# Shenzhen-based AI mathematician Yurii Nesterov wins top prize in applied maths > Source: > Published: 2026-08-04 09:00:07+00:00 # Shenzhen-based AI mathematician Yurii Nesterov wins top prize in applied maths ‘Crazy to stop right now’: researcher rejects retirement to build on his 40-year legacy during the golden age of artificial intelligence When Russian-born Belgian mathematician Yurii Nesterov reached retirement age in 2023, he found himself at the centre of a technological storm. [artificial intelligence](https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article)(AI). [algorithm design](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3355232/chinese-scientists-create-kill-them-all-algorithm-drone-warfare?module=inline&pgtype=article)” – wanted to continue his groundbreaking work, saying: “It is crazy to stop right now.” In June, Nesterov, now 70, embarked on a new full-time career in southern China’s tech hubs, joining the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen) and the Shenzhen Loop Area Institute (SLAI) as a professor at the Centre for AI Theoretical Foundation and Systems. Almost immediately, the scholar won the highest honour in the global applied mathematics community – the Carl Friedrich Gauss Prize – which he received at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) ceremony in Philadelphia on July 23. “The main feature of China today is the fast and progressive development,” Nesterov said.