Hong Kong University (HKU) confirmed the information to VnExpress on 5/2. HKU currently holds the top position in the QS 2026 Asia university rankings.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau. Photo: Hong Kong University

Professor Ngo Bao Chau stated his decision to choose Hong Kong University (HKU) from numerous offers by major universities in the region. He began to harbor the intention of working in Asia about one year ago. Beyond wanting to be closer to his aging parents, he views this as an opportunity to fulfill an aspiration: to engage more deeply and regularly in training young mathematics enthusiasts in Vietnam.

"Hong Kong University's financial offer is on par with universities in the US, though the scientific environment is not yet as vibrant", he shared. "However, I believe that with Hong Kong University's strong investment, I can contribute to building a world-class scientific environment".

Over the past 15 years, he typically visited Vietnam twice a year, spending two to three summer months and two to three winter weeks. Most of this time was dedicated to his work at the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM), where he holds the position of scientific director. Consequently, he felt his involvement in training activities was limited. For impactful doctoral dissertations, the quality of incoming doctoral students must be high.

Upon moving to Hong Kong, Professor Chau intends to visit Vietnam more frequently, approximately once every two weeks. In addition to supervising doctoral students, he will organize clubs and seminars for mathematics students to participate regularly, guiding them towards basic research.

Professor Chau also aspires to establish an Asian mathematics research network, creating a shared academic space for scientists in the region.

Professor Ngo Bao Chau is the only Vietnamese to date to have won the Fields Medal (in 2010), often likened to the "nobel prize in mathematics", for his proof of the "fundamental lemma". This is a key conjecture of the Langlands Program, a revolutionary theory in mathematics that connects two branches of mathematics: geometry and number theory. America's Time magazine rated the work as one of the 10 most important scientific discoveries of 2009.

He was born in 1972 in Hanoi. During his high school years at the High School for Gifted Students in Natural Sciences, Ngo Bao Chau was the first Vietnamese contestant to win two gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (in 1988 and 1989). Afterwards, he received a scholarship from the French government to study at the University of Paris VI in 1990, defending his doctoral dissertation at age 25 at the University of Paris-Sud.

In 2003, he completed his habilitation thesis (equivalent to a higher doctorate) at the University of Paris-Nord and was appointed professor at the University of Paris-Sud in 2004. In the same year, he received a special appointment, becoming Vietnam's youngest professor.

From 2010, Professor Ngo Bao Chau joined the mathematics department at the University of Chicago (US), while also becoming scientific director at VIASM, contributing to the development of mathematics in Vietnam from then until now.

Thanh Hang - Khanh Linh