What happens at the International Congress of Mathematicians?

The International Congress of Mathematicians is the largest recurring conference in the field of mathematics, meeting once every four years under the auspices of the International Mathematical Union. During its opening ceremony, prestigious awards such as the Fields Medal and the Chern Medal are presented to leading researchers. Each congress is further documented by a set of published proceedings featuring papers from invited academic talks.

What we know

• The International Congress of Mathematicians meets once every four years and is hosted by the International Mathematical Union. [2, 5]
• Major mathematical honors including the Fields Medal, IMU Abacus Medal, Gauss Prize, Leelavati Prize, and Chern Medal are awarded during the congress opening ceremony. [2]
• Being invited to give a talk at the congress has been described as equivalent to induction into a hall of fame. [2, 3]
• Each congress is memorialized through a printed set of Proceedings containing academic papers based on invited talks. [2]

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureWhat is the International Mathematical Union?
• a case in pointWho wins the Fields Medal?
• how it workedHow are plenary and invited speakers chosen?
• whereWhere did recent medalists receive their awards?
• whenHow often do these mathematics meetings occur?
• an unexpected connectionHow did two physics PhD holders win a top math medal?Although the Fields Medal is strictly a mathematics prize, its recipients include two individuals holding PhDs in physics.

Sources

• [1]International Congress of Mathematicians (Wikidata Q860611) · CC0 1.0
• [2]International Congress of Mathematicians · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]List of International Congresses of Mathematicians Plenary and Invited Speakers · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]International Mathematical Union · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Fields Medal · CC BY-SA 4.0