Thirteenth Lecture of the "Face-to-Face with Masters" Series  

Lecture Title: Exploring a Wonderful New World of Mathematics  

Speaker: Prof. Efim Zelmanov

Time: 3:00 PM, June 25, 2025 (Wednesday)  

Venue: Multi-function Hall, 2nd Floor, Alumni Plaza, Yuehai Campus  

Abstract: Mathematics has never influenced our daily lives as directly and decisively as it does today. Artificial intelligence has reshaped the world. This lecture will explore the nature of mathematics and its applications in communication technology, artificial intelligence, medical imaging, and other fields.  

Biography: Efim Zelmanov, Distinguished Chair Professor at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Director of Shenzhen International Center for Mathematics (Zelmanov Mathematics Center), earned his Ph.D. from Novosibirsk State University, Russia. Formerly a professor at top global institutions including the University of Chicago and Yale University, he received the Fields Medal (1994), the highest honor in mathematics. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2001) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Foreign Member, 2021). Prof. Zelmanov revolutionized the structure theory of Jordan algebras by extending finite-dimensional theory to infinite dimensions, resolving profound problems posed by Jordan, von Neumann, and Wiener in 1938, and settling the Burnside conjecture. His work fundamentally transformed the theory of Jordan algebras, establishing him as one of the greatest algebraists of the 20th century.