Mirzakhani was lauded for her outstanding contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.
Mirzakhani was lauded for her outstanding contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.
Photo: The Seoul Icm 2014, AFP/Getty ImagesHer daughter, Anahita, would often describe her mother’s work as “painting” when Ms. Mirzakhani would doodle and scribble formulas on large sheets of paper, according to the university.
Her daughter, Anahita, would often describe her mother’s work as “painting” when Ms. Mirzakhani would doodle and scribble formulas on large sheets of paper, according to the university.
Photo: The Seoul Icm 2014, AFP/Getty ImagesThe mathematician is survived by her husband Jan Vondrák, a Czech theoretical computer scientist and professor at Stanford, along with a daughter, Anahita.
The mathematician is survived by her husband Jan Vondrák, a Czech theoretical computer scientist and professor at Stanford, along with a daughter, Anahita.
Photo: The Seoul Icm 2014, AFP/Getty ImagesMaryam Mirzakhani, a renowned Stanford University mathematics professor and the only woman to ever win the award that’s described as the “Nobel Prize in Math,” died early Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer.
“Maryam is gone far too soon, but her impact will live on for the thousands of women she inspired to pursue math and science,” said Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the “unprecedented brilliance of this creative scientist and modest human being, who made Iran’s name resonate in the world’s scientific forums, was a turning point in showing the great will of Iranian women and young people on the path toward reaching the peaks of glory and in various international arenas,” according to Iranian state media.
Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, expressed his condolences of Mirzakhani’s death on Instagram.
Ms. Mirzakhani, 40, joined the Stanford University faculty in 2008 and was awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics, in 2014 for her work in theoretical math.
Her daughter, Anahita, would often describe her mother’s work as “painting” when Ms. Mirzakhani would doodle and scribble formulas on large sheets of paper, according to the university.
“Maryam was a brilliant mathematical theorist, and also a humble person who accepted honors only with the hope that it might encourage others to follow her path,” Tessier-Lavigne said.
Though she once dreamed of becoming a writer, math eventually became her life’s work. Ms. Mirzakhani specialized in such high-level mathematics as moduli spaces, Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, Ergodic theory and symplectic geometry. Her work has implications in physics, quantum mechanics and other disciplines outside of math, the university said.
“You’re torturing yourself along the way, but life isn’t supposed to be easy,” she would say.
Ms. Mirzakhani was born and raised in Tehran, where she attended an-all girls high school and competed on Iran’s International Mathematical Olympiad team.
Before her, no girl had never competed for Iran, according to Stanford University.
In 1994, she received a gold medal and in 1995, she earned two gold medals for her performance in the international competition.
After high school, Ms. Mirzakhani attended Sharif University of Technology, a top-ranked school in Tehran for engineering and physical science.
She received her doctorate at Harvard University in 2004 where she was “distinguished by her determination and relentless questioning, despite the language barrier,” according to Stanford University.
Her colleagues described her as a mathematician with “fearless ambition.”
“Her contributions as both a scholar and a role model are significant and enduring, and she will be dearly missed here at Stanford and around the world,” Tessier-Lavigne said.
Iranians took to social media Saturday morning to share condolences of her death.
Firouz Naderi, the former director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote on Facebook, “A light was turned off today .... far too soon. Breaks my heart.”
Nazanin Boniadi, an Iranian British actress, said, “The world has lost a brilliant human being and a role model for us all.”
Ms. Mirzakhani is survived by her daughter and husband, Jan Vondrák.
Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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