View source for Maryam Mirzakhani

{{short description|Iranian mathematician (1977–2017)}}

{{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}

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{{infobox scientist
 | academic_advisors = {{nowraplinks|[[Siavash Shahshahani]], [[Ebadollah S. Mahmoodian]]<ref name="ISNA">{{cite newspaper
| access-date        = 19 July 2017
| archive-date       = 20 July 2017
| archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20170720002330/isna.ir/news/96042715699/برگزاری-مراسم-خصوصی-خاکسپاری-پروفسور-میرزاخانی-در-امریکا
| date               = 19 July 2017
| id                 = 96042715699
| language           = fa
| title              = Private Funeral of Professor Mirzakhani to be held in the United States
| url                = http://isna.ir/news/96042715699/برگزاری-مراسم-خصوصی-خاکسپاری-پروفسور-میرزاخانی-در-امریکا
| url-status         = live
| work               = [[Iranian Students News Agency]]}}</ref>}}
 | birth_date        = {{birth date|df=y|1977|05|12}}<ref name=mactutor /> {{awrap|{{#time: xij xiF xiY | 1977-05-12}}}}<ref name="bio"/>
 | birth_place       = Tehran, [[Iran]]
 | caption           = Mirzakhani in 2014
 | children          = 1
 | death_date        = {{death date and age|df=y| 2017|07|14 | 1977|05|03 }}
 | death_place       = [[Stanford, California]], U.S.
 | doctoral_advisor  = [[Curtis T. McMullen]]<ref name=bbc>{{cite news
| access-date        = 13 August 2014
| archive-date       = 13 August 2014
| archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20140813023735/bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28739373
| first1             = Webb
| last1              = Jonathan
| newspaper          = BBC News
| title              = First female winner for Fields maths medal
| url                = https://bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28739373
| url-status         = live
| year               = 2014}}</ref>
 | education         = {{plainlist|
* [[Sharif University of Technology]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BSc]])
* [[Harvard University]] (PhD)
}}
 | field             = Mathematics
 | image             = 654d56ac6e 109485 maryam-mirzakhani-stanford-university-02.jpg
 | name              = Maryam Mirzakhani
 | prizes            = {{plainlist|
* [[Blumenthal Award]] (2009)
* [[Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics|Satter Prize]] (2013)
* [[Clay Research Award]] (2014)
* [[Fields Medal]] (2014)}}
 | resting_place     = [[Los Gatos Memorial Park]]<!--https://findagrave.com/memorial/181462448-->
 | spouse            = {{marriage|[[Jan Vondrák]]|2008}}
 | thesis_title      = Simple geodesics on hyperbolic surfaces and the volume of the moduli space of curves
 | thesis_url        = https://proquest.com/docview/305191605
 | thesis_year       = 2004
 | work_institutions = {{plainlist|
* [[Princeton University]]
* [[Stanford University]]}}
}}

'''Maryam Mirzakhani''' ({{langx|fa|مریم میرزاخانی}}, {{IPA|fa|mæɾˈjæm miːɾzɑːxɑːˈniː|pron}}; 12 May 1977&nbsp;– 14 July 2017) was an Iranian<ref name="mmcv2" /><ref name="bio">{{Cite web|url=http://mmirzakhani.com/biography/|script-title=fa:وبسایت رسمی مریم میرزاخانی|website=mmirzakhani.com|language=fa|access-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908124127/http://www.mmirzakhani.com/biography/|archive-date=8 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> mathematician and a professor of mathematics at [[Stanford University]].<ref name="Weil-Petersson">{{Cite journal | first1 = Maryam | last1 = Mirzakhani | year = 2007 | journal = [[Journal of the American Mathematical Society]] | title = Weil-Petersson volumes and intersection theory on the moduli space of curves | doi = 10.1090/S0894-0347-06-00526-1 | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | mr = 2257394 | pages = 1–23 | url = https://www.ams.org/journals/jams/2007-20-01/S0894-0347-06-00526-1/S0894-0347-06-00526-1.pdf | bibcode = 2007JAMS...20....1M | access-date = 2 September 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080300/http://www.ams.org/journals/jams/2007-20-01/S0894-0347-06-00526-1/S0894-0347-06-00526-1.pdf | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | url-status = live | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | journal = [[Inventiones Mathematicae]] | first1= Maryam|last1= Mirzakhani | title = Simple geodesics and Weil-Petersson volumes of moduli spaces of bordered Riemann surfaces | date= January 2007 |volume=167 |issue=1 |pages=179–222 | doi = 10.1007/s00222-006-0013-2 |issn=1432-1297 |bibcode=2006InMat.167..179M | s2cid= 44008647}}</ref> Her research topics included [[Teichmüller space|Teichmüller theory]], [[hyperbolic geometry]], [[ergodic theory]], and [[symplectic geometry]].<ref name="mmcv2">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124105510/http://www.claymath.org/fas/research_fellows/Mirzakhani/cv.pdf|title=Curriculum Vitae|first1=Maryam |last1=Mirzakhani|url=http://www.claymath.org/fas/research_fellows/Mirzakhani/cv.pdf|archive-date=24 November 2005|access-date=13 August 2014}}</ref> On 13 August 2014, Mirzakhani was honored with the [[Fields Medal]], the most prestigious award in mathematics,<ref name="Farsnews">{{cite news |date=14 August 2014 |title=President Rouhani Congratulates Iranian Woman for Winning Math Nobel Prize |publisher=[[Fars News Agency]] |url=http://english.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13930523000321 |url-status=dead |access-date=14 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814194229/http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930523000321 |archive-date=14 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="IMU2014">{{cite web |title=IMU Prizes 2014 |url=http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205734/http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/2014/ |archive-date=12 August 2014 |access-date=12 August 2014 |publisher=International Mathematical Union}}</ref> becoming the first woman to win the prize, as well as the first Iranian.<ref name="Dehghan">{{cite news |first=Saeed Kamali |last=Dehghan |date=16 July 2017 |title=Maryam Mirzakhani: Iranian newspapers break hijab taboo in tributes |language=en-GB |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/16/maryam-mirzakhani-iranian-newspapers-break-hijab-taboo-in-tributes#img-2 |url-status=live |access-date=18 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718033745/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/16/maryam-mirzakhani-iranian-newspapers-break-hijab-taboo-in-tributes#img-2 |archive-date=18 July 2017 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The award committee cited her work in "the dynamics and geometry of [[Riemann surface]]s and their [[moduli space]]s".<ref name="sample">{{cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |date=13 August 2014 |title=Fields Medal mathematics prize won by woman for first time in its history |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/13/fields-medal-mathematics-prize-woman-maryam-mirzakhani |url-status=live |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608173407/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/13/fields-medal-mathematics-prize-woman-maryam-mirzakhani |archive-date=8 June 2016}}</ref> Mirzakhani was considered a leading force in the fields of hyperbolic geometry, [[topology]] and dynamics.<ref name=":1" />

Throughout her career, she achieved milestones that cemented her reputation as one of the greatest mathematicians of her time, such as the "magic wand theorem", which tied together fields such as dynamical systems, geometry, and topology.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Rafi |first=Kasra |date=2017 |title=Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017) |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/549032a |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=549 |issue=7670 |pages=32 |doi=10.1038/549032a |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> After completing her PhD at Harvard University in 2004, Mirzakhani became a research fellow at the [[Clay Mathematics Institute]] and later joined Princeton University as a professor. In 2009, she moved to Stanford University, where she continued her pioneering research until her death. Her work focused on the intricate and complex dynamics of geometric structures, with particular emphasis on moduli spaces and Riemann surfaces. Her approaches and profound insights significantly advanced the field, earning her widespread acclaim and recognition, leading her to win the [[Fields Medal]], the highest honor in mathematics.<ref name="Farsnews"/>

Born and raised in [[Tehran]], Mirzakhani's passion for mathematics began at a young age. She earned her undergraduate degree from [[Sharif University of Technology]] and went on to pursue her PhD at [[Harvard University]] under the mentorship of Fields Medalist Curtis T. McMullen. Her academic journey led her to positions at [[Princeton University]] and [[Stanford University]], where she became a full professor in 2009. Despite her death at the age of 40 due to [[breast cancer]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/maryam-mirzakhanis-pioneering-mathematical-legacy |title=Maryam Mirzakhani's Pioneering Mathematical Legacy |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=18 July 2017 |date=17 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717235600/http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/maryam-mirzakhanis-pioneering-mathematical-legacy |archive-date=17 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> her legacy endures through numerous accolades in her honor, including the [[Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize]] and the 12 May Initiative, both dedicated to promoting women in mathematics.

== Early life and education ==
Mirzakhani was born on 12 May 1977<ref name="may12">{{Cite web|title=Why May12?|url=https://may12.womeninmaths.org/why|access-date=3 May 2021|website=Celebrating Women in Mathematics|language=en}}</ref><ref name="mactutor">{{Cite web|last1=O'Connor|first1=John|last2=Robertson|first2=Edmund|date=August 2017|title=Maryam Mirzakhani|url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Mirzakhani/|access-date=3 May 2021|website=MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive|language=en}}</ref> in [[Tehran]], Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bridson|first=Martin|date=19 July 2017|title=Maryam Mirzakhani obituary|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/19/maryam-mirzakhani-obituary|access-date=3 May 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> As a child, she attended [[Tehran Farzanegan School]], part of the [[National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents]] (NODET). In her junior and senior years of high school, she won the gold medal for mathematics in the Iranian National Olympiad, thus allowing her to bypass the national college entrance exam.<ref name="ریاضی به درست فکرکردن کمک می‌کند">{{cite news |title=ریاضی به درست فکرکردن کمک می‌کند |url=https://donya-e-eqtesad.com/بخش-ویژه-نامه-63/3266185-ریاضی-به-درست-فکرکردن-کمک-می-کند |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=Donya-e-Eghtesaad |date=21 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402162828/https://donya-e-eqtesad.com/بخش-ویژه-نامه-63/3266185-ریاضی-به-درست-فکرکردن-کمک-می-کند |archive-date=2 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, Mirzakhani became the first Iranian woman to win a gold medal at the [[International Mathematical Olympiad]] in [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], scoring 41 out of 42 points.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/The_57th_International_Mathematical_Olympiad_Successfully_Completed_in_Hong_Kong-154234.shtml|title=The 57th International Mathematical Olympiad Successfully Completed in Hong Kong|date=15 July 2016|work=PrNewsWire|access-date=15 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724175744/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/57th-international-mathematical-olympiad-successfully-091100366.html|archive-date=24 July 2016|url-status=live|language=en-US}}</ref> The following year, in [[Toronto]], she became the first Iranian to achieve the full score and to win two gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad.<ref name=olympiad>{{IMO results|id=926}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26044-iranian-woman-wins-maths-top-prize-the-fields-medal.html |title=Iranian woman wins maths' top prize |work=New Scientist |date=12 August 2014 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813071853/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26044-iranian-woman-wins-maths-top-prize-the-fields-medal.html |archive-date=13 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later in her life, she collaborated with friend, colleague, and Olympiad silver medalist, Roya Beheshti Zavareh ({{langx|fa|رؤیا بهشتی زواره}}), on their book ''Elementary Number Theory, Challenging Problems'', (in [[Persian language|Persian]]) which was published in 1999.<ref name="ریاضی به درست فکرکردن کمک می‌کند"/> Mirzakhani and Zavareh together were the first women to compete in the Iranian National Mathematical Olympiad and won gold and silver medals in 1995, respectively.

On 17 March 1998, after attending a conference consisting of gifted individuals and former Olympiad competitors, Mirzakhani and Zavareh, along with other attendees, boarded a bus in [[Ahvaz]] en route to Tehran. The bus fell off a cliff, killing seven of the passengers, all Sharif University students in what is remembered as a national tragedy in Iran. Mirzakhani and Zavareh were two of the few survivors.<ref>{{cite news |title=بازخوانی یک پرونده کهنه |url=http://sharifdaily.net/fa/node/128 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140814183347/http://sharifdaily.net/fa/node/128 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 August 2014 |access-date=3 December 2018 |work=Sharif University of Technology Newspaper}}</ref>

In 1999, she obtained a [[Bachelor of Science]] in mathematics from the [[Sharif University of Technology]]. During her time there, she developed a simpler proof of [[Schur's theorem#Linear algebra|a theorem of Schur]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Mirzakhani | first=M. | title=A Simple Proof of a Theorem of Schur |url=https://www.math.utah.edu/~yplee/teaching/2270f21/Mirzakhani_A_Simple_Proof_of_a_Theorem_of_Schur.pdf| journal=The American Mathematical Monthly| volume=105 | issue=3 | year=1998 | issn=0002-9890 | doi=10.1080/00029890.1998.12004879 | pages=260–262}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Karamzadeh |first1=Omid Ali Shahni |title=آهسته و پیوسته در راهی دشوار |url=https://taaghche.ir/book/766/سالنامه-شرق-۱۳۹۳ |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=Sharq News}}</ref> She then went to the United States for graduate work, earning a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in 2004 from [[Harvard University]], where she worked under the supervision of the Fields Medalist, [[Curtis T. McMullen]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=91093 |title=Maryam Mirzakhani |work=The Mathematics Genealogy Project |publisher=Genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu |access-date=21 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509192420/https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=91093 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At Harvard, she is said to have been "distinguished by determination and relentless questioning". She used to take her class notes in her native language [[Persian language|Persian]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Myers|first1=Andrew|last2=Carey|first2=Bjorn|date=15 July 2017|title=Maryam Mirzakhani, Stanford mathematician and Fields Medal winner, dies|url=http://news.stanford.edu/press-releases/2017/07/15/maryam-mirzakhanedal-winner-dies/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011234200/https://news.stanford.edu/press-releases/2017/07/15/maryam-mirzakhanedal-winner-dies/|archive-date=11 October 2017|access-date=21 October 2017|website=Stanford News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahmed Khan |first1=Sameen |title=Fields Medallist Maryam Mirzakhani |url=http://www.asiapacific-mathnews.com/07/preserved-docs/0701/0036_0039.pdf |access-date=2 April 2022 |volume=7 |issue=1 |publisher=Asia Pacific Mathematics Newsletters |date=December 2017 |page=37 |quote=She noted the responses of her professors in her native language, [[Persian language|Persian]].}}</ref>

== Career ==
Mirzakhani was a 2004 research fellow of the [[Clay Mathematics Institute]] and a professor at [[Princeton University]].<ref>{{Scopus|id=15127847300}}</ref> In 2009, she became a professor at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=team |first=I. B. R. |date=2024-05-25 |title=The Legacy of Maryam Mirzakhani: A Mathematician's Journey |url=https://iranbrands.review/people/maryam-mirzakhani/ |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Iran Brands Review |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=sample /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://people.com/human-interest/iranian-born-maryam-mirzakhani-first-woman-to-receive-the-prestigious-fields-medal-dies-at-the-age-of-40/ |title= Maryam Mirzakhani, first woman to receive the prestigious Fields Medal, dies at the age of 40 after breast cancer battle |work= People Magazine |author= Juris, Yvonne |date= 16 July 2017 |access-date= 16 July 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170716215322/http://people.com/human-interest/iranian-born-maryam-mirzakhani-first-woman-to-receive-the-prestigious-fields-medal-dies-at-the-age-of-40/ |archive-date= 16 July 2017 |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Research work ===
[[File:Remise de la médaille Fields à Maryam Mirzakhani.webm|left|thumb|Maryam Mirzakhani receiving the [[Fields Medal]], August 2014]]
Mirzakhani made several contributions to the theory of [[moduli space]]s of [[Riemann surface]]s. Mirzakhani's early work solved the problem of counting simple closed [[geodesics]] on [[hyperbolic geometry|hyperbolic]] Riemann surfaces by finding a relationship to volume calculations on moduli space. Geodesics are the natural generalization of the idea of a "[[Line (mathematics)|straight line]]" to "[[manifold|curved space]]s". Slightly more formally, a curve is a geodesic if no slight deformation can make it shorter. Closed geodesics are geodesics which are also closed curves—that is, they are curves that close up into loops. A closed geodesic is [[Curve#Definitions|simple]] if it does not cross itself.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Chas |first1=Moira |title=The Beautiful Mathematical Explorations of Maryam Mirzakhani |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-beautiful-mathematical-explorations-of-maryam-mirzakhani-20170724/ |access-date=21 June 2022 |magazine=[[Quanta Magazine]] |date=24 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

A previous result, known as the "[[prime number theorem]] for geodesics", established that the number of closed geodesics of length less than <math>L</math> grows exponentially with <math>L</math> – it is asymptotic to <math> e^L/L</math>. However, the analogous counting problem for simple closed geodesics remained open, despite being "the key object to unlocking the structure and geometry of the whole surface," according to University of Chicago topologist [[Benson Farb]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/maryam-mirzakhani-is-first-woman-fields-medalist-20140812/ |title=Maryam Mirzakhani Is First Woman Fields Medalist {{!}} Quanta Magazine |work=Quanta Magazine |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911024151/https://www.quantamagazine.org/maryam-mirzakhani-is-first-woman-fields-medalist-20140812 |archive-date=11 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mirzakhani's 2004 PhD thesis solved this problem, showing that the number of simple closed geodesics of length less than <math>L</math> is polynomial in <math>L</math>. Explicitly, it is asymptotic to <math> cL^{6g-6}</math>, where <math>g</math> is the [[Genus (mathematics)|genus]] (roughly, the number of "holes") and <math>c</math> is a constant depending on the hyperbolic structure. This result can be seen as a generalization of the [[theorem of the three geodesics]] for [[spherical surface]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mirzakhani|first1=Maryam |title=Growth of the number of simple closed geodesics on hyperbolic surfaces |journal=[[Annals of Mathematics]] |year=2008 |doi=10.4007/annals.2008.168.97 |volume=168 |issue=1 |pages=97–125 |mr=2415399 |zbl=1177.37036|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ams.org/notices/201304/rnoti-p490.pdf |title=Notices of the AMS |last=Kehoe |first=Elaine |date=April 2013 |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106173651/http://www.ams.org/notices/201304/rnoti-p490.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mirzakhani solved this counting problem by relating it to the problem of computing volumes in [[moduli space]]—a space whose points correspond to different complex structures on a surface genus <math>g</math>. In her thesis, Mirzakhani found a volume formula for the moduli space of bordered Riemann surfaces of genus <math>g</math> with <math>n</math> geodesic boundary components. From this formula followed the counting for simple closed geodesics mentioned above, as well as a number of other results. This led her to obtain a new proof for the formula discovered by [[Edward Witten]] and [[Maxim Kontsevich]] on the intersection numbers of tautological classes on moduli space.<ref name="Weil-Petersson" /><ref>{{cite journal|date=October 2014|title=2014 Fields Medals|url=https://www.ams.org/notices/201409/rnoti-p1074.pdf|journal=Notices of the AMS|volume=61|issue=9|pages=1079–1081|access-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605090356/http://www.ams.org/notices/201409/rnoti-p1074.pdf|archive-date=5 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Her subsequent work focused on Teichmüller dynamics of moduli space. In particular, she was able to prove the long-standing conjecture that [[William Thurston]]'s [[Earthquake map|earthquake]] flow on [[Teichmüller space]] is [[Ergodicity|ergodic]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mirzakhani|first1=M. |title=Ergodic Theory of the Earthquake Flow |journal=[[International Mathematics Research Notices]] |year=2008 |volume=2008 |doi=10.1093/imrn/rnm116 |mr=2416997|doi-access=free }}</ref> One can construct a simple earthquake map by cutting a surface along a finite number of disjoint simple closed geodesics, sliding the edges of each of these cut past each other by some amount, and closing the surface back up. One can imagine the surface being cut by [[Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults|strike-slip faults]]. An earthquake is a sort of limit of simple earthquakes, where one has an infinite number of geodesics, and instead of attaching a positive real number to each geodesic, one puts a [[Measure (mathematics)|measure]] on them.

In 2014, with [[Alex Eskin]] and with input from Amir Mohammadi, Mirzakhani proved that complex geodesics and their closures in moduli space are surprisingly regular, rather than irregular or [[fractal]].<ref>{{cite journal | first1=Alex | last1=Eskin | first2=Maryam | last2=Mirzakhani | first3=Amir | last3=Mohammadi | title=Isolation, equidistribution, and orbit closures for the SL(2,R) action on moduli space | journal=[[Annals of Mathematics]] | volume=182 | issue=2 | pages=673–721 | doi=10.4007/annals.2015.182.2.7 | year=2015| arxiv=1305.3015 | s2cid=8229920 }}</ref><ref name=IMU-pressrelease /> The closures of complex geodesics are algebraic objects defined in terms of polynomials and therefore, they have certain rigidity properties, which is analogous to a celebrated result that [[Marina Ratner]] arrived at during the 1990s.<ref name=IMU-pressrelease /> The [[International Mathematical Union]] said in its press release that "It is astounding to find that the rigidity in homogeneous spaces has an echo in the inhomogeneous world of moduli space."<ref name=IMU-pressrelease>{{cite press release|title=The Work of Maryam Mirzakhani|publisher=International Mathematics Union|url=http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Prizes/2014/news_release_mirzakhani.pdf|access-date=15 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192455/http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Prizes/2014/news_release_mirzakhani.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Awarding of Fields Medal ===
[[File:Four_Fields_medallists_plus_epsilon.jpg|thumb|Four Fields medallists left to right [[Artur Avila]], [[Martin Hairer]] (at back), Maryam Mirzakhani (with her daughter) and [[Manjul Bhargava]] at the ICM 2014 in Seoul]]
Mirzakhani was awarded the Fields Medal in 2014 for "her outstanding contributions to the [[Dynamics (mechanics)|dynamics]] and geometry of [[Riemann surface]]s and their moduli spaces".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/2014/prize-citations|publisher=International Mathematical Union|title=IMU Prizes 2014 citations|access-date=12 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812213606/http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/2014/prize-citations/|archive-date=12 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The award was made in [[Seoul]] at the International Congress of Mathematicians on 13 August.<ref name=date>{{cite web |url= http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/fields-medal-mirzakhani-081214.html |title= Stanford's Maryam Mirzakhani wins Fields Medal |first= Bjorn |last= Carey |date= 12 August 2014 |access-date= 13 August 2014 |work= [[Stanford University|Stanford News]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140813120134/http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/fields-medal-mirzakhani-081214.html |archive-date= 13 August 2014 |url-status= live }}</ref> At the time of the award, [[Jordan Ellenberg]] explained her research to a popular audience:

{{blockquote|[Her] work expertly blends dynamics with geometry. Among other things, she studies billiards. But now, in a move very characteristic of modern mathematics, it gets kind of meta: She considers not just one billiard table, but the universe of all ''possible'' billiard tables. And the kind of dynamics she studies doesn't directly concern the motion of the billiards on the table, but instead a transformation of the billiard table itself, which is changing its shape in a rule-governed way; if you like, the table itself moves like a strange planet around the universe of all possible tables&nbsp;... This isn't the kind of thing you do to win at pool, but it's the kind of thing you do to win a Fields Medal. And it's what you need to do in order to expose the dynamics at the heart of geometry; for there's no question that they're there.<ref name="Slate Fields article">{{cite news|last=Ellenberg|first=Jordan|author-link=Jordan Ellenberg|title=Math Is Getting Dynamic|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/do_the_math/2014/08/maryam_mirzakhani_fields_medal_first_woman_to_win_math_s_biggest_prize_works.html|newspaper=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=13 August 2014|access-date=14 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814111642/http://www.slate.com/articles/life/do_the_math/2014/08/maryam_mirzakhani_fields_medal_first_woman_to_win_math_s_biggest_prize_works.html|archive-date=14 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In 2014, President [[Hassan Rouhani]] of Iran congratulated her for winning the award.<ref>{{cite web|title=President hails Prof Mirzakhani, winner of topmost world math prize|url=http://president.ir/en/79887|website=Official Site of the President of The Islamic Republic of Iran|access-date=19 August 2014|date=13 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819091414/http://president.ir/en/79887|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
In 2008, Mirzakhani married [[Jan Vondrák]], a Czech [[theoretical computer scientist]] and [[applied mathematician]] who currently is a professor at [[Stanford University]].<ref>{{cite web|language=fa|title=بیوگرافی مریم میرزاخانی؛ ستاره پرفروغ دنیای ریاضیات [Biography Maryam Mirzakhani; the best-selling star of the world of mathematics]|url=http://www.zoomit.ir/2017/7/15/189155/maryam-mirzakhani-biography/|publisher=Zoomit|date=24 July 2011|access-date=19 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720020716/http://www.zoomit.ir/2017/7/15/189155/maryam-mirzakhani-biography/|archive-date=20 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://theory.stanford.edu/~jvondrak/data/cv.pdf|title=Jan Vondrák, CV|website=Stanford University|access-date=14 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814022437/http://theory.stanford.edu/~jvondrak/data/cv.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> They had a daughter.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Klarreich | first=Erica | title=2014 Fields Medal and Nevanlinna Prize - A Tenacious Explorer of Abstract Surfaces | magazine=Quanta Magazine | date=12 August 2014 | url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/maryam-mirzakhani-is-first-woman-fields-medalist-20140812/}}</ref> Mirzakhani lived in [[Palo Alto, California]].<ref name="voafields">{{cite news |last1=Putic |first1=George |title=Iranian-American Woman Wins Top Mathematics Prize |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-becomes-first-woman-to-win-maths-top-prize/2411610.html |access-date=18 July 2017 |work=[[Voice of America]] |date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729230743/https://www.voanews.com/a/iranian-becomes-first-woman-to-win-maths-top-prize/2411610.html |archive-date=29 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Mirzakhani described herself as a "slow" mathematician, saying that "you have to spend some energy and effort to see the beauty of math." To solve problems, Mirzakhani would draw doodles on sheets of paper and write mathematical formulas around the drawings. Her daughter described her mother's work as "painting".<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/29/maryam-mirzakhani-great-artist-mathematician-fields-medal-howard-jacobson |title=The world has lost a great artist in mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani |first=Howard |last=Jacobson |date=29 July 2017 |access-date=21 October 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915030115/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/29/maryam-mirzakhani-great-artist-mathematician-fields-medal-howard-jacobson |archive-date=15 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

She declared:
{{blockquote|I don't have any particular recipe [for developing new proofs]&nbsp;... It is like being lost in a jungle and trying to use all the knowledge that you can gather to come up with some new tricks, and with some luck, you might find a way out.<ref name=":0" />}}

== Death and legacy ==

Mirzakhani was diagnosed with [[breast cancer]] in 2013.<ref name=":0" /> In 2016, the cancer [[Metastatic breast cancer|spread]] to her bones and liver,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|agency=Agence France-Presse |title=Sorrow as Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win mathematics' Fields Medal, dies aged 40 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/15/sorrow-death-ofmaryam-mirzakhani-pioneering-iranian-mathematician/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=15 July 2017 |date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715175604/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/15/sorrow-death-ofmaryam-mirzakhani-pioneering-iranian-mathematician/ |archive-date=15 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> and she died on 14 July 2017 at the age of 40 at [[Stanford Hospital]] in [[Stanford, California]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="mehrnews">{{cite news |title=Maryam Mirzakhani died |url=http://www.mehrnews.com/news/4029259/مریم-میرزاخانی-درگذشت |agency=Mehr news Agency |date=15 July 2017 |language=fa |access-date=23 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117132201/https://www.mehrnews.com/news/4029259/مریم-میرزاخانی-درگذشت |archive-date=17 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Iranian president [[Hassan Rouhani]] and other officials offered their condolences and praised Mirzakhani's scientific achievements. Rouhani said in his message that "the unprecedented brilliance of this creative scientist and modest human being, who made Iran's name resonate in the world's scientific forums, was a turning point in showing the great will of Iranian women and young people on the path towards reaching the peaks of glory and in various international arenas."<ref name=":0" />

Upon her death, several Iranian newspapers, along with President Hassan Rouhani, broke taboo and published photographs of Mirzakhani with her hair uncovered. Although most newspapers used photographs with a dark background, digital manipulation, and even paintings to "hide" her hair,<ref name=Dehghan /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/maryam-mirzakhani-hijab-iran/533916/ |title=Why Iran Broke Its Strict Hijab Rules for the 'Queen of Math' |last=Samuel |first=Sigal |work=The Atlantic |access-date=18 July 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718112843/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/maryam-mirzakhani-hijab-iran/533916/ |archive-date=18 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> this gesture was widely noted in the western press and on social media.<ref name=thewire>{{cite web |url=https://thewire.in/158366/iran-maryam-mirzakhani-hijab-taboo/ |title=Iranian Media Break Hijab Taboo in Tributes to Maryam Mirzakhani |website=thewire.in |language=en-GB |date=17 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717083624/https://thewire.in/158366/iran-maryam-mirzakhani-hijab-taboo/ |archive-date=17 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/maryam-mirzakhani-death-iranian-press-publishes-tributes-without-hijab_uk_596ca53de4b0d6341fea3f46 |title=Iranian Press Flouts Hijab Rules in Death Tributes To Trailblazing Maths Genius |date=17 July 2017 |work=HuffPost UK |access-date=19 July 2017 |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717182453/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/maryam-mirzakhani-death-iranian-press-publishes-tributes-without-hijab_uk_596ca53de4b0d6341fea3f46 |archive-date=17 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Mirzakhani's death has also renewed debates within Iran regarding [[Matrilineality|matrilineal]] citizenship for children of mixed-nationality parentage; [[Fars News Agency]] reported that, subsequent to Mirzakhani's death, 60 [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|Iranian MPs]] urged the speeding up of an amendment to a law that would allow children of Iranian mothers married to foreigners to be given [[Iranian nationality]], in order to make it easier for Mirzakhani's daughter to visit Iran.<ref name=Dehghan /><ref name=thewire />

[[File:تالار میرزاخانی خانه ریاضیات اصفهان.jpg|thumb|Plaque for Mirzakhani Hall in Isfahan's House of Mathematics]]
Numerous obituaries and tributes were published in the days following Mirzakhani's death.<ref name="amsobit">{{cite web |title=A Tribute to Maryam Mirzakhani |url=https://www.ams.org/profession/mirzakhani/ |website=American Mathematical Society |date=18 July 2017 |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803211526/http://www.ams.org/profession/mirzakhani/|archive-date=3 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="robertsny">{{cite magazine |last1=Roberts |first1=Siobhan |author-link=Siobhan Roberts |title=Maryam Mirzakhani's Pioneering Mathematical Legacy |url=http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/maryam-mirzakhanis-pioneering-mathematical-legacy/ |magazine=The New Yorker |date=17 July 2017 |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803011231/http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/maryam-mirzakhanis-pioneering-mathematical-legacy |archive-date=3 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of advocacy carried out by the Women's Committee within the Iranian Mathematical Society ({{langx|fa|کمیته بانوان انجمن ریاضی ایران}}), the International Council for Science agreed to declare Mirzakhani's birthday, 12 May, as International Women in Mathematics Day in respect of her memory.<ref>{{cite news |title=انتخاب روز تولد مریم میرزاخانی بعنوان روز زنان در ریاضیات در جهان |url=https://www.isna.ir/news/97052312292/انتخاب-روز-تولد-مریم-میرزاخانی-بعنوان-روز-زنان-در-ریاضیات-در |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=Iranian Students' News Agency |date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924185948/https://www.isna.ir/news/97052312292/انتخاب-روز-تولد-مریم-میرزاخانی-بعنوان-روز-زنان-در-ریاضیات-در |archive-date=24 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=22 اردیبهشت ، روز جهانی زنان در ریاضیات |url=http://www.asemooni.com/event/international-womens-day-in-maths |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=Asemooni |date=2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031754/https://www.asemooni.com/event/international-womens-day-in-maths |archive-date=16 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Various establishments have also been named after Mirzakhani to honor her life and achievements. In 2017, Farzanegan High School – the high school Mirzakhani formerly attended – named their amphitheater and library after her. Additionally, [[Sharif University of Technology]], the institute wherein Mirzakhani obtained her bachelor's, has since named their main library in the College of Mathematics after her. Further, the House of Mathematics in [[Isfahan]], in collaboration with the mayor, named a conference hall in the city after her.<ref>{{cite web |last1=The House of Mathematics Committee in Isfahan |title=Zجلسه هیئت امنا خانه ریاضیات اصفهان با حضور جناب آقای دکترمهدی جمالی‌نژاد شهردار محترم اصفهان |url=http://mathhouse.org/visitorpages/show.aspx?ItemId=6247,%201&isdetaillist=true |publisher=Math House Isfahan |access-date=3 December 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2014, students at the [[University of Oxford]] founded the Mirzakhani Society, a society for women and non-binary students studying mathematics at the University of Oxford. Mirzakhani met the society in September 2015, when she visited Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirzakhanisociety.org.uk/|title=Mirzakhani Society {{!}} Oxford|website=Mirzakhani Society|language=en|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803155736/https://www.mirzakhanisociety.org.uk/|archive-date=3 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, Mirzakhani was made a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (of the United States), making her the first Iranian woman to be officially accepted as a member of the academy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=National Academy of Sciences |title=Maryam Mirzakhani |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20022806.html |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126182315/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20022806.html |archive-date=26 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 2 February 2018, [[Satellogic]], a high-resolution [[Earth observation]] imaging and analytics company, launched a [[ÑuSat]] type [[Small satellite|micro-satellite]] named in honor of Mirzakhani.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/02/china-lofts-earthquake-research-craft-with-cluster-of-smaller-satellites/|title=China lofts earthquake research craft with cluster of smaller satellites – Spaceflight Now|website=spaceflightnow.com|language=en-US|access-date=4 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203230747/https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/02/02/china-lofts-earthquake-research-craft-with-cluster-of-smaller-satellites/|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 November 2019, [[Breakthrough Prize|The Breakthrough Prize Foundation]] announced that the {{visible anchor|Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize}} has been created to be awarded to outstanding women in the field of [[mathematics]] each year. The $50,000 [[award]] will be presented to [[New investigator|early-career]] [[mathematician]]s who have completed their [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhDs]] within the past two years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://breakthroughprize.org/News/56|title=Breakthrough Prize – Breakthrough Prize Foundation Announces Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize for Women Mathematicians|website=breakthroughprize.org|access-date=8 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108012813/https://breakthroughprize.org/News/56|archive-date=8 November 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2019/11/04/the-breakthrough-prize-in-mathematics-named-after-maryam-mirzakhani-a-famed-female-mathematician/|title=The Breakthrough Prize In Mathematics Named After Maryam Mirzakhani, A Famed Female Mathematician|last=Powers|first=Anna|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=8 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108012809/https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2019/11/04/the-breakthrough-prize-in-mathematics-named-after-maryam-mirzakhani-a-famed-female-mathematician/|archive-date=8 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2020, on International Day of Women and Girls in [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]], Mirzakhani was honored by [[UN Women]] as one of seven female scientists dead or alive who have shaped the world.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 February 2020|title=Devoted to discovery: seven women scientists who have shaped our world|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/2/compilation-seven-women-scientists-who-shaped-our-world|access-date=4 June 2020|website=UN Women|language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, [[George Csicsery]] featured her in the documentary film ''Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11858196/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani] on IMdB</ref><ref name="Csicsery Maryam Mirzakhani">{{cite web | title=Secrets of the Surface The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani. | website=YouTube | date=24 March 2022 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxQCGenYE0 | access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>

The 12 May Initiative was created in Mirzakhani's honor<ref name="may12" /> to celebrate women in mathematics. The Initiative is coordinated by the [[European Women in Mathematics]], [[Association for Women in Mathematics]], [[African Women in Mathematics Association]], [[Colectivo de Mujeres Matemáticas de Chile]], and the Women's Committee of the [[Iranian Mathematical Society]]. In 2020, 152 events were held.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Second edition 2020 {{!}} May12|url=https://may12.womeninmaths.org/2020|access-date=15 January 2021|website=may12.womeninmaths.org}}</ref>

In 2022, following a £2.48m donation from [[XTX Markets]], the [[University of Oxford]] launched the Maryam Mirzakhani Scholarships, which provide support for female mathematicians pursuing doctoral studies at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Oxford mathematics scholarship enabled by founding and principal donor XTX Markets | publisher=University of Oxford |date=5 December 2022 |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-12-05-new-oxford-mathematics-scholarship-enabled-founding-and-principal-donor-xtx-markets}}</ref>


== Awards and honors ==
* Gold medal. International Mathematical Olympiad (Hong Kong 1994)<ref name=olympiad />
* Gold medal. International Mathematical Olympiad (Canada 1995)<ref name=olympiad />
* [[Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences|IPM]] Fellowship, Tehran, Iran, 1995–1999<ref name="mmcv2" />
* Merit fellowship Harvard University, 2003<ref name="mmcv2" />
* Harvard Junior Fellowship Harvard University, 2003<ref name="mmcv2" />
* Clay Mathematics Institute Research Fellow 2004<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.maths.ox.ac.uk/cmi/library/annual_report/ar2008/08Interview.pdf|title=Interview with Research Fellow Maryam Mirzakhani|publisher=Oxford University|year=2008|access-date=14 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827222953/http://www2.maths.ox.ac.uk/cmi/library/annual_report/ar2008/08Interview.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Popular Science's'' 2005 "Brilliant 10", one of the top 10 young minds who have pushed their fields in innovative directions.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Newhall |first1=Marissa |date=13 September 2005 |title='Brilliant' minds honored |work=USA Today |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-09-13-brilliant-minds_x.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718085949/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-09-13-brilliant-minds_x.htm |archive-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>
* AMS [[Blumenthal Award]] 2009<ref name="AMS">{{cite news | title=Maryam Mirzakhani Receives 2009 Blumenthal Award | publisher=American Mathematical Society | date=6 November 2009 | url=https://www.ams.org/news?news_id=339 }}</ref>
* Invited to talk at the [[International Congress of Mathematicians]] in 2010, on the topic of "Topology and Dynamical Systems & ODE"<ref>{{cite web |title=ICM Plenary and Invited Speakers since 1897 |url=http://www.mathunion.org/db/ICM/Speakers/SortedByCongress.php |publisher=[[International Congress of Mathematicians]] |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108012153/http://www.mathunion.org/db/ICM/Speakers/SortedByCongress.php|archive-date=8 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The 2013 AMS [[Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=2013 Satter Prize |url=https://www.ams.org/notices/201304/rnoti-p490.pdf |doi=10.1090/noti969 |doi-access=free |journal=Notices of the AMS |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=490–491 |date=April 2013 |last1=Kehoe |first1=Elaine }}</ref>
* Simons Investigator Award 2013<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.simonsfoundation.org/people/maryam-mirzakhani/ |title=2013 Investigators Awardees: Maryam Mirzakhani, Ph.D., Stanford University |publisher=Simons Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804012807/https://www.simonsfoundation.org/mathematics-and-physical-science/simons-investigators/simons-investigators-2013/ |archive-date=4 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Named one of ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' magazine's ten "people who mattered" of 2014<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last1=Gibney |first1=E.
 |last2=Leford |first2=H.
 |last3=Lok |first3=C.
 |last4=Hayden |first4=E.C.
 |last5=Cowen |first5=R.
 |last6=Klarreich |first6=E.
 |last7=Reardon |first7=S.
 |last8=Padma |first8=T.V.
 |last9=Cyranoski |first9=D.
 |last10=Callaway |first10=E.
 |date=18 December 2014
 |title=Nature's 10 Ten people who mattered this year
 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]
 |volume=516 |issue=7531
 |pages=311–319
 |doi=10.1038/516311a |pmid=25519114
 |bibcode=2014Natur.516..311.|doi-access=free
}}</ref>
* [[Clay Research Award]] 2014<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.claymath.org/events/news/2014-clay-research-awards|title=2014 Clay Research Awards – Clay Mathematics Institute|website=Claymath.org|access-date=21 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725223041/http://www.claymath.org/events/news/2014-clay-research-awards|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Fields Medal]] 2014<ref name=IMU2014 /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2014/08/12/medaille-fields-de-mathematiques-une-femme-promue-pour-la-premiere-fois_4470640_3244.html |title=Médaille Fields de mathématiques : une femme promue pour la première fois |newspaper=[[Le Monde]] |date=12 August 2014 |first1=David |last1=Larousserie |language=fr |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812232151/http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2014/08/12/medaille-fields-de-mathematiques-une-femme-promue-pour-la-premiere-fois_4470640_3244.html |archive-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Elected foreign associate to the [[French Academy of Sciences]] in 2015<ref>{{cite web |title=Quinze nouveaux associés étrangers à l'Académie des sciences |url=http://www.academie-sciences.fr/pdf/communique/election_AE_2015.pdf |publisher=Institute de France Académie des Sciences |access-date=16 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728115059/http://www.academie-sciences.fr/pdf/communique/election_AE_2015.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 2015<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.amphilsoc.org/members/electedApril2015|title=Newly Elected|date=April 2015|publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]]|access-date=28 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816203936/https://amphilsoc.org/members/electedApril2015|archive-date=16 August 2015}}</ref>
* [[National Academy of Sciences]] 2016<ref>
{{cite web
 | url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/may-3-2016-NAS-Election.html
 | title=National Academy of Sciences Members and Foreign Associates Elected
 | access-date=5 May 2016
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506052951/http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/may-3-2016-NAS-Election.html
 | archive-date=6 May 2016
 | url-status=live
}}</ref>
* Elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 2017<ref>{{citation |url=https://mathematics.stanford.edu/2017/04/14/maryam-mirzakhani-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/ |title=Maryam Mirzakhani elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences |date=May 2017 |publisher=Department of Mathematics, Stanford University |access-date=6 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611024311/https://mathematics.stanford.edu/2017/04/14/maryam-mirzakhani-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/ |archive-date=11 June 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Asteroid [[321357 Mirzakhani]] was named in her memory.<ref name="MPC-asteroid" /> The official naming citation was published by the [[Minor Planet Center]] ({{small|[[Minor Planet Circulars|MPC]] 108698}}).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />
* In 2024 the [[International Astronomical Union]] named the [[Mirzakhani (crater)|lunar crater Mirzakhani]] in her honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Planetary Names |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/16271 |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov}}</ref>
* Mirzakhani has an [[Erdős number]] of 3.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collaboration paths to Paul Erdős |publisher=The Erdős Number Project |url=https://sites.google.com/oakland.edu/grossman/home/the-erdoes-number-project/some-famous-people-with-finite-erdoes-numbers/fields-medal-winners|date=19 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214222728/http://www.oakland.edu/enp/erdpaths/collaboration-paths-to-paul-erdos |archive-date=14 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[McShane's identity]]

== References ==

{{Reflist
|refs =

<ref name="MPC-asteroid">
{{cite web
  |title = 321357 Mirzakhani (2009 MM)
  |work = Minor Planet Center
  |url  = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=321357
  |access-date = 6 February 2018
}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">
{{cite web
  |title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
  |work = Minor Planet Center
  |url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |access-date = 6 February 2018
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190305034952/https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |archive-date = 5 March 2019
  |url-status = live
}}</ref>

}}<!-- end of reflist -->

== External links ==

* {{MathGenealogy|id=91093}}
{{Wikiquote|Maryam Mirzakhani}}
{{Commons category|Maryam Mirzakhani}}
* [http://mmirzakhani.com/ Official Website of Maryam Mirzakhani] {{in lang|fa}}
* {{cite web |url= https://www.matific.com/us/en/maryam-mirzakhani |title= Maryam Mirzakhani's work on Riemann surfaces explained in simple terms |website= Matific |date= 14 August 2014 |access-date = 18 August 2014}}
* {{cite web |url=http://abel.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/papers/home/text/papers/icm14/icm14.pdf|title= The work of Maryam Mirzakhani |website= Harvard University |first= Curtis |last= McMullen |date= 14 August 2014 |access-date = 18 August 2017}}

{{Fields medalists}}{{mathematics in Iran}}{{Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics recipients}}{{portal bar|Mathematics|Biography}}{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirzakhani, Maryam}}

[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Iranian mathematicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Iranian mathematicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Iranian women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century Iranian women scientists]]
[[Category:21st-century women mathematicians]]
[[Category:deaths from breast cancer in California]]
[[Category:dynamical systems theorists]]
[[Category:Fields Medalists]]
[[Category:Geometers]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars]]
[[Category:International Mathematical Olympiad participants]]
[[Category:Iranian expatriate academics]]
[[Category:Iranian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Iranian Mathematics Competition Medalists]]
[[Category:Iranian women mathematicians]]
[[Category:members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:members of the French Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:scientists from Tehran]]
[[Category:Sharif University of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Simons Investigator]]
[[Category:Stanford University Department of Mathematics faculty]]
[[Category:Tehran Farzanegan School alumni]]
[[Category:topologists]]