Stanfords Maryam Mirzakhani wins Fields Medal Maryam Mirzakhani is the first woman to ever win the Fields Medal – known as the Nobel Prize of mathematics – in recognition of her contributions to the understanding of the symmetry of curved surfaces. BY BJORN CAREY Maryam Mirzakhani, a professor of mathematics at Stanford, has been awarded the 2014 Fields Medal, the most prestigious honor in mathematics. Mirzakhani is the first woman to win the prize, widely regarded as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, since it was established in 1936. Courtesy of Maryam Mirzakhani Maryam Mirzakhani portrait Maryam Mirzakhani was awarded the Fields Medal for her sophisticated and highly original contributions to the fields of geometry and dynamical systems. This is a great honor. I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians, Mirzakhani said. I am sure there will be many more women winning this kind of award in coming years. Officially known as the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, the Fields Medal will be presented by the International Mathematics Union on Aug. 13 at the International Congress of Mathematicians, held this year in Seoul, South Korea. Mirzakhani is the first Stanford recipient to win this honor since Paul Cohen in 1966. The award recognizes Mirzakhanis sophisticated and highly original contributions to the fields of geometry and dynamical systems, particularly in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces, such as spheres, the surfaces of doughnuts and of hyperbolic objects. Although her work is considered pure mathematics and is mostly theoretical, it has implications for physics and quantum field theory. “On behalf of the entire Stanford community, I congratulate Maryam on this incredible recognition, the highest honor in her discipline, the first ever granted to a woman,” said Stanford President John Hennessy. We are proud of her achievements, and of the work taking place in our math department and among our faculty. We hope it will serve as an inspiration to many aspiring mathematicians.news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/fields-medal-mirzakhani-081214.html
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:44:40 +0000