Maryam Mirzakhani: Pushing Boundaries in Mathematics

Profile by Aryana Mehran '26

Maryam Mirzakhani was born on May 12, 1977 in Tehran, Iran. Growing up, she had

dreamed of becoming a writer. However, this passion was soon replaced by a love of mathematics. She went from writing stories in her free time to experimenting with numbers. 

From a very young age, her talent in math was apparent. Mirzakhani qualified for the

International Mathematical Olympiad during her junior year of high school. She won gold

medals in the 1994 and 1995 Olympiads and even got a perfect score in 1995. Five years after getting an undergraduate degree from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, she earned her PhD from Harvard University. 

During her career, she focused on studying the geometry of curved surfaces known as “Riemann surfaces.” Mirzakhani developed the method of counting the number of closed curves on these types of surfaces, as well as calculating the volume of these curved spaces. This was a very notable achievement as Riemann surfaces had puzzled mathematicians for a long period of time. 

Due to her contributions in geometry, particularly that of curved surfaces, Mirzakhani became the first Iranian and first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal in 2014. Her influence and dedication was recognized by many. She inspired young girls in STEM and left a permanent impact on the mathematical world. 

Unfortunately, in 2017, Mirzakhani lost her battle to breast cancer at just 40 years old. Her legacy lives on to this day through her contributions to mathematics and science. Many math related awards have been named after her since, and her birthday is now celebrated through the May 12 Initiative, which holds events to celebrate women in math. 

All Photos Courtesy of Getty Images

Sources: courier.unesco.org

Edited by: Cooper Winkler '26, Kavya Chacko '26, Catherine Polatidis '26, & Ms. Brillant

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