role I have to play for the advancement of the South Korean math field. But overall I am happy and delighted,” Huh said.

He said he will be working at KIAS this summer, starting with a lecture session at the institute Wednesday.

Asked to give advice to young scholars, Huh said, “If you continue to carry on slowly but steadily in a step-by-step manner with a comfortable mindset you will have good results.”

Mathematicians have often been told to never give up and continue for 10 years or 20 years but being able to give up at the proper time is also important, he noted.

Huh’s family, including his wife and 7-year-old son, as well as KIAS officials, came out to the airport to welcome him.

The Fields Medal, first introduced in 1936, was founded to recognize and support younger mathematical scholars who have made major contributions in the field of mathematics.

Awarded to mathematicians under 40, the Fields Medal is often referred to as the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Huh was born in 1983 in California but grew up in South Korea. He majored in physics and astronomy as an undergraduate at Seoul National University (SNU) and studied mathematics at the university’s graduate school.

Huh obtained his mathematics Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2014.

(Yonhap)