‘Nobel Prize of mathematics’: U of T mathematician Jacob Tsimerman awarded prestigious Fields Medal | University of Toronto
Skip to main content
Campus status
Search the U of T website
Search
Search the U of T website
Search
Campus status
Navigation
U of T News
Follow U of T News
‘Nobel Prize of mathematics’: U of T mathematician Jacob Tsimerman awarded prestigious Fields Medal
A professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tsimerman won the high-profile international award in part for his work on a problem that had stumped the discipline for decades
Jacob Tsimerman is the first scholar based at a Canadian institution to receive the Fields Medal, which is often described as “the Nobel Prize of mathematics” (photo courtesy of the Simons Foundation)
Published: July 23, 2026
By<br>Chris Sasaki
Faculty of Arts & Science
Jacob Tsimerman , a professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto, has won the prestigious Fields Medal.<br>He becomes the first scholar based at a Canadian institution – and the second Canadian – to receive the award, often described as “the Nobel Prize of mathematics,” since it was established in 1932.<br>The Fields recognizes extraordinary research achievement and the promise of future discoveries. It’s awarded every four years by the International Mathematical Union to up to four mathematicians under the age of 40.<br>Tsimerman was honoured in part for his role in proving the André-Oort conjecture, a problem that has occupied mathematicians for decades.<br>“It’s an incredible honour to win this award – not just for me, but for all my collaborators without whom this truly would not be possible,” says Tsimerman, a U of T alumnus. “Math is such a team sport that it becomes impossible to disentangle who contributed what on projects. I'm lucky to have many of my collaborators as close friends, which helps work feel fun and playful.”<br>The André-Oort conjecture breakthrough
Jacob Tsimerman, right, receives the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia (photo by Allie Ippolito)
Tsimerman found the André-Oort conjecture – or his “mathematical home” as he describes it – during his PhD at Princeton University, where he was advised by number theorist Peter Sarnak .<br>At a high level, the conjecture concerns the appearance of highly special points inside geometric spaces that encode rich arithmetic information. Mathematicians suspected that whenever these special points appear in large numbers, they do so because they are part of a larger hidden geometric structure.<br>Tsimerman’s work was crucial in establishing the conjecture and confirming that intuition. The result is significant not only because it solved a long-standing problem, but because it opened entirely new directions of research.<br>“The Fields Medal recognizes Professor Tsimerman’s tremendous accomplishments and his stature as one of the world’s most promising leaders in mathematical research,” says U of T President Melanie Woodin .<br>“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto, I want to offer Jacob my heartfelt congratulations. This is a proud and historic moment for all of us.”
Tsimerman’s influence extends well beyond his research. He’s also incredibly popular among U of T students, according to a recent profile in Be Giant.<br>Professor Mary Pugh , chair of U of T’s department of mathematics, said Tsimerman’s passion for mathematics is evident to anyone who crosses his path.<br>“I’ve known Jacob as a student and a colleague and, obviously, he is brilliant,” she says. “His love of mathematics is absolutely infectious. He's someone who can be routinely found in the lounge at a blackboard puzzling over something with a handful of students, delighted to think together with them.”<br>From math prodigy to Fields Medallist
The 2026 Fields Medal winners, from left: Yu Deng, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman and Hong Wang (photo by Allie Ippolito)
Tsimerman’s passion for mathematics began in early childhood.<br>“By the time I was three, I was enjoying math puzzles,” he says. “My grandfather was a physicist and my mother taught math, so I had a lot of support and resources growing up, along with plenty of puzzles to solve. And that’s what mathematics is, basically: puzzles.”<br>As a high school student at University of Toronto Schools, Tsimerman won two gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, including a perfect score in 2004. At 16 years old, he started a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at U of T as a member of University College, graduating in just two years in 2006. He earned his PhD from Princeton in 2011.<br>Tsimerman was a Junior Fellow in Harvard University's Society of Fellows before joining U of T, where he became the youngest person to be appointed full professor in the department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts & Science. For the past year, he has served as a distinguished visiting professor in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.
Students and...