Nalini Joshi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nalini Joshi
|
|
|---|---|
Nalini Joshi in 2014
|
|
| Born |
Yangon, Myanmar
|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | Princeton University |
| Known for | Research in integrable systems |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, integrable systems |
| Institutions | University of Sydney University of Adelaide University of New South Wales |
| Thesis | The Connection Problem for the First and Second Painlevé Transcendents (1987) |
| Doctoral advisor | Martin David Kruskal |
Nalini Joshi is an Australian mathematician. She is a professor at the University of Sydney in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. She was the first woman to hold this important position there. She also used to be the president of the Australian Mathematical Society.
Professor Joshi is part of a research group that studies integrable systems. These are special types of mathematical problems. In 2012, she received a major award called the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship. She is also the Vice-President of the International Mathematical Union. She is the first Australian to have this role.
Contents
Early Life and Adventures
Nalini Joshi was born in Burma (now Myanmar). She spent her childhood there. In 2007, she shared what it was like growing up.
My father was in the army and I grew up near jungles with wild animals. I had the freedom to explore all day long so long as I went to school and that's what I actually seek every time I look at mathematics; it's an adventure, an exploration, forging new paths into territories nobody else has looked at before.
—Nalini Joshi (2007)
This shows her love for discovery, which she finds in mathematics.
Her Education Journey
Joshi went to Fort Street High School in Australia. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science with honours, in 1980. She studied at the University of Sydney.
Later, she went to Princeton University in the United States. There, she earned her PhD, which is a very advanced degree. Her supervisor, or main teacher, was Martin David Kruskal. Her PhD paper was about a complex math topic. It was called The Connection Problem for the First and Second Painlevé Transcendents.
Career and Contributions
After finishing her PhD in 1987, Nalini Joshi worked as a researcher. She had fellowships at the Australian National University. From 1990 to 1994, she taught at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. She became a senior lecturer there.
In 1997, she received a research fellowship from the Australian Research Council. She took this to the University of Adelaide. A year later, she became an associate professor there. In 2002, she moved to the University of Sydney. She became the Chair of Applied Mathematics. From 2007 to 2009, she led the School of Mathematics and Statistics.
Supporting Women in STEM
In 2015, Professor Joshi helped start a program called Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE). She also co-chaired it. This program helps more women stay in STEM fields. STEM includes science, technology, engineering, and math. The program uses special principles to achieve this goal. Since 2016, she has been an advisor for the SAGE program.
Awards and Special Honors
Nalini Joshi has received many awards for her work. In 2008, she was chosen as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. This is a very high honor for scientists in Australia. She was also the president of the Australian Mathematical Society from 2008 to 2010.
In 2012, she became a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow. This award supported her five-year project. The project was about finding special solutions to complex math problems.
In 2015, she was the 150th Anniversary Hardy Lecturer. This award from the London Mathematical Society meant she gave many lectures in the United Kingdom. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In 2016, she was named an Officer of the Order of Australia. This is a major national honor.
In 2018, Joshi was elected vice-president of the International Mathematical Union. In 2019, she won a NSW Premier's Prize. This was for her excellent work in mathematics and other sciences. In 2020, she received the George Szekeres Medal. This is another top award from the Australian Mathematical Society. In 2021, she received the ANZIAM Medal. This was for her amazing work in applied mathematics. It also recognized her leadership and efforts to promote mathematics.
