Two-time IMO gold medalist Wei Dongyi wins another prestigious Chinese science award

At the 2025 National Science and Technology Awards announced on July 8, Wei, 34, and fellow mathematician Zhang Zhifei, 49, have received the Second Prize in the State Natural Science Award "for their innovative research on flow transition mechanisms, offering new theoretical tools for understanding the transition from laminar flow to turbulence", according to Peking University (PKU).

Both researchers at PKU, the pair has co-authored a series of papers published in leading mathematics journals on the Navier-Stokes equations, Euler equations and nonlinear partial differential equations, which are fundamental to the study of fluid dynamics.

Wei, an associate professor in PKU's mathematics department, first drew nationwide attention in 2021 after a street interview showed him wearing worn-out clothes while carrying a large bottle of water and a plastic bag containing three steamed buns.

Wei earned consecutive gold medals with perfect scores at the International Mathematical Olympiad in both 2008 and 2009. While in high school, he solved 23.5 of 24 problems across eight national mathematics selection contests, often using unconventional methods.

Chinese mathematician Wei Dongyi. Photo courtesy of Peking University

After his Olympiad success, he declined a full scholarship offer from Harvard University and enrolled at PKU, where he later completed his doctorate and joined the faculty.

Wei returned to the spotlight in 2025 after making his social media debut on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. His first post, a four-second video in which he stood in front of a blackboard wearing a striped shirt and greeted his followers, received more than 13 million likes, while his account attracted over 23 million followers within five days, according to China News.

Despite his growing fame, Wei has said he prefers focusing on research and teaching rather than spending time online, choosing instead to listen to the radio.

He previously received the Damo Academy Young Fellow Award, which carried prize money of one million yuan (US$140,000), but did not attend the award ceremony and declined the cash prize.

Despite reportedly earning more than 600,000 yuan a year, Wei lives frugally and is said to spend less than 300 yuan a month in Beijing. Fans have given him the nickname "God Wei" for the contrast between his extraordinary mathematical ability and his modest lifestyle, according to the South China Morning Post.

Established in 1999, China's National Science and Technology Awards are among the country's highest state honors, recognizing breakthroughs in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering.

The awards comprise the State Natural Science Award, the State Technological Invention Award and the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award. This year, 258 projects and 11 scientists were honored.