TEHRAN - May 12 is registered on the Iranian calendar in the name of Maryam Mirzakhani, a prominent mathematician who, by receiving the Fields Medal, immortalized her name in the history of the world of science.

Maryam was born in Tehran on May 12, 1977. She won a place at Farzanegan secondary school, for exceptionally talented students, where she found inspiring teachers and friends.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Sharif University in Tehran, and in 1999, she moved to Harvard, where she earned her Ph.D. and became a leading scholar in the dynamics and geometry of complex surfaces. In 2014, she became the first female winner of the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics.

As a girl growing up in Tehran, Iran, Maryam dreamed of becoming a writer. It wasn’t until her high school years that she discovered her talent for mathematics—the subject that captured her creativity and intellect for the rest of her life.

In 1994, Mirzakhani became the first female Iranian student to win the gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad, scoring 41 out of 42 points, and in 2015, she returned to win with a perfect score.

“The more I spent time on mathematics, the more excited I became,” Mirzakhani said of her research. She recalls loving “the excitement of discovery and enjoyment of understanding something new, the feeling of being on top of a hill, and having a clear view.”

Although Mirzakhani passed away in 2017, her invaluable contributions to the field of mathematics endure, and her trailblazing career has paved the way forward for many women mathematicians to come.