On the sidelines of a celebratory party, 38 year-old Fields Medal winner Ngo Bao Chau talked with reporters from Tuoi Tre. On the sidelines of a celebratory party organized by the Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnam’s Education Ministry, 38 year-old Fields Medal winner Ngo Bao Chau talked with reporters from

Professor Ngo Bao Chau

Tuoi tre: What will you do next, now that you’ve solved the problem of the “fundamental lemma”?

Professor Ngo Bao Chau: Science is limitless, and so is mathematics. There are still many other challenges and paths to follow.

Tuoi tre: How will your life and work change?

Professor Chau: The award won’t trigger any changes in my life. I will go to work at the University of Chicago, something that was decided before I was chosen to receive the medal.

However, I think there will be big changes in my work. The award confers prestige, which I hope will allow me to do the things I’ve planned to help develop Vietnam’s mathematics and support Vietnamese young people who wish to study mathematics. I hope my award will inspire young people to pursue their own careers in mathematics.

Tuoi tre: So, as well as glory, the Fields Award has brought you more responsibility?

Chau: True. I think that I need to bear more responsibility to the field of mathematics in general and mathematics in Vietnam in particular. I feel I can do many useful things. In the time to come, I will spend more time with my colleagues at our Mathematics Institute and universities, to help develop Vietnam’s mathematics.

Tuoi tre: What are your plans in Vietnam?

Ngo Bao Chau: My top priority is to help launch the Advanced Mathematics Institute in Vietnam and participate in its management. Our aim is to quickly set up student exchange programmes, establish research teams and attract more and more young people who have ability in mathematics.

I also expect to train mathematics graduate students at the Hanoi University of Education and exchange ideas with colleagues at the Mathematics Institute.

Tuoi tre: Will you keep Vietnamese citizenship now that you are a world-class mathematician and live and work in the US?

Ngo Bao Chau: I will keep my Vietnamese nationality; this will never change. Though I have also held French nationality since early this year, I will keep dual citizenship. I will always be a Vietnamese citizen no matter where I live and work.

Tuoi tre: If you could give the glory of your award to someone else, who would it be?

Ngo Bao Chau: Vietnam’s young people. I hope my success will inspire them with confidence, will sustain their eagerness to learn and succeed, not only in mathematics or science, but in life in general. I wish for Vietnam to have more and more scientists who achieve international stature in different fields.

Source: VnExpress, Tuoi tre