Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Efim Zelmanov (1994 Fields Medal) talks to University of Oxford Mathematician Dr Tom Crawford about why people hate maths, how he solved the Burnside problem, and what makes math beautiful. Full list of questions below.
Recorded at the 2023 Heidelberg Laureate Forum. Find out more about the event at heidelberg-laureate-forum.org
The Fields Medal is awarded every four years during the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). It recognizes outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement. Two to four medals are awarded to mathematicians who have to be of age less than forty years on January 1 of the Congress year. The Fields Medal, established in 1936 and named after the Canadian mathematician J. C. Fields, is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of mathematics and often described as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics".
Efim Zelmanov was awarded the Fields Medal in 1994 “for the solution of the restricted Burnside problem in group theory”. Efim is the Chair Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech).
Full list of questions covered in the interview:
Why do people hate mathematics?
Is maths a science or an art?
How did you feel when you solved the Burnside problem and were awarded the Fields medal?
Will the remainder of the Burnside problem be solved anytime soon?
What area of maths do you find the most beautiful?
Should maths be split into pure and applied subjects?
What is your mathematical genealogy?
Do you prefer Newton or Leibniz notation for derivatives?
Is zero a natural number?
Was maths discovered or invented?
Do you have a favourite number?
Do you prefer blackboards or whiteboards?
Links to Tom's other interviews with Laureates in Maths and Computer Science.
Whitfield Diffie: youtube.com/watch?v=UaanzpCkc8c
Lesley Lamport: youtube.com/watch?v=DPVvReKyhmw
Alessio Figalli: youtube.com/watch?v=Oob466Ia9f4
Martin Hairer: youtube.com/watch?v=Z6XP3n-Sjiw
Michael Atiyah: youtube.com/watch?v=alujy8SVIDM
Daniel Spielman: youtu.be/SVfabuPRkYg
Links to the other events/talks mentioned in the video:
Why do people hate mathematics? youtube.com/watch?v=_rHwxqsETFw
Laszlo Lovasz lecture at HLF 2023 youtube.com/watch?v=hg1OH0PofKw
Efim Zelmanov: is math a science or an art? youtube.com/watch?v=6q8LkyBaPTc
Where can mathematics and computer science interact fruitfully? youtube.com/watch?v=aeSYEaP0N_E
Find your own Math Genealogy here: mathgenealogy.org
Produced by Dr Tom Crawford at the University of Oxford. Tom is Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education: conted.ox.ac.uk
For more maths content check out Tom's website tomrocksmaths.com
You can also follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tomrocksmaths. facebook.com/tomrocksmaths
twitter.com/tomrocksmaths
instagram.com/tomrocksmaths
Get your Tom Rocks Maths merchandise here:
beautifulequation.com/collections/tom-rocks-maths
With thanks to
Efim Zlemanov
Heidelberg Laureate Forum
Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation
Math Genealogy
IMU
Efim Zelmanov (1994 Fields Medal) talks to University of Oxford Mathematician Dr Tom Crawford about why people hate maths, how he solved the Burnside problem, and what makes math beautiful. Full list of questions below.
Recorded at the 2023 Heidelberg Laureate Forum. Find out more about the event at heidelberg-laureate-forum.org
The Fields Medal is awarded every four years during the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). It recognizes outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement. Two to four medals are awarded to mathematicians who have to be of age less than forty years on January 1 of the Congress year. The Fields Medal, established in 1936 and named after the Canadian mathematician J. C. Fields, is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of mathematics and often described as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics".
Efim Zelmanov was awarded the Fields Medal in 1994 “for the solution of the restricted Burnside problem in group theory”. Efim is the Chair Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech).
Full list of questions covered in the interview:
Why do people hate mathematics?
Is maths a science or an art?
How did you feel when you solved the Burnside problem and were awarded the Fields medal?
Will the remainder of the Burnside problem be solved anytime soon?
What area of maths do you find the most beautiful?
Should maths be split into pure and applied subjects?
What is your mathematical genealogy?
Do you prefer Newton or Leibniz notation for derivatives?
Is zero a natural number?
Was maths discovered or invented?
Do you have a favourite number?
Do you prefer blackboards or whiteboards?
Links to Tom's other interviews with Laureates in Maths and Computer Science.
Whitfield Diffie: youtube.com/watch?v=UaanzpCkc8c
Lesley Lamport: youtube.com/watch?v=DPVvReKyhmw
Alessio Figalli: youtube.com/watch?v=Oob466Ia9f4
Martin Hairer: youtube.com/watch?v=Z6XP3n-Sjiw
Michael Atiyah: youtube.com/watch?v=alujy8SVIDM
Daniel Spielman: youtu.be/SVfabuPRkYg
Links to the other events/talks mentioned in the video:
Why do people hate mathematics? youtube.com/watch?v=_rHwxqsETFw
Laszlo Lovasz lecture at HLF 2023 youtube.com/watch?v=hg1OH0PofKw
Efim Zelmanov: is math a science or an art? youtube.com/watch?v=6q8LkyBaPTc
Where can mathematics and computer science interact fruitfully? youtube.com/watch?v=aeSYEaP0N_E
Find your own Math Genealogy here: mathgenealogy.org
Produced by Dr Tom Crawford at the University of Oxford. Tom is Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education: conted.ox.ac.uk
For more maths content check out Tom's website tomrocksmaths.com
You can also follow Tom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tomrocksmaths. facebook.com/tomrocksmaths
twitter.com/tomrocksmaths
instagram.com/tomrocksmaths
Get your Tom Rocks Maths merchandise here:
beautifulequation.com/collections/tom-rocks-maths
With thanks to
Efim Zlemanov
Heidelberg Laureate Forum
Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation
Math Genealogy
IMU
