Of course, the most rewarding part is the ‘Aha’ moment, the excitement of discovery and enjoyment of understanding something new – the feeling of being on top of a hill and having a clear view. But most of the time, doing mathematics for me is like being on a long hike with no trail and no end in sight.

Maryam Mirzakhani

12 May 1977 (Tehran, Iran) – 14 July 2017 (Stanford, California) Iranian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Stanford University whose research topics included Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and symplectic geometry. In 2005, as a result of her research, she was honoured in Popular Science's fourth annual "Brilliant 10" in which she was acknowledged as one of the top 10 young minds who have pushed their fields in innovative directions. On 13 August 2014, Mirzakhani was honoured with the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics becoming both the first Iranian and to date (2020) the only woman to be honoured with the award. On 14 July 2017, Mirzakhani died of breast cancer at the age of 40.

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