Early Life and Education: Maryam Mirzakhani was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. From a young age, she showed a remarkable talent for mathematics. She attended Farzanegan School, part of the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET) in Tehran. Despite the limited resources and opportunities for young girls in Iran, Mirzakhani’s passion for mathematics was nurtured by supportive teachers and family.
Academic Journey and Career: Mirzakhani’s academic journey began to gain international attention when she won gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 1994 and 1995, achieving a perfect score in the latter year. She pursued her undergraduate studies in mathematics at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, where she continued to excel.
Following her doctorate, Mirzakhani held a research fellowship at the Clay Mathematics Institute and a position at Princeton University before joining Stanford University as a professor in 2008.
Contributions and Achievements: Mirzakhani made significant contributions to the fields of hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and Teichmüller theory. Her work was characterized by its creativity and the profound connections it revealed between different areas of mathematics.
Real Name: Maryam Mirzakhani
Date of Birth: May 12, 1977
Birth Place: Tehran, Iran
Residence: Prior to her passing, she resided in Palo Alto, California, USA.
Profession: Mathematician and Professor of Mathematics
Nationality: Iranian
Religion: Raised in a Muslim family, although she was not publicly religious.
Partner: Jan Vondrák, a Czech theoretical computer scientist and professor at Stanford University.
Father: Ahmad Mirzakhani, an engineer.
Mother: Zahra Mirzakhani, a homemaker.
Horoscope: Taurus
Age: Passed away at the age of 40 on July 14, 2017.