International Women in Mathematics Day on 12 May celebrates women working or studying in the discipline, and Flinders University is celebrating our inspiring women who are helping change the world through their love for maths.
First held in 2019, the date for this annual celebration is the birthday of ground-breaking mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, who was awarded the Fields Medal (the most prestigious award in mathematics) in 2014.
Dr Mirzakhani specialised in the study of hyperbolic surfaces by means of their moduli spaces, where she pioneered new insights. She was the first (and to date, only) woman to be honoured with the award. Tragically she died of cancer in 2017, at the age of 40.
Introducing some of our stars of mathematics…
Dr Yang Shi, senior lecturer in maths
From the way ocean waves propagate in shallow water, light travels in optical fibre, or coronavirus spread is modelled, Dr Shi loves the way her area of maths uses symmetry and simplicity to manage complex systems.
“Symmetry allows complex systems to be handled efficiently and elegantly. I like this area of mathematics because objects fit nicely together, and simplicity guides the way I work though a problem. If it looks like a calculation is getting ugly or complicated, usually it means I have made a mistake somewhere!” Read full profile
Kholoud Bakhat Alzahrani, Master of Science ( Mathematics) student
Mathematics can be a creative endeavour for those who enjoy it; essential to any science, to innovation and to shaping a better world.
“Maths researchers have a direct impact on all other sciences. That encouraged me to be an active researcher in this discipline so I can give humanity something that I will be remembered for. If you have an interest and tendency towards mathematics you will be a listener and a lover of maths, which will foster creativity, which is important for innovation in society and personal growth.” Read full profile
Jody Fisher, PhD candidate
The mathematical rules that explain complex phenomena – like how microbiol systems are organised – may well be simple, but finding them is rarely so.
“I’ve always appreciated the elegance of mathematics, and it is also a field which allows you to work across so many others. The interdisciplinary aspect suits me because I like working in teams. So many of our modern scientific questions are unlikely to be answered by individuals, because the answers require expertise from multiple different fields.” Read full profile
Dr Gobert Lee, statistics lecturer and researcher
Medical imaging, breast cancer detection on mammograms, radiation dosage – mathematics is critical to all sciences, including modern medicine.
“Doing maths is like learning skiing, once you master the basic skills, you challenge yourself to the next level. Maths is not stand alone, you could find yourself solving interesting problems in different areas. Some highlights for me include leading a provisional patent describing a novel method to detect changes on mammograms, and developing a tool for full-body CT image segmentation.” Read full profile