June Huh, Professor of Mathematics, Princeton University has been awarded the 2022 Fields Medal by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) for his work in transforming the field of geometric combinatorics. At the award ceremony in Helsinki, Finland on July 5th, Huh and three other mathematicians received the Fields Medals, which are presented every four years to researchers under the age of 40, honoring their past achievements and their promise of future accomplishments.

The Fields are given only once every four years and adds prestige through rarity as something more like gold medals at the Olympics. Another award, the Abel Prize, which is awarded by the King of Norway. is modeled more on the Nobel Prize and recognizes mathematicians annually for work over their careers.

Usually, the ceremonies for the Fields Medals and other medals or awards including the Abacus Medals take place as part of the International Congress of Mathematics, a quadrennial gathering of mathematicians. This year’s congress was to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, but after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leadership of the IMU decided to hold the congress as an online event outside Russia. The awards ceremony was still held in person but was moved to Helsinki.