Shenzhen-based AI mathematician Yurii Nesterov wins top prize in applied maths

‘Crazy to stop right now’: researcher rejects retirement to build on his 40-year legacy during the golden age of artificial intelligence

When Russian-born Belgian mathematician Yurii Nesterov reached retirement age in 2023, he found himself at the centre of a technological storm.

In June, Nesterov, now 70, embarked on a new full-time career in southern China’s tech hubs, joining the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) and the Shenzhen Loop Area Institute (SLAI) as a professor at the Centre for AI Theoretical Foundation and Systems.

Almost immediately, the scholar won the highest honour in the global applied mathematics community – the Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize – which he received at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) ceremony in Philadelphia on July 23.

“The main feature of China today is the fast and progressive development,” Nesterov said.