Maryam Mirzakhani, from the surface to the medal
Known to the general public for having been the first female recipient of the Fields Medal, Maryam Mirzakhani is often described by those who crossed her path as tenacious, shy and exceptional in more ways than one. From her brilliant studies in Tehran to her distinguished career at Stanford, passing through her various successes at the International Mathematical Olympiads, her meteoric trajectory is recounted by filmmaker George Cziczeri in his documentary The Secrets of the Surface. We have attempted, in this feature, to give an overview of her work on the geometry of surfaces and the importance of her results.
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Maryam Mirzakhani, from Tehran to Stanford | Tangente
A brilliant, passionate young woman, Maryam Mirzakhani turned her curiosity into an exceptional scientific career. Her optimistic outlook and perseverance changed the place of women in a field long dominated by men. Her life, brief but luminous, continues to inspire.
Mirzakhani: thinking in pictures | Tangente
Even before her research career began, Maryam Mirzakhani started filling small notebooks with drawings of imaginary surfaces resembling fantastical worlds. Some of these sketches, which she found "simply beautiful," inspired several of her works in topology.
Maryam Mirzakhani prizes | Tangente
The first woman and the first Iranian to receive the Fields Medal, Maryam Mirzakhani broke a historic barrier. Her visual approach turned mathematical problems into veritable landscapes. Today, numerous prizes bear her name to encourage young women pursuing research.
Mirzakhani: a revolutionary medal | Tangente
On August 13, 2014, Hassan Rouhani, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2013 to 2021, congratulated Maryam Mirzakhani on Twitter on winning the Fields Medal, along with two photographs: one showing her wearing a hijab, the other showing her bareheaded.
Mirzakhani's geodesics
Maryam Mirzakhani first became known for the work she carried out for her thesis, in which she counts closed geodesics on hyperbolic surfaces. To explain her results, we will take a short tour through the world of hyperbolic geometry.
The magic wand theorem | Tangente
Maryam Mirzakhani is also known for having obtained, with Alex Eskin and Amir Mohammadi, the magic wand theorem, so named because it made it possible to solve at a stroke many previously inaccessible problems. To explain it, let's first delve into translation surfaces. The illumination problem is one of its many applications.
Mirzakhani's mathematical vision | Tangente
In 2020, George Csicsery directed a documentary about Maryam Mirzakhani titled Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani. Through numerous firsthand accounts, it reveals the life, personality and work of the Iranian mathematician.