HKU Mathematician to Deliver Plenary Lecture at the World’s Premier Mathematics Congress

Professor Ngaiming MOK, Edmund and Peggy Tse Professor in Mathematics and Chair Professor of the Department of Mathematics, has been invited to deliver a one-hour Plenary Lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) 2026, to be held in Philadelphia, USA, July 23 to 30, 2026.

Plenary speakers at the ICMs are internationally recognised mathematicians of the highest reputation, selected to present current directions of research to a broad mathematical audience. This is the second time Professor Mok has been invited to speak at ICM, the first being in 1994. This invitation marks one of the highest recognitions in the discipline and highlights Professor Mok’s enduring influence on modern mathematics, demonstrating continued leadership and contributions over decades.

An internationally renowned scholar in complex geometry, Professor Mok has made breakthrough contributions across complex analysis, differential geometry and algebraic geometry with striking applications to number theory. His pioneering work has solved longstanding mathematical problems, often by bridging multiple fields of mathematics with deep insight and originality.

Reflecting on his research philosophy, Professor Mok says: ‘Resolving deep open problems in mathematics is a most intellectually satisfying experience.  I am greatly honoured to have this wonderful opportunity to explain to the world the crux of my cross-disciplinary research philosophy in mathematics, crystallised in findings of enduring influence.’

Professor Mok is a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. He has received numerous accolades, including the Future Science Prize in Mathematics and Computer Science (2022), the Chern Prize (2022) of the ICCM, and the Bergman Prize (2009). He has also served on prestigious committees, such as the Fields Medal Committee for ICM 2010 and the Selection Committee for the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences.

The ICM is one of the world’s most prominent meetings in mathematics, which brings together leading mathematicians in all research areas of mathematics. Held once every four years, the congress serves as a global stage for presenting the most significant developments and emerging directions in contemporary mathematical research. With speakers selected from experts worldwide, outstanding mathematicians from diverse parts of the world present the best works in all fields of mathematics. The ICM offers a panoramic view of where contemporary mathematical research stands and where it is heading. The ICM 2026 Organizing Committee has officially announced the full list of speakers on July 7, 2025.

Click here to read the full biography of Professor Ngaiming Mok.

Visit the official website of ICM 2026.