TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif extended his condolences upon the sad demise of the first female Iranian award-winning mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani on Saturday.

“The news of young Iranian genius and math professor Maryam Mirzakhani’s passing has brought a deep pang of sorrow to me and all Iranians who are proud of their eminent and distinguished scientists,” Zarif posted in Persian language on his Instagram account.

“I do offer my heartfelt condolences upon the passing of this lady scientist to all Iranians worldwide, her grieving family and the scientific community,” he added.

Mirzakhani, 40, died of breast cancer after fighting for four years. 

Mirzakhani was born in Tehran in 1977 and brought up Iran. She scored the International Mathematical Olympiad’s gold medal twice — in 1994 and 1995. In the second competition, she received the contest’s full 42 points.

She then earned her bachelor’s degree from Iran’s prestigious Sharif University of Technology in 1999, and followed up the rest of her education in the United States, where she earned a doctoral degree from Harvard University in 2004 and became full professor of mathematics at Stanford at the age of 31.

In 2014, Mirzakhani was awarded the coveted Fields Medal, also known as the Nobel Prize of mathematics.

She is survived by husband Jan Vondrák, a Czech theoretical computer scientist, and their daughter Anahita.

MQ