From Mother Jones Magazine
On Wednesday, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman in 78 years to be awarded the prestigious Fields Medal, considered the highest honor in mathematics. She was selected for “stunning advances in the theory of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.”
The Fields Medal is awarded every four years by the International Mathematical Union to outstanding mathematicians under 40 who show promise of future achievement. With the announcement of Mirzakhani and this year’s other awardees—Arthur Avila, Manjul Bhargava, and Martin Hairer—there now have been 54 male and 1 female medalists.
Many hope Mirzakhani’s Fields medal is a sign of change to come. “I will be happy if it encourages young female scientists and mathematicians,” she said in a press release. Christiane Rousseau, vice president of the International Mathematics Union, told the Guardian this is “an extraordinary moment” and “a celebration for women,” comparable to Marie Curie’s barrier-breaking Nobel prizes in physics and chemistry in the early 20th century.
