2026 International Congress of Basic Science Opens in Beijing

BEIJING, Aug. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS 2026) opened on August 9 in Beijing, bringing together four Fields Medalists — Shing-Tung Yau, Maxim Kontsevich, Martin Hairer and Caucher Birkar — and Turing Award laureate Robert Tarjan, alongside Li Luming, president of Tsinghua University. More than 80 recipients of the Shaw Prize, Wolf Prize and Dirac Medal, some 400 internationally recognized scholars, and more than 800 researchers and students from over 30 countries and regions gathered for the flagship event.

On behalf of Tsinghua University, Li Luming welcomed the Chinese and international scientists attending the event and emphasized the important role that leading research universities should play in advancing basic research in the era of AI. In recent years, Tsinghua has deepened its commitment to fundamental disciplines by increasing investment, attracting world-class researchers, harnessing AI to accelerate scientific discovery, and enhancing its capacity for independent talent cultivation. Looking ahead, Tsinghua will strengthen its capacity for original innovation, cultivate future talent for basic research, and make greater contributions to expanding the frontiers of human knowledge and advancing human civilization.

In his remarks, ICBS President Yau noted that China has expanded its support for basic research through increased funding, policy initiatives, talent development and investments in research infrastructure. While AI can dramatically accelerate mathematical deduction and theorem proving, it does not replace the human capacity for creativity, intuition and the timeless pursuit of questions whose answers are not yet known. Major leaps in basic science always emerge at the intersection of disciplines and the willingness to venture into uncharted territory.

Two major honors were conferred during the ceremony: the ICBS Medal and the Frontiers of Science Award.

Nine scientists received the inaugural ICBS Medal for contributions spanning mathematics, physics and engineering: Claire Voisin, Horng-Tzer Yau, Shouwu Zhang, Andrea J. Liu, Yifang Wang, Xiao-gang Wen, Zhenan Bao, Xiaowei Zhuang and Feng Zhang. Four of this year's medalists are women.

The Frontiers of Science Awards recognized 111 high-impact original research papers from more than 20 countries and regions. Nineteen of the recognized papers were authored by researchers from 17 Chinese institutions, including two papers featuring five scholars from Tsinghua University, spanning fields such as geometric analysis, quantum theory, large AI models, and computer vision.