Stanford prof 1st woman to win top math prize

This undated photo provided by Professor Maryam Mirzakhani via Stanford shows her on the university’s campus. On Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014, the Iranian-born Stanford University professor became the first woman to win math’s highest honor, the Fields Medal. The prize is awarded every four years to mathematicians 40 years old or younger. It was established in 1936. AP

WASHINGTON — An Iranian-born Stanford University professor is the first woman to win math’s highest honor, the Fields Medal.

The International Mathematics Union awarded the prize Wednesday to Maryam Mirzakhani and three others.

The prize and $13,700 is awarded every four years to mathematicians 40 years old or younger. It was established in 1936.

Mirzakhani, 37, won for complex theoretical math on the symmetry of curved surfaces, including spheres and even doughnuts.

Mirzakhani earned her bachelor’s degree in Iran and got her doctorate at Harvard University.

The other winners are Artur Avila, a Brazilian-born professor at the Institute of Mathematics of Jussieu in Paris, Manjul Bhargava of Princeton University and Martin Hairer of the University of Warwick in England.