Hong Wang became the third female Fields Prize winner in the world.

One of the main news of the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2026 was the presentation of the Fields Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of mathematics. One of its owners was Hong Wang, who went down in history as the third woman in the 90-year history of the award to be awarded this award. This event once again drew attention to the role of women in science and reminded of the outstanding researchers whose discoveries changed humanity's understanding of the world. From radioactivity and DNA structure to the first computer algorithms and the study of primate behavior, Izvestia gathered eight women whose work has become an important part of the history of world science.

Hong Wang is the third woman in history to receive the Fields Prize.

In 2026, mathematician Hong Wang became one of the four laureates of the Fields Prize, an award that is often called the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in mathematics. She became only the third woman in the history of the award, founded in 1936, to be awarded this award.

Hong Wang has been recognized for her research in the field of harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory. Her work on the three—dimensional Kakei hypothesis, a problem that scientists have been working on for more than a hundred years, attracted special attention from the mathematical community. Solving this problem has become one of the most notable achievements of modern mathematics and has strengthened the researcher's reputation as one of the leading specialists of her generation.

Receiving the Fields Prize was not only a personal achievement for Hong Wang, but also an important event for world science. Before her, only Maryam Mirzakhani (2014) and Marina Vyazovskaya (2022) had received this award, so each new female laureate becomes a landmark event for the mathematical community.

Marie Curie is the first female Nobel Prize winner.

Marie Curie's name has become a symbol of scientific discoveries of the early 20th century. The Polish-French physicist and chemist devoted her life to the study of radioactivity and became the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize, as well as the first person in history to be awarded this award twice — in different scientific disciplines.

Together with her husband Pierre Curie, she discovered the chemical elements polonium and radium, and also made a huge contribution to the research of radioactivity. Her work laid the foundation for the further development of nuclear physics and radiochemistry, and later found application in medicine, including in the diagnosis and treatment of a number of diseases.

Even decades after her death, Marie Curie remains one of the most famous women in the history of science. Her achievements have become an example of how scientific discoveries can change not only a particular branch of knowledge, but also the lives of millions of people.

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Rosalind Franklin, the scientist who brought the discovery of the structure of DNA closer

Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist and specialist in X—ray crystallography, played a key role in one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century - determining the structure of the DNA molecule. Although her contribution was underestimated for a long time during her lifetime, today the researcher's name is considered one of the most significant in the history of molecular biology.

During her research, Franklin received the famous image known as "Photograph 51", which allowed her to better understand the structure of DNA. It was these data that helped create the double helix model, a discovery that changed scientists' understanding of heredity and became the basis of modern genetics.

Today, Franklin's contribution is officially recognized by the scientific community, and her research is considered one of the fundamental achievements of twentieth-century biology.

Ada Lovelace is the author of the first algorithm for a computer

Long before the advent of modern computers, English mathematician Ada Lovelace suggested that computers could perform much more complex tasks than ordinary mathematical calculations. That is why she is often called the first programmer in history.

Working with Charles Babbage's analytical engine project, Lovelace compiled an algorithm that is considered the world's first program designed to be executed by a machine. In addition, she was one of the first to express the idea that such devices could work not only with numbers, but also with other types of information.

Although Lovelace's ideas were significantly ahead of their time during her lifetime, today she is considered one of the founders of programming and computing.

Hedy Lamarr is an actress whose ideas formed the basis of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr went down in history not only as one of Hollywood's brightest stars, but also as a talented inventor. During World War II, together with composer George Antheil, she developed a "frequency hopping" communication system that was supposed to protect radio-controlled torpedoes from interception and interference.

Although the military did not implement the development immediately, decades later it was this principle that became one of the technological foundations of modern wireless communication systems. Today, technology based on Lamarr's idea is used in Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. At the same time, the researcher received recognition for her invention only in the last years of her life.

For a long time, Lamarr was perceived by the public primarily as a movie star, but today she is considered one of the most famous female inventors of the 20th century. In 2014, Hedy Lamarr was posthumously inducted into the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame for her contributions to the development of frequency hopping technology.

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Jane Goodall is the woman who changed the way we think about chimpanzees.

British primatologist Jane Goodall has become internationally renowned for her long-term research on wild chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Starting observations in 1960, she actually changed the approach of scientists to the study of primate behavior. Her work is considered one of the longest field programs in the history of science.

During her research, Goodall discovered that chimpanzees are capable of making and using the simplest tools. Before that, it was believed that such a skill was unique to humans. This discovery forced the scientific community to rethink ideas about the boundary between humans and other primates and became one of the most important events in modern primatology.

In addition to her scientific work, Jane Goodall was actively involved in environmental protection and the popularization of science. Her research has formed the basis for numerous books, documentaries, and educational programs dedicated to animal welfare and biodiversity conservation.

Rachel Carson is a biologist who has changed attitudes towards the environment

Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist and writer, is considered one of the founders of the modern environmental movement. Her book Silent Spring, published in 1962, brought her worldwide fame.

In her work, Carson talked about the possible consequences of the uncontrolled use of chemical pesticides for nature and human health. The book caused a wide public outcry and became the reason for large-scale discussions about environmental protection and the need for stricter control over the use of such substances.

Today, Rachel Carson is called one of the most influential women in the history of ecology. Her research and publications have played an important role in shaping modern attitudes towards nature protection and ecosystem conservation.

Katherine Johnson is a mathematician whose calculations helped to conquer space

American mathematician Katherine Johnson made a significant contribution to the development of the US space program. Working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), she performed complex mathematical calculations of flight paths, the accuracy of which depended on the success of space missions.

One of the most famous pages of her career was the calculations for the first orbital flight of American astronaut John Glenn. Before the launch, he asked Johnson to personally check the calculations performed by computers, since he fully trusted her work.

Later, Katherine Johnson participated in other major NASA projects, and her contribution to the development of astronautics was widely recognized decades later. Today, her name is associated not only with outstanding mathematical abilities, but also with the history of the development of world space science.

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Women who changed the way we think about the world

There are many women in the history of science whose discoveries influenced the development of mathematics, physics, biology, ecology and other disciplines. However, the path to recognition for many of them was not easy: their achievements often remained in the shadows or received well-deserved appreciation only years later.

The news that Hong Wang has become only the third female Fields Prize winner in the almost 90—year history of this award is a reminder that women's contributions to science continue to grow, and their discoveries are becoming an important part of modern scientific knowledge. The work of Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Jane Goodall, Hedy Lamarr, Rachel Carson, Katherine Johnson and many other researchers not only changed individual scientific fields, but also influenced the development of technology, medicine, astronautics and understanding of the world around them.