Professor Ngo Bao Chau, the first Vietnamese mathematician to win the prestigious Fields Medal, was warmly welcomed at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi upon his return from India on August 28.

Prof. Chau won the award for his proof of the Fundamental Lemma in the theory of automorphic forms, by introducing new algebro-geometric methods. The exalted award for mathematics comparable to the Nobel prize is awarded only to mathematicians under the age of 40.

Present at the welcome ceremony were Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Vinh Hien; Deputy President of the Vietnam Science and Technology Academy, Duong Ngoc Hai; and Deputy Director of the Hanoi National University, Prof. Vu Minh Giang, together with students, friends and reporters.

Deputy Minister Hien stated that the Fields Medal Prof. Chau received at the 26th International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in India on Aug. 19 is a great honour not only to Chau and his family, but also the pride of the nation. Chau’s award made Vietnam the second nation in Asia after Japan to have a citizen awarded the medal.

Prof. Giang informed Chau that the Hanoi National University will award him an honorary doctorate and invite him to join the school’s Special Advisory Council.

On the occasion, Vietnam Airlines presented Prof. Chau a Platinum Card in the Golden Lotus Programme.

A State-level welcome ceremony for Prof. Chau will be held at 8pm on August 29 at the My Dinh National Conventional Centre and will be attended by over 3,000 scientists, lecturers and students. It will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television (VTV)’s VTV1 channel.