About Maryam Mirzakhani
Maryam Mirzakhani (Persian: مریم میرزاخانی, pronounced [mæɾˈjæm miːɾzɑːxɑːˈniː]; 12 May 1977 – 14 July 2017) was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her research focused on hyperbolic geometry, dynamical systems, complex analysis, and topology. In 2014, she was awarded the Fields Medal for her work in "the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces", becoming the first woman and the first Iranian citizen to win the prize. Along with the Fields Medal, her work earned numerous honors, including the Blumenthal Award, the Satter Prize, and the Clay Research Award. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Mirzakhani studied mathematics at Sharif University of Technology, graduating in 1999 before earning her doctorate from Harvard University in 2004 under the supervision of Curtis T. McMullen. She subsequently held positions at Princeton University and Stanford University, becoming a full professor at Stanford in 2009. Through her research in the 2000s and 2010s, Mirzakhani made major contributions to the understanding of hyperbolic surfaces, Teichmüller dynamics, and the geometry of moduli spaces. In colloboration with Alex Eskin and later Amir Mohammadi, she achieved breakthrough results on the dynamics of moduli spaces that became known as the "magic wand theorem". Mirzakhani died from breast cancer on 14 July 2017 at the age of 40. Following her death, several initiatives and awards were established in her memory, including the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize and the 12 May Initiative, both of which aim to promote the participation of women in mathematics. On 13 August 2014, Mirzakhani was honored with the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics, becoming the first woman to win the prize, as well as the first Iranian. In her junior and senior years of high school, she won the gold medal for mathematics in the Iranian National Olympiad, thus allowing her to bypass the national college entrance exam. After completing her PhD at Harvard University in 2004, Mirzakhani became a research fellow at the Clay Mathematics Institute and later joined Princeton University as a professor. The award committee cited her work in "the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces". Mirzakhani was considered a leading force in the fields of hyperbolic geometry, topology and dynamics.
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