7ECM in Berlin, Germany. Photo credits H. Kaschel, Deutsche Welle (DW) 7ECM in Berlin, Germany. Photo credits Ágata A. Timón, ICMAT 7ECM in Berlin, Germany – June 18, 2016. Photo credits: KAY HERSCHELMANN (+49 (0)171 26 73 495 / Kay.Herschelmann@t-online.de)

Sara Zahedi is 2016’s only female EMS laureate. The 34-year-old has been an assistant professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden since 2014. Her research focuses around computational methods to calculate and emulate dynamic geometry, for instance fluid interfaces. Her findings could benefit the production of biochips that are expected to replace tedious and expensive lab work when analyzing blood tests.

The European Congress of Mathematics (ECM) is held every four years under the European Mathematical Society’s auspices, at which ten prizes are awarded to “recognize excellent contributions in Mathematics by young researchers not older than 35 years”.

EMS Prize 2016

„For her outstanding research regarding the development and analysis of numerical algorithms for partial differential equations with a focus on applications to problems with dynamically changing geometry.“

About Sara Zahedi

Sara Zahedi (born 1981 in Tehran, Iran) was ten years old when she arrived as a refugee to Sweden. She was drawn to mathematics in part because she understood mathematics better than the Swedish language, and to fluid mechanics because of its real-world applications. She earned a master’s degree from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in 2006, and a doctorate in 2011. After postdoctoral studies at Uppsala University, she returned to KTH as an assistant professor in 2014.

Sources: Deutsche Welle (DW), 7ECM, Wikipedia | European Mathematical Society, Wikipedia | Sara Zahedi, elpais.com