On December 17, 2009, Tsinghua University held a ceremony to announce the establishment of the Tsinghua University Mathematical Sciences Center, which later became the Chern Institute of Mathematics. Professor Chern, a Fields Medalist and Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, wrote on the official website: "Throughout its century-long history, Tsinghua University has been renowned for its strong disciplines in engineering and applied sciences. Tsinghua University has far-sightedly recognized the fundamental and strategic role of mathematics in the scientific disciplines..."
Over the following 15 years, the institute continued to develop, but the attention to fundamental sciences, represented by mathematics, remained unchanged.
Recently, the 2024 International Conference on Mathematical and Physical Developments and the 15th Anniversary of the Chern Institute of Mathematics at Tsinghua University was held. During a media interview, Professor Chern candidly stated, "Our emphasis on fundamental science still needs improvement."
Meeting Expectations After 15 Years
China Science Daily: At this conference, Academician Xi Nanhua, Chairman of the Chinese Mathematical Society and closely associated with the Chern Institute of Mathematics, expressed that under your leadership, the institute has injected vitality into the field of Chinese mathematics research, propelling Chinese mathematics to new heights. In your view, what contributions has the institute made in cultivating talents in fundamental science?
Professor Chern: It needs to be clarified that talent cultivation and scientific research are inseparable. Especially in the field of fundamental science, without a commitment to research and top-notch scientific endeavors, it's challenging to produce outstanding research talents.
Over the 15 years since the institute's establishment, we have recruited numerous world-class scholars and established the Beijing Yanqihu Institute of Applied Mathematics and the Qizhen Academy. The Yanqihu Institute of Applied Mathematics has gathered over a hundred top scholars, coupled with nearly a hundred scholars working in the Mathematics Science Center, forming a team with sufficient research capabilities. The establishment of the Qizhen Academy enables us to select a group of outstanding students in China and even globally and provide them with tailored training.
Only with top-notch research, faculty, and students can we ensure the generation of outstanding talents. This has been one of our goals over the past 15 years.
China Science Daily: Do these efforts meet your expectations?
Professor Chern: It's fair to say that 15 years ago, when the institute was newly established, China had a considerable gap in scientific research and talent cultivation, especially in mathematics, compared to leading technological countries like the United States. At that time, we couldn't have predicted that over 15 years, we would achieve such significant development, securing a place internationally.
This progress is largely due to the continuous enhancement of China's overall national strength and the high-level attention given to fundamental science at the national level. This is not exaggerated praise but a realistic assessment.
For example, with direct support from the government, three years ago, we established the Qizhen Academy, which can bypass certain institutional restrictions of the existing education system and admit gifted children without relying solely on standardized tests. These children often face immense psychological pressure in their original environments, being labeled as "geniuses." Moreover, the current examination systems add to their burdens.
However, at the Qizhen Academy, these "genius" children find like-minded peers, alleviating their psychological pressure, and our faculty, research level, and surrounding environment better suit their growth. Currently, these children are progressing excellently, and I dare say that many of them surpass their peers at top universities like Harvard University in the United States in terms of abilities, which marks a significant change.
Without support from fundamental science, achieving a diverse array of breakthroughs is impossible.
China Science Daily: While celebrating the 15th anniversary of the institute, why host an international conference on the forefront of mathematical and physical developments?
Professor Chern: Since the 1970s and 1980s, interdisciplinary collaboration has become increasingly mainstream in scientific research, particularly between mathematics and physics.
Former physicists used to believe that they could conduct top-notch research without mathematics. However, no physicist would say that today; top-notch physics research relies heavily on mathematics. Of course, they require the most advanced mathematics.
Similarly, top mathematicians used to arrogantly deem physics unimportant. But after decades of collaboration, we discovered many crucial ideas in physics that are indispensable to us. They have altered many significant developments in the field of mathematics.
Therefore, I believe collaborative efforts between mathematics and physics are crucial for the scientific development of China and the world. Besides physics, mathematics also holds a significant position in fields like biology and engineering. It's not an exaggeration to say that mathematics has become the most important fundamental discipline in modern technology and society. Without solid mathematics foundations, we cannot address theoretical problems, and the development of engineering, biology, and other fields would be significantly hindered.
China Science Daily: Is this one of your long-standing motivations for cultivating leading talents in the field of mathematics?
Professor Chern: No scientific research can thrive without the support of fundamental science. Otherwise, relevant research might only "accidentally" produce a few sparks but never achieve a "blooming garden." If China aims to become a world-leading scientific power, it cannot be satisfied with the occasional scientific achievements; we need outstanding talents in foundational disciplines like physics, chemistry, and computer science, and the foundation of these disciplines is mathematics. From this perspective, despite the significant increase in our emphasis on fundamental sciences, particularly mathematics, in recent years, I believe there is still room for improvement.
For instance, some institutions and even management bodies, in pursuit of short-term outcomes, either neglect the development of foundational subjects like mathematics or, if they do prioritize mathematics, often only emphasize the advancement of applied mathematics. However, the reality is that without robust foundational mathematics support, even applied mathematics struggles to reach the forefront.
My own journey reflects this—I focused on fundamental science in the first 30 years of my research career; in the last 20 years, I've also made significant contributions in the field of applied mathematics, closely related to my earlier fundamental science research.
Without a strong foundation in fundamental science, it's challenging to make breakthroughs even in applied mathematics, let alone in engineering applications. This is why, despite China leading in paper publications in emerging fields like artificial intelligence over the past decade, groundbreaking scientific achievements, such as ChatGPT, often emerge from the deeper-rooted scientific culture in the United States—their foundational mathematics and other basic sciences are more advanced, nurturing more creative talent than ours.
There's no "shortcut" in science
"China Science News": In recent years, with the progress made in fundamental science, some people envision that one day we can achieve a "shortcut" to success. What's your take on this?
Qiu Chengtong: There's fundamentally no such thing as a "shortcut" in science. Any groundbreaking achievement requires extensive preliminary training and accumulation.
Many people misunderstand this, thinking that foundational training and accumulation are time-consuming and arduous. However, in reality, much of this foundational training doesn't necessarily take as much time as perceived. Based on our observations, even a thirteen or fourteen-year-old junior high student, upon entering the Leading Scholars Program at Qiu Zhen Academy, can complete much foundational training within one or two years.
Yet, the common perception still remains that engaging in foundational scientific work is akin to "wasting time."
We aim to cultivate a group of capable foundational science workers and allow some of them to transition into other disciplines. In fact, nearly all significant disciplines in the United States, such as biology, medicine, and even economics, require students to undergo two to three years of foundational science training, providing them with a solid foundation.
In contrast, China often doesn't require students to study as much foundational science, and this needs to change.
Take the engineering field, for example. In my view, if an engineer lacks an understanding of the foundational sciences related to their field, they may be suitable for some mediocre tasks but will inevitably reveal deficiencies when faced with truly high-level engineering problems.
In other words, to cultivate leading talents in the engineering field, learning foundational science knowledge is indispensable. Otherwise, we'll struggle to pose genuinely pioneering questions and will only follow others, never truly taking the first step forward.
"China Science News": In your cultivation of foundational science talents, do you intentionally integrate foundational science with applied disciplines to some extent?
Qiu Chengtong: Certainly. On the surface, much of our work seems only related to foundational or pure mathematics. However, Qiu Zhen Academy has invested considerable effort in nurturing talents in applied mathematics, emphasizing the integration of mathematics with disciplines such as artificial intelligence, biology, and even economics.
For us, this is a crucial endeavor. We don't just aim to train theoretical scholars but to cultivate scholars who understand other disciplines and hope they can make pioneering contributions in relevant fields.
"China Science News": Regarding talent cultivation, especially in cultivating outstanding mathematical talents, what other considerations do you have?
Qiu Chengtong: Many high-level universities worldwide have institutions for cultivating mathematical talents, and their approaches to cultivation are mostly similar. The key lies in whether they can find top-tier faculty while showcasing their unique teaching styles.
As mentioned earlier, in recent years, we have invited numerous world-renowned scholars to join us, such as Fields Medalist Professor Cédric Villani and internationally renowned mathematical physicist Professor Nikita Nekrasov. These masters each have their unique styles and paths. We need to give them sufficient respect. Different masters lead different paths, and when combined, they form a complete discipline.
Of course, having top-tier faculty alone is not enough; we also need exceptionally talented students. It must be acknowledged that in the field of fundamental science, students' talents, basic abilities, and learning willingness play an important role in whether they can eventually succeed. The more prestigious the international universities, the stricter their requirements for student selection. I hope that while Chinese universities emphasize the recruitment of "star" professors, they also emphasize the selection and assessment of students with potential.
