Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 29
Paragon
By Saumya Heendeniya
In Sri Lanka mainly, due to free education and gender blind examination techniques the female percentage of students in science field are almost as male+ Yet according to the 2010
National Science Foundation (NSF) Statistical Handbook for Sri Lanka, out of 2,140 full-time
researchers in Sri Lanka, only 39* were female+ This under-representation is particularly concerning in a country where more than half of the total population (51+1*) is comprised of women; a country that harbors one of the oldest Asian democracies+ When we grew up from preschool to university there are many scientists that came across our lives that will always have
a place in our heart+ Their influence might be the sole reason you are in the field of science+
But take a moment and think how many female scientist you could remember by name? Female scientist who had inspired you to pursue the field of science? I believe we might be zeroing in the problem+
This series of article will introduce you to the life of 2 women in science where one which has
reached academic excellence and one from pop culture icons whom has a strong scientific
background+
Maryam Mirzakhani
Maryam Mirzakhani, a professor
of mathematics at Stanford, was
awarded the 2014 Fields Medal+
She created history by becoming the first woman mathematician to have achieved this prestigious honor+ Officially known as
the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, the Fields Medal is widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize
of mathematics,” since it was established in 1936+ She was
awarded the Fields Medal for
her outstanding contributions to
the dynamics and geometry of
Riemann surfaces and their
moduli spaces+
(Thegaurdian.com, 2014)
The Fields Medal was presented by the International Mathematics Union today at the International Congress of Mathematicians, held this year in Seoul, South Korea+
Mirzakhani was born and brought up in Tehran, Iran+ At first she was more interested in reading and writing fiction than doing mathematics+ She just wanted to read every book she could
find+ She watched television biographies of famous women such as Marie Curie and Helen
Keller, and later read “Lust for Life,” a novel about Vincent van Gogh+ However, by high school,
her affinity for solving mathematical problems and working on proofs had shifted her sights+
She spoke about her interest,
“It is fun – it’s like solving a puzzle or connecting the dots in a detective case+ I felt that this
was something I could do, and I wanted to pursue this path “
29