Iranian is first woman to win 'Nobel Prize of maths'

[Buster's Uncle]

Iranian is first woman to win 'Nobel Prize of maths'
AFP
7 hours ago



South Korean President Park Geun-Hye (L) gives the prize to Maryam Mirzakhani, at the awards ceremony for the Fields Medals, during the International Congress of Mathematicians, in Seoul, on August 13, 2014



An Iranian-born mathematician has become the first woman to win a prestigious Fields Medal, widely viewed as the Nobel Prize of mathematics.

Maryam Mirzakhani, a Harvard-educated mathematician and professor at Stanford University in California, was one of four winners announced by the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) at its conference in Seoul on Wednesday.

"This is a great honour. I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians," Mirzakhani said in a press release from Stanford University where she is a professor.

"I am sure there will be many more women winning this kind of award in coming years," she added.

The award recognised Mirzakhani's sophisticated and highly original contributions to the fields of geometry and dynamical systems, particularly in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces such as spheres.

Although her work is considered "pure mathematics" and is mostly theoretical, it has implications for physics and quantum field theory, as well as for the study of prime numbers and cryptography.

"Fluent in a remarkably diverse range of mathematical techniques and disparate mathematical cultures, she embodies a rare combination of superb technical ability, bold ambition, far-reaching vision, and deep curiosity," the ICM said in a statement.

Mirzakhani was born in Tehran in 1977 and earned her PhD in 2004 from Harvard University.



South Korean President Park Geun-Hye (in green) poses with the winners of the Fields Medals during the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, on August 13, 2014 (AFP Photo/-)


She has previously won the 2009 Blumenthal Award for the Advancement of Research in Pure Mathematics and the 2013 Satter Prize of the American Mathematical Society.

The Fields Medal is given out every four years, often to multiple winners who should not be aged over 40.

The other three winners this year were Artur Avila of France, Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University in New Jersey, and Martin Hairer of the University of Warwick in Britain.

With no Nobel prize awarded for mathematics, the Fields Medal is seen as the top global award for the discipline.

The medals were presented by South Korea's first woman president, Park Geun-Hye.

"I congratulate all the winners, with special applause for Maryam Mirzakhani, whose drive and passion have made her the first woman to win a Fields Medal," Park said.

Before Wednesday's ceremony all 52 previous recipients had been men.

Born and raised in Tehran, Mirzakhani initially dreamed of becoming a writer, but by the time she started high school her affinity for solving mathematical problems and working on proofs had shifted her sights.

"It is fun -– it's like solving a puzzle or connecting the dots in a detective case," she said. "I felt that this was something I could do, and I wanted to pursue this path."

Although it usually involves abstract concepts of nature that might not have an immediately obvious application, Mirzakhani said she enjoyed pure mathematics because of the elegance and longevity of the questions she studies.

"It is like being lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that you can gather to come up with some new tricks, and with some luck you might find a way out," she said.

Mirzakhani became known on the international mathematics scene as a teenager, winning gold medals at both the 1994 and 1995 International Math Olympiads -– finishing with a perfect score in the latter competition.

In 2008 she became a professor of mathematics at Stanford, where she lives with her husband and three-year-old daughter.

"On behalf of the entire Stanford community, I congratulate Maryam on this incredible recognition, the highest honour in her discipline, the first ever granted to a woman," said university president John Hennessy.


http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-first-woman-win-nobel-prize-maths-085922298.html

[Geo]

I take it she doesn't live in Iran then.
Edit: Nope, she doesn't. She lives in the Driest State on the West Coast.

[Buster's Uncle]

-And she's shorter than a Korean lady...

[Geo]

What'ya expect? Malnutrition might have set in after the American embargo was enabled after the local revolution.

[Buster's Uncle]

Presidential praise for Iranian math prize winner (with and without head scarf)
Mathematics has long had a pervasive gender imbalance, but Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani's win may show a shifting balance.
Christian Science Monitor
By Lydia Tomkiw  2 hours ago



Maryam Mirzakhani has become the first woman – and the first Iranian – to win the prestigious Fields Medal in mathematics. And South Korea’s first female president had the honor of handing out the prize.

Ms. Mirzakhani was awarded the prize for her “contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces,” which examine the symmetry of curved surfaces. Her work is primarily theoretical, but may have implications for physics and quantum field theory.

“This is a great honor. I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians,” Mirzakhani said in a statement released by Stanford University, where she is a professor. “I am sure there will be many more women winning this kind of award in coming years.”

Mirzakhani was born and raised in Tehran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted congratulations today to Mirzakhani using two photos – one showing her with a head scarf and one without.

Congrats to #MaryamMirzakhani on becoming the first ever woman to win the #FieldsMedal, making us Iranians very proud pic.twitter.com/oVL98NRdVF— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) August 13, 2014

Inside Iran, the news was widely reported on blogs and official and private news websites with pride. News reports by state affiliated agencies provided detailed biographies for Mirzakhani, referring to her as a “prominent mathematician.” The semi-official Mehr News Agency called the award the “Nobel Prize” for mathematics. Iran’s Press TV ran a segment on Mirzakhani labeling her a “Genius Iranian.”

The website for Iran’s state IRIB broadcaster and the official IRNA state news agency website both featured Mirzakhani’s photo prominently on their main page, and reported Mr. Rouhani’s congratulatory message in full.

"Today, all Iranians can be proud that the first woman to win the Fields award is their compatriot," Rouhani said. "All Iranians throughout the world are national assets for this country, and as the representative of the Iranian people, I pay my respects to your scientific endeavors. I hope your life is filled with happiness and success.”

When Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 – another first for Iran – for promoting the rights of women and children, the reception at home was very different. The government waited several days to comment on her win, and she was dogged with accusations from hardliners that she served the interests of the West.


CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN IN MATHEMATICS

The Fields Medals are awarded every four years to mathematicians 40 years old or younger, and recognize achievement in mathematics as well as the promise of future outstanding work. Mirzakhani is 37. The award is worth $13,700 (US). The upward age limit placed on the award has been criticized in the past for being unfair to women who raise families during what are considered to be prime research years.

Mirzakhani, who is married with a young daughter, commented on the of role women in mathematics in remarks to the American Mathematical Society last year.

In my opinion, the situation of women in math is far from ideal. The social barriers for girls who are interested in mathematical sciences might not be lower now than they were when I grew up. And balancing career and family remains a big challenge. It makes most women face difficult decisions which usually compromise their work. However, there has been a lot of progress over the years, and I am sure this trend will continue.

Mirzakhani earned her Bachelor's degree from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran before leaving her homeland to pursue her doctorate at Harvard University. She has been a professor at Stanford University in California since 2008.

As a child, Mirzakhani wasn’t initially drawn to mathematics and instead thought of becoming a writer. With help from a female principal who arranged for problem-solving classes in high school, Mirzakhani’s interest in math grew and she won gold medals in 1994 and 1995 at the International Math Olympiad, finishing with a perfect score in 1995. The Iranian team hadn’t had a female member before her -- an important first that has now led to an even bigger one.


http://news.yahoo.com/presidential-praise-iranian-math-prize-winner-without-head-192413214.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Iranian Stanford professor first woman to win top math prize
Reuters
19 hours ago



SEOUL (Reuters) - Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani on Wednesday became the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal, mathematics' equivalent to the Nobel Prize.

The professor at Stanford University in California was among four Fields Medal recipients at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Seoul, and the first female among the 56 winners since the prize was established in 1936.

"This is a great honor. I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians," Mirzakhani was quoted as saying on Stanford's website. 

"I am sure there will be many more women winning this kind of award in coming years," she said.

Mirzakhani, 37, was born in Tehran and lived there until she began her doctorate work at Harvard University. She said she had dreamed of becoming a writer when she was young, but she pursued her enthusiasm for solving mathematical problems.

"It is fun – it's like solving a puzzle or connecting the dots in a detective case. I felt that this was something I could do, and I wanted to pursue this path," she said.

Mirzakhani was recognized for her work in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces, according to the Stanford site.

The prizes are awarded every four years. Wednesday's prizes were presented by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the first woman to hold that post.

The other three Fields Medal winners on Wednesday were Artur Avila of the National Center for Scientific Research in France and Brazil's National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics; Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University and Martin Hairer of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Sohee Kim; Writing by Ju-min Park; Editing by Tony Munroe and Michael Perry)


http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-born-stanford-professor-first-woman-win-top-024128325.html