Stories

May

2026

Johanna Grames

Born in Lower Austria • Birth year 1989 • Studied Mathematical Economics at TU Wien in Vienna, Austria • PhD in Mathematical Economics from TU Wien in Vienna, Austria • Lives in Vienna, Austria • Team Lead Global Governmental Affairs & Patient Advocacy, AOP Health

Mathematics has always felt like the most fascinating language to me.
You can express so much, so precisely, in just a few lines.
I was motivated by describing relationships and implications — understanding how things influence each other and getting closer to some form of truth. At the same time, I always wanted my work to have a positive impact on the world: grounded in evidence, but guided by empathy.
When I discovered optimal decision-making in a special course at school (Sommerakademie Semmering), I realised mathematics could do both. It offered beauty and challenge, while also helping to solve real-world problems.
During my PhD, I worked on socio-economic models combining natural systems and human behaviour. I developed equilibrium models and optimal decision frameworks to understand how people interact with their environment — and how decisions shape outcomes.

The questions were no longer theoretical — they influenced whether patients would eventually receive treatment

I enjoyed research, but I wanted to see decisions happening in reality, not only as policy recommendations presented at scientific conferences.
Almost by coincidence, I moved into the pharmaceutical industry — a place where passionate smart people work together towards meaningful progress: therapies for patients.
As a child, I had already been fascinated by the human body and even dreamed of becoming a brain researcher.
Instead of modelling societies, I started modelling decisions inside a company:
Which therapy should be developed?
How do we allocate resources under uncertainty?
What is the value of a treatment for patients and healthcare systems?
Using tools such as risk-adjusted net present value calculations (the “gold standard” to calculate a complex business case for investment decisions for research and development), mathematical thinking is part of research and development decisions. The questions were no longer theoretical — they influenced whether patients would eventually receive treatment.

Today, I work at the interface of science, policy and society, bringing together companies, patient organisations and institutions

Over time, my role evolved.
I combined my passion for enabling others and creating societal impact with my experience in healthcare decision-making, moving into governmental affairs and patient advocacy.
Today, I work at the interface of science, policy and society, bringing together companies, patient organisations and institutions.
My mathematical background helps me translate between perspectives:

researchers think in mechanisms
policymakers think in systems
companies think in strategies
patients think in lived realities

Mathematics trained me to structure complexity — but empathy makes solutions work.

Projects are very different. One example was e.g. to train journalists and policy makers on how companies make investment decisions for rare disease research. Based on rare disease prevalence, existing knowledge, alternative therapies and probabilities of success for different stages of clinical studies and pharmaceutical development we outlined the complexity and challenges to foster public private partnerships on national and European level to kick off research for the 95% of rare diseases without any treatment.

Diverse perspectives improve models, research and innovation, both in academia and industry

Outside work, I stay close to people: sports, music, dialogue initiatives and mentoring.
These activities may seem unrelated to mathematics, yet they rely on the same skills — listening, understanding structures and connecting ideas.
My vision is simple: equitable access to opportunities leads to better decisions.
Diverse perspectives improve models, research and innovation, both in academia and industry.
I am always happy to exchange experiences, because role models matter. Often, seeing a possible path is the first step to imagining your own.

You do not need to know where mathematics will lead you.
Curiosity and the courage to follow it are enough.
And choose your mentors wisely. There are many inspiring people in academia and industry who can strengthen your skills and help you grow along exciting paths.

Published on March 25, 2026.

Photo credit: private, background with DALL·E

May

2026

Aleksandra Brodowy

Born in Poland • Birth year 2000 • Studied Mathematics at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands • Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands • Lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands • Account Manager at the LEGO Group and currently doing a Master of Science in Mathematics from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

I have been drawn to mathematics throughout most of my education. It was always my favourite subject, I spent a lot of time studying it, and I even participated in various mathematical competitions during secondary school. Despite all of this, somehow I never had the courage to do it “for real”. Math is not an easy subject, so most of the opinions that I heard about it growing up were that it’s dull, hard, and “you anyways cannot do anything with it”, so why would I even bother pursuing it?

The first time I started seriously considering studying mathematics, I was in the first year of a completely different degree. I was in a new country, I had just started a part-time job at a store to be able to pay for university, and I did not particularly enjoy the study I was enrolled in. Then one day, while I was at work, I started a conversation with one of the customers who eventually started telling me about a degree in mathematics she was doing. I was so intrigued by the things she said that a few days later we ended up talking about ring theory over ramen. Her excitement about the subject and the topics she was explaining were so fascinating that I finally decided to give it a try, this time for real. Fast forward two years from that moment, I was in the second year of a mathematics bachelor’s degree doing the same course she told me about that day.

Ever since I started studying mathematics, I never looked back, and until now I have not been able to find another discipline that would be nearly as compelling.

Ever since I started studying mathematics, I never looked back, and until now I have not been able to find another discipline that would be nearly as compelling. For me, one of the best things about mathematics is the wide range of disciplines it touches – there is always another topic that can intrigue you.

At the beginning of my academic journey, I was primarily interested in the theoretical field of mathematics and spent a lot of time studying abstract algebra. I found it particularly appealing because it was something completely new and a type of math that I had never previously seen in school. At the same time, understanding group and ring theory was relatively difficult, and the fact that I could do it gave me a lot of satisfaction.

Later on, I started pursuing more applied subjects within mathematics and realised that the intersection of academia and real-life problems is something I would like to explore further. I switched gears and started focusing on data analysis and statistical modelling. I ventured into the world of profile hidden Markov models, which I ended up researching for my thesis.

If there is one thing I have learned while navigating the twists and turns of this discipline, it is that not limiting yourself to a single field allows you to discover unexpected connections and directions.

After graduating from the bachelor’s degree, I landed a data analysis internship working for the LEGO Group, where I could not only put the mathematical skills to practice but also explore the areas of business and optimisation. I had the opportunity to continue at the company in a commercial role, where I am currently still working as an Account Manager. The shift from academia to a commercial position took my mind off theoretical mathematics for the past three years. The role was a chance to work in a new environment, interact with completely different challenges, and develop a new set of skills. I realised that I quite like getting out of my comfort zone and having difficult business discussions with clients.

Nevertheless, from the beginning, I knew that the bachelor’s degree was not the end of my academic journey. Last September, after nearly three years away from university, I started a master’s degree in mathematics alongside my professional work. I am very privileged to be in a position where I get to interact with two groups of people who have completely different mindsets – one very academic and rigorous, the other very business and results-oriented. My work definitely deepened my mathematical interests. In my current role, I do a lot of sales forecasting, which, in my opinion, is a very natural bridge between mathematical modelling and uncertainty quantifications. And so my academic focus once again shifted, this time from statistical models to studies of uncertainty and risk analysis.

My math story is far from over—it is a continuous learning process. If there is one thing I have learned while navigating the twists and turns of this discipline, it is that not limiting yourself to a single field allows you to discover unexpected connections and directions.

Apr

2026

Tabitha Rajashekar

Born in Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh, India • Birth Year 1975 • MSc in Mathematics at Madras Christian College, Chennai, India • PhD in Mathematics from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, India • Lives in Bengaluru, India • Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Christ University, Bengaluru, India

I was born in June 1975 in Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh, India. I studied at Nirmala High School, a prestigious school in the quiet town of Machilipatnam. When I was around 10 years old, I had the privilege of learning from a brilliant teacher who taught mathematics at my school and would occasionally read a story during class. Mathematics did not excite me much, but I fell in love with reading, most specifically, literature. Since the teachers who taught me mathematics in high school were strict, I dreaded my math teachers more than the subject itself. Some of the teachers expressed great displeasure that I was not following the subject at all. The fact of the matter was, I was unable to grasp the concepts. I had neglected the subject for a long time.

I realized that studying mathematics made me logical, precise and optimistic in life. The subject helped me gain the confidence and skills to achieve much more than I ever aspired to.

Though I made efforts, I could not follow the subject at all. With time, I became cold and distant with mathematics. Being a mathematics teacher herself, my mother insisted that studying mathematics was essential until a certain point in a student’s life. Heeding her advice, I pursued mathematics. Though I struggled initially, I did not give up and made persistent efforts to learn it. When I noticed in the first class of my undergraduate studies that a peer of mine performed very well in the mathematics class, I approached her for help, seeking guidance on strategies for learning the subject rather than on what to learn. In a couple of days that I spent with her, I picked up the skills to teach myself the subject and figure things out. There was no looking back since then. Gradually, I began to feel that mathematics was very interesting and not difficult to score well in. But love for mathematics developed much later during my Master’s as I learnt courses like abstract algebra and number theory.

Why teaching?

I still cannot decide what I love the most: Is it the subject of mathematics, or is it the joy of teaching it, or is it the excitement of learning mathematics?

As much as I felt intimidated by my teachers, I was in awe of them as well. So much so that I made up my mind to become a teacher very early in life. I wanted to teach, and wanted my students to feel differently from how I did as a student and see me as a very approachable teacher. I also realised that the best way to learn anything was to teach someone. At every stage, I would look for peers who were struggling and volunteer to teach them. I realized that studying mathematics made me logical, precise and optimistic in life. The subject helped me gain the confidence and skills to achieve much more than I ever aspired to. I started teaching right after my postgraduation. I took maternity breaks and quit jobs whenever my presence was needed at home. But even during those breaks, I upgraded myself in academics or taught individuals so that I stayed in touch with the subject. My kids have more memories of their mummy studying rather than playing with them. But that is what gave me joy in life and kept me going. I have close to three decades of teaching experience. With great conviction, I can admit that my career in teaching is all about learning mathematics every day and getting paid for learning. I still cannot decide what I love the most: Is it the subject of mathematics, or is it the joy of teaching it, or is it the excitement of learning mathematics?

Why Graph Theory?

Years later, when I contemplated doing a PhD, I realised that graph theory was the most suitable option for me. The nature of this course is that anyone can start learning this at any point. It is simple to learn, easy to visualise and totally captivating in mind. Completing a PhD was not an easy journey. Despite the challenges and lags, I tried my best! It was a great learning experience and a humbling one. When I started teaching again after my PhD, I took every opportunity to teach graph theory and promote research in it.

What do I love to do?

I find great joy in teaching foundational courses such as discrete mathematics, graph theory and algebra. These courses promote a lot of dialogue in the classrooms, and I constantly learn from their queries and responses. Research in graph theory gives me a lot of fulfillment. It gives me immense pride when any of our students choose a career in teaching mathematics or research, and my joy is doubled when it is a female student. My message for future mathematicians would be to pursue the subject diligently. Without a doubt, I can say that teaching mathematics gives us a sense of purpose and a sense of great pride.

Published on April 22, 2026

Photo Credit: Tabitha Rajashekar

Feb

2026

Mikaela Iacobelli

Born in Giulianova, Italy • Birth year 1987 • Studied Mathematics at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy • PhD in Mathematics from Sapienza University of Rome and École Polytechnique in Paris • Lives in Zürich, Switzerland • Associate Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zürich

I was born in a small town on the Adriatic coast, Giulianova (Italy), where I lived with my family until the end of high school. As a child I was very curious and I loved reading; at school I enjoyed many subjects, without feeling particularly drawn to mathematics. Outside school, however, my real passion was figure skating, and for years I was completely absorbed by sport.

During high school, while I was changing my mind many times about what I wanted to study at university (from humanities to engineering to medicine), I also had a bad injury that made me stop figure skating, and this forced me to think seriously about what I could do if I could no longer be an athlete. Around the same time, at the beginning of high school, I encountered my first proofs in Euclidean geometry, and the very concept of proof fascinated me immediately.

Then, in my last year of high school, a teacher lent me the books by Henri Poincaré on non-Euclidean geometry, and that was decisive for me, because it made mathematics feel much larger than the standard school programme; it showed me that one can develop concepts with strong internal coherence and genuine beauty even when they are not tied to something directly visible, and study them for their own sake, not because of immediate utility.

(…) I became truly passionate about algebra, especially representation theory, because I was attracted by the beauty of symmetry and by the feeling that, once you find the right structure, complicated objects become understandable

Long story made short, I moved to Rome and started a Bachelor in Mathematics at Sapienza University, and it is there that I became truly passionate about algebra, especially representation theory, because I was attracted by the beauty of symmetry and by the feeling that, once you find the right structure, complicated objects become understandable. During my Bachelor and Master I specialised in algebra, although at the same time I was also fascinated by mathematical physics, which remained, for a while, a parallel interest rather than my main direction.

Towards the end of my Master, I decided to apply for a PhD in a different area, namely kinetic theory and PDEs, and in November 2012 I started a joint PhD between Sapienza University of Rome and École Polytechnique (Paris). Since I had to adapt quickly, both mathematically and personally, I remember that period as intense: you learn new tools, you learn a new language, and you also live with the constant uncertainty that comes with academic transitions, where the next step is never fully guaranteed.

(…) what I like in [Vlasov-Poisson] questions is the interaction between several scales: you start from a microscopic description (many particles), and you try to understand what kind of macroscopic behaviour can emerge, and why

The PhD became even more demanding because I changed topic between the first and the second year, which meant that I started the thesis “for real” only in autumn 2013, while I defended in December 2015. In spite of the stress, I was also lucky, because I ended up working on problems that genuinely interested me, such as quantization of measures and, later, quasineutral limits for the Vlasov-Poisson equation. Even if the technical details are not the point of this story, what I like in these questions is the interaction between several scales: you start from a microscopic description (many particles), and you try to understand what kind of macroscopic behaviour can emerge, and why.

After the PhD my path continued through several moves, and the places I studied and worked in have shaped me in very concrete ways: Paris during the PhD, then Cambridge, then Durham, and finally Zürich, where I am now based at ETH. Before each move there is the application phase, with deadlines and interviews, and with the need to accept that sometimes things simply do not work out; in that period you often do not know in which country, city, or department you will end up next. Then, once you move, the relocation itself is a restart: you build a new routine, you make new friendships, you try to integrate into a new department, and you adjust to a different academic culture. At the same time, I have very fond memories of all the departments where I have worked, and I have kept meaningful contacts in each of those places.

In mathematics, being wrong is normal, because it is part of the creative process, and it is often the only way to understand what is really going on

At times, I also experienced environments that were highly competitive and not particularly welcoming, and, as a woman, I sometimes had the feeling that belonging was conditional; over time I learned not to use that atmosphere as a measure of my value, and to focus instead on good mathematics and collaboration.

Over the years I have also learned something very simple, which I now repeat often to students: in mathematics, being wrong is normal, because it is part of the creative process, and it is often the only way to understand what is really going on. For the same reason, I do not think that speed is a good proxy for depth. What matters more, at least for me, is steady work, genuine curiosity, and the habit of writing and explaining with care, trying to make the argument readable rather than to impress.

(…) I care a lot about creating an atmosphere where asking questions feels natural rather than embarrassing

What I love most about my job is teaching and, more broadly, supporting students and postdocs in their path. I enjoy the moment in which something difficult becomes understandable, and I care a lot about creating an atmosphere where asking questions feels natural rather than embarrassing. When students write to me again after years to tell me about their next steps and their achievements, I feel genuinely fulfilled.

Alongside teaching and mentoring, I also like the research side in a very concrete way: choosing a problem and trying to understand it seriously, reading beautiful mathematics done by others, and writing with care in a way that I would still be happy to read myself a year later. I also enjoy moving between topics and borrowing techniques from different areas, because this often helps me look at a familiar question from a new angle.

Looking back, my path has not been linear, and I changed direction more than once; however, what has stayed constant is curiosity, even when the topics and the places were changing. This is also what I like most about mathematics: there is room for many different trajectories, as long as you keep following questions that genuinely interest you.

Published on February 25, 2026.

Photo credit: Giulia Marthaler Fotografie on behalf of ETH

Feb

2026

Christina Runkel

Born in Neuwied, Germany • Studied Computer Science at Cooperative State University Mannheim • PhD in Mathematics of Information at the University of Cambridge • Lives in Oslo, Norway • Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Oslo

My interest in mathematics started as a young child and stayed with me throughout my school years. I remember particularly enjoying maths in the final years of school because of our very friendly and motivated teacher. He encouraged me to have a closer look at STEM subjects and maths in particular when trying to decide what to study at university. I could not decide between computer science and maths at first, but ended up doing computer science because of a cooperative study programme that allowed me to study and work at the same time; offering financial stability and practical skills. I ended up working at IBM in Germany where I was lucky enough to be able to choose from a large pool of projects for each of the six internships that were part of the Bachelor’s programme. While mostly focusing on IT consulting internships in my first year, I got the opportunity to work on a research project in a research lab in California in my second year – where I helped to develop new machine learning methods for chat bots – which encouraged me to go more into research for my final two internships, too.

During my Master’s it then became very obvious to me that I really enjoyed doing research and was mostly interested in the maths courses and aspects, which is why I decided to switch to applied maths for my PhD.

While really enjoying the internships that were part of my Bachelor’s programme at the Cooperative State University in Mannheim, I quickly realised that I wanted to get a deeper insight into the „traditional“ student life. My Bachelor’s programme was very structured with little opportunity to choose courses and attendance at lectures was compulsory and I always envied my friends at other universities who had a lot more freedom. Due to the tight connection of my Bachelor’s programme to companies, the curriculum was very applied with little opportunity to do any research. When deciding on a Master’s programme, those ended up being the two main motivations for me to switch to studying a regular computer science degree. During my Master’s it then became very obvious to me that I really enjoyed doing research and was mostly interested in the maths courses and aspects, which is why I decided to switch to applied maths for my PhD.

Throughout my PhD I always most enjoyed going to workshops and conferences.

Having had the opportunity to combine my Master’s thesis with a research visit in the Cambridge Image Analysis group at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in Cambridge, I got a better understanding of the PhD system in the UK and decided to move to England for my PhD. While most PhDs in Germany are tied to a specific project, the prospect of being part of a doctoral training programme which allows for a lot of freedom sounded very convincing to me. Having been funded by a departmental studentship, I got to work on several projects from a broad range of topics like machine learning theory, privacy and security in machine learning, inverse problems and operator learning. Throughout my PhD I always most enjoyed going to workshops and conferences. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to conferences all over the world like Singapore, Japan, the US, Italy and Germany.

Coming to Cambridge as an international student, I particularly enjoyed being part of a college community with the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and different subjects. While my friend group in both my Bachelor’s and Master’s mainly consisted of people studying computer science, maths and physics, my friend group during my PhD was much more diverse. This is also due to the fact that I started rowing as a new sport when coming to Cambridge which facilitated meeting even more people including undergraduate students of all years.

While I was not interested in image analysis yet at that time, the professor’s enthusiasm for the topic rubbed off on me and motivated me to choose a computer vision project for a one year project that was mandatory as part of my degree.

Thinking about the most memorable moments of my studies, it was the people who motivated and inspired me most. If it was professors speaking very passionately about a certain subject during lectures or PhD students supervising projects – seeing other people’s interest for the subject always motivated me to keep looking into different fields of maths. I still remember walking into one of my first lectures in my Master’s which was part of a deep learning course. While I was not interested in image analysis yet at that time, the professor’s enthusiasm for the topic rubbed off on me and motivated me to choose a computer vision project for a one year project that was mandatory as part of my degree.

I also was fortunate enough to have been surrounded by supportive and inspirational people all throughout my Master’s and PhD who encouraged me to go for the next step and believe in myself. Especially as a woman in a very male dominated field, being surrounded by female role models and being supported by both male and female peers and professors made a big difference for me. When starting my PhD, I tried to pass some of this on by being part of mentoring programmes for female and non-binary undergraduates and students. I was both a mentor at the Faculty of Mathematics in Cambridge where we had termly in-person coffee meetings with the mentees and for pupils in Germany via the Cybermentor programme, which offers the opportunity to mentor female and non-binary pupils remotely. Becoming part of a mentoring scheme is also some of the advice I would give to my 18-year-old self too — to look out for networking opportunities and mentorship programmes; to find people who have chosen a similar path.

I am now very excited to start my new position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oslo where I will be continuing to work on developing new methods for machine learning research.

Published on February 11, 2026

Jan

2026

Nishu Kumari

Born in India • Birth year 1996 • Studied M.Sc in Mathematics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur • PhD in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) • Lives in Vienna, Austria • PostDoctoral Researcher at the University of Vienna’s Faculty for Mathematics

I grew up in a village of Haryana, a state in Northern India. I was drawn to maths from an early age because I was good at solving maths problems. After completing college education from Haryana, I successfully passed the entrance exam for a prestigious institution in India, IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Kanpur, to pursue a Master’s degree in Mathematics. Since the exam is highly competitive, I consider being admitted to this institution as one of my greatest achievements.

During my stay at IIT, I realised that maths is more about testing your understanding of concepts and less about calculations. That’s when I also realised grasping a mathematical idea gives me immense satisfaction and decided to study mathematics at a higher level.

Before my entrance exam I wasn’t even sure I would be able to rank highly enough to be admitted. It was a very big moment for my entire family when I did as I was the first person in my family to get admission at IIT . We never imagined that this would even be possible.

During my stay at IIT, I realised that maths is more about testing your understanding of concepts and less about calculations. That’s when I also realised grasping a mathematical idea gives me immense satisfaction and decided to study mathematics at a higher level. I joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for my Ph.D.

After completing my doctoral studies last year, I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria. I am part of a large research group focused on discrete random structures with my personal focus being on algebraic combinatorics.

Algebraic combinatorics uses tools from algebra to solve problems in combinatorics, thereby acting as a bridge between the tangible world of counting objects and the abstract world of formulas. For instance, by using algebraic combinatorics we can solve everyday problems such as organising wedding seating charts where certain guests must sit together or better be kept apart, drawing up sports schedules where every team plays each other exactly once, or designing music shuffle algorithms that feel truly random by avoiding song groupings from the same artist.

I feel that many women, especially in India, might not know what exactly having a career in maths actually means or even that they can pursue a career in this field. I believe it is important to tell them that this is an option.

In terms of mathematical research, I have encountered a lot of diversity in Vienna. I have found a lot of great people to collaborate with around me, especially since our research group is fairly large with over 20 members.

As an Indian woman in mathematics, the environment I trained in featured very few women. It was discouraging sometimes. I feel it would have helped me, if there had been more women doing what I was doing at the time.

I feel that many women, especially in India, might not know what exactly having a career in maths actually means or even that they can pursue a career in this field. I believe it is important to tell them that this is an option.

However, there have been some great ideas and steps to bring more women into existing institutions. I can see that the number of women being admitted into Indian maths institutes is increasing.

Women’s education in general is on the rise. In the village I grew up in, people weren’t keen on women to study when I was young, but now they encourage their girls to get an education. This is a rather unexpected side effect of the rising cost of living. As a result, women are now encouraged to pursue paid work.

My dream for the future is to first build a career in academia. In future, I would like to return to India and work to inspire more Indian women to get involved in maths. This is my way of trying to help future generations of Indian women be more represented if they choose mathematics as their career path.

Published on January 28, 2026.
Photo credit: Shivangi

Jan

2026

Lisa Hefendehl-Hebeker

Born in Germany • Birth year 1948 • Studied Mathematics at the Universities of Münster and Tübingen • Habilitation in Mathematics • Lives in Düsseldorf, Germany • Senior Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Duisburg-Essen

I enjoyed math at school because I was good at the problems and really liked the inner clarity and regularity of the subject.

The transition to university mathematics was extremely difficult for me at first because I had to overcome a huge gap. But after a year, I made a breakthrough, and from then on, I gained a foothold and my appreciation for the subject grew steadily.

I had my first experience of deep amazement when I was preparing for a linear algebra exam. When studying Jordan normal forms, I suddenly realized what a magnificent overview this provided of what initially seemed to be an overwhelming variety of matrices, and what potential mathematical theory formation can unfold in terms of intellectual organization.

The interplay between mathematical content and questions and observations about how people deal with it in work processes was to become an important guiding principle for my future career

In the second part of my studies, I had the opportunity to participate in a working group led by my future doctoral supervisor I and was able to listen to the insider communication between advanced members. This gave me important insights into what motivates professional mathematicians—which questions they find interesting and which methods and results they consider remarkable, how they base their assessments on these, but also which informal, often metaphorical means of communication they use in the run-up to formally elaborate representations. These experiences have greatly enriched my relationship with mathematics. The interplay between mathematical content and questions and observations about how people deal with it in work processes was to become an important guiding principle for my future career.

It so happened that I was assigned a dissertation topic that also involved a classification problem (four-dimensional quadratic division algebras over p-adic fields), and so a bow was drawn back to my first experience of admiring a mathematical achievement. While working on this, I also learned how inevitably successful problem solving in mathematics can depend on the favor of a good idea. You can prepare the ground for helpful ideas through persistent work, but you cannot force them. I was very grateful that productive ideas for solutions did eventually come to me in time.

(…) I read a lot of mathematical literature and noticed with regret that, over the course of history, presentations had become more sober and formal, and that human emotions and accompanying epistemological considerations had been largely stripped away in the face of mathematical discoveries

During my doctoral studies, I read a lot of mathematical literature and noticed with regret that, over the course of history, presentations had become more sober and formal, and that human emotions and accompanying epistemological considerations had been largely stripped away in the face of mathematical discoveries. The more I missed this aspect, the more my interest grew in the question of how mathematical knowledge develops in an individual, what thought processes and attitudes play a role in this, and how consciousness is refined during these processes. These were the reasons why I turned to mathematics education after completing my doctorate, and fortunately, life gave me the opportunity to make this field my profession.

After a long career, I am convinced that at every level of learning, it is possible to create an authentic picture of mathematics and convey an impression of how mathematics forms its own world of well-ordered structures with a striking internal consistency, and how this is precisely what makes it so effective in applications.

Published on January 14, 2026.

Photo credit: FAU/Ianicelli/Aslanidis

Dec

2025

Surya Mathialagan

Born in India and Grew up in Singapore • Studied Mathematics and Computer Science at Caltech • PhD in Computer Science from MIT • Lives in California, USA • Postdoctoral Researcher at NTT Research, USA

What first drew me to mathematics wasn’t numbers or formulas – it was the satisfaction of knowing why something was true. I loved puzzles and logic problems from an early age, and my parents noticed. I was extremely fortunate because they did their best to find the support I needed to keep exploring that interest and progress in the math Olympiad scene. I later represented Singapore several times in the China Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad. Those experiences drew me in. I loved the structure of Olympiad problems – the feeling that, with enough persistence, all the puzzle pieces would eventually fit. But what fascinated me most was the idea of a proof. Proofs were like perfectly tuned explanations: elegant, inevitable, and deeply satisfying. I remember learning how to write one and being amazed that something as human as convincing someone of something could be captured by precise logic.

For example, is solving a Sudoku puzzle as easy as checking that a completed Sudoku grid is valid?

During my undergraduate studies at California Institute of Technology, I learned that the idea of “proofs” also lies at the heart of theoretical computer science. I encountered the seminal P vs NP problem, which asked whether “finding a proof” (NP) is as easy as “verifying a proof” (P). For example, is solving a Sudoku puzzle as easy as checking that a completed Sudoku grid is valid? On the face of it, the former seems much more difficult – but for all we know, both tasks could be equally “easy” (i.e. NP = P). This is one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in theoretical computer science, and it drew me in with the deep mathematical ideas that had been developed to understand it. I soon decided to pursue a joint major in mathematics and computer science to explore that theory more deeply.

I could not stop thinking about this, how much can we push the limits of what a proof can look like?

Later, I took a cryptography class that introduced a concept called zero-knowledge proofs, which changed the way I viewed proofs. Proofs didn’t have to be static write-ups – they could be interactive, even conversational in some sense. With this relaxation, zero-knowledge formalized the idea of convincing someone that something is true without revealing why. For example, you could prove that you know a solution to a Sudoku without giving away the solution itself. It seemed absurd, but it was possible. I could not stop thinking about this, how much can we push the limits of what a proof can look like?

I also had the first taste of pursuing mathematics research during my time at Caltech. It was the first time mathematics felt creative rather than competitive. I had to decide for myself what questions to ask and what counted as progress. It was the first time I’d worked on something where there wasn’t a clear notion of “done.” I enjoyed the freedom that I had to choose where I wanted the project to go. I was motivated to keep doing this, and I decided to pursue a PhD in theoretical computer science.

During my PhD at MIT, I explored more problems in theoretical computer science, and landed on a problem that I am still obsessed with: constructing succinct proofs. Like zero knowledge, succinct proofs redefine what a “proof” can look like, but in a different way – they capture the idea that you can convince someone of a complex statement using a proof that is much shorter than the statement itself. For example, could we prove that a 100 x 100 Sudoku has a solution by providing a proof containing only 128 bits, instead of 10,000? At first, this seemed completely ridiculous. How could a proof possibly be shorter than the thing it proves? It shouldn’t even be possible. But instead of assuming an all-powerful prover, if we assume the prover has limited resources, say finite time – then it actually might be.

While I was at MIT, I had the privilege of being mentored by several incredible female professors whose sharpness and confidence quietly shifted how I saw myself.

That tension between truth and feasibility made me appreciate the “engineering” side of theoretical cryptography: sometimes the goal isn’t to prove that something exists unconditionally, but to show that it can exist within realistic limits. And one doesn’t need to stop there – one could also ask for a proof to be both succinct and zero-knowledge simultaneously! Indeed, succinct zero-knowledge proofs (sometimes called zk-proofs or zk-SNARKs) are now the backbone of blockchains, allowing large computations to be verified efficiently while maintaining privacy.

Representation shapes what seems possible, even when no one says it out loud. I feel so incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with these incredible women.

While I was at MIT, I had the privilege of being mentored by several incredible female professors whose sharpness and confidence quietly shifted how I saw myself. Watching them made it feel more plausible that I could be a researcher or academic too. Earlier in my life, during the Math Olympiad or even at Caltech, I was often one of the few girls in the room. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but looking back, I realize how much visibility matters. Representation shapes what seems possible, even when no one says it out loud. I feel so incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with these incredible women.

Perhaps my favourite thing about doing research is that unlike Olympiad math, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum – research is deeply conversational. I’ve learned that sharing half-formed thoughts – defending, revising, and rebuilding them – is often how the most enjoyable mathematics happens. Each discussion shifts how you see the problem, and sometimes that’s enough to move it forward. I’ve also come to enjoy the part that happens after the proof is done. I enjoy giving talks, explaining the ideas to others, and seeing how they react. Good talks feel like an extension of research itself: a chance to start a conversation about mathematical ideas.

I am now a postdoctoral researcher at NTT Research, a research lab based in California. I still work on constructing zero-knowledge succinct proofs and other related cryptography problems. Even though I work on theoretical computer science, by an ironic turn of events, much of my recent work uses traditional mathematical proofs to construct succinct proofs in the cryptographic sense. I am excited to see where else my research leads me. I hope to go into academia, where I can study these problems further. I hope that being here and doing this work helps make the field feel a little more possible for others who might not have seen themselves in it before.

Published on December 10, 2025.
Photo credit: Asaf Etgar

Nov

2025

Ilse Fischer

Born in Klagenfurt, Austria • Birth year 1975 • Studied Mathematics at the University of Vienna in Austria • PhD in Mathematics from the University of Vienna Austria • Lives in Vienna, Austria • Professor of Mathematics and Vice-Dean, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna

I was drawn to maths not because of my background, but because it came naturally. I loved being good at maths. Even though my father was a university professor in math education, he never pushed me into this field.

My inspiration instead came from the simple content we learned at school. I enjoyed mathematics as a creative process with very strict rules and gained immense satisfaction from overcoming these rules to achieve success. If I am perfectly honest, another reason was that I was just really good at maths in school, which boosted my ego. I enjoyed it when my peers asked me for help.

My Career Path – Between Klagenfurt and Vienna

After studying mathematics for 5 years at the University of Vienna, I returned to my hometown, Klagenfurt. I really appreciated the relaxed pace of living in Klagenfurt compared to Vienna. The position was in applied mathematics, with a focus on optimization. Optimization in mathematics refers to calculations identifying the best solution among a set of alternatives, such as the quickest route via train from Vienna to Paris if one transfers at a third train station. This was quite different from my original focus on pure mathematics.

To me this offer in pure mathematics was akin to winning the lottery, which is why there was no question that I would return to Vienna.

During my time in Klagenfurt, my mathematical taste was strongly shaped by my professor, who, like me, really enjoyed mathematical problems that are easy to state but hard to solve.

After a few years in Klagenfurt, I ended up back in Vienna having an offer for a postdoctoral position. To me this offer in pure mathematics was akin to winning the lottery, which is why there was no question that I would return to Vienna. Here, I returned to my initial field of pure mathematics. My specialty now is enumerative combinatorics. In enumerative combinatorics, our job is to count possibilities such as how many ways can you shuffle a deck of cards or how many different routes exist between two points in a grid.

Why Combinatorics?

Combinatorics used to be a bit of an underdog in mathematics.

What I love about combinatorics is that the problems are very easy to state, but hard to prove. Furthermore, it’s a very accessible field that does not require extensive reading in order for doctoral students to start working in it.

Combinatorics used to be a bit of an underdog in mathematics. However, it is valuable for applications in diverse fields such physics and statistics, and therefore now seems to have become a rising star, which I find really satisfying to witness.

Some people, not least my father, ask why I chose pure mathematics over applied mathematics. What drives me particularly in pure mathematics is the aesthetic aspect, the desire to do something nice. I also really enjoy working on blue skies research (where the immediate applications are not yet known) and chasing deep discoveries. This can lead to revolutionary and useful outcomes in the long run that we can’t even predict at the time of doing the work, which feels very inspiring.

My Advice to other Mathematicians

My advice to others would be to always follow your own taste and concentrate on your chosen field. I believe success comes from motivation rather than pressure.

Yet over time, I started to appreciate that a very satisfying aspect of mathematics is establishing intellectual connections with other people.

My second piece of advice is to forge intellectual connections and work collaboratively. I started out working alone, partially because, when I was applying for positions in the early 2000s, people looked closely at whether you had single-authored papers. It was also what suited me best at the time, probably due to the fact that I was a woman in a male-dominated field. Yet over time, I started to appreciate that a very satisfying aspect of mathematics is establishing intellectual connections with other people.

My Thoughts on Women in Mathematics

When it comes to the struggles of women in mathematics, I do believe a contradiction exists. I am on a lot of hiring committees, and I have observed that if women publish with other people, the committee members often end up saying, “Well, she didn’t do it.” And I find it incredibly frustrating that this still happens.

This is why I would say as a female mathematician, a smart choice is going for a balance of single-author papers and collaborations. But maybe more importantly, you should do what you think suits you best.

I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.

Another aspect about being a woman in mathematics that frequently causes me irritation is that people feel very surprised when they find out that I am a mathematician. When they hear this, they usually assume that I’m a high school teacher. Then they find out that I’m a professor and are even more surprised. I don’t think that’s good news, and I do think that this is just down to my gender. While it creates some funny situations, it shouldn’t be the case in 2025.

I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.

Published on November 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Joseph Krpelan

Oct

2025

Anna Breger

Born in Austria • Studied Mathematics and Music • PhD in Applied Mathematics from University of Vienna, Austria • Assistant Research Professor at University of Cambridge

It was the beauty of abstract aesthetics that first drew me to Mathematics. Finding calm and excitement in analytical thinking and mathematical problems, it has always been clear to me that I will study Mathematics at the University.

Being from Austria gives you the huge privilege to obtain great education for free at nearby universities. That is how, right after my final high school exam, I enrolled for my Maths undergraduate studies without even thinking about the future. I still remember very clearly one of my first Math lectures at the University of Vienna. In a room with hundreds of excited and nervous students, the professor took us by surprise: “Look left and look right, most of you won’t make it through the first study term!” Back then I encountered that as a challenge I was happy to participate in, today I wonder how such pedagogical manners could be acceptable.

The excitement, the frustration, the joy – it felt like training acrobatics of the mind

A competition – that is how it felt the first years of studying and I dearly enjoyed the long hours studying and solving mathematical problems with my amazing colleagues that soon became close friends. The excitement, the frustration, the joy – it felt like training acrobatics of the mind and I embraced the clarity of pure Mathematics, presenting an undefeatable truth.

What I have not told yet – alongside Mathematics I obtained another degree at a different institution, namely in music pedagogy for violin performance and later also studied early music with baroque violin. (In Austria you cannot obtain two majors or a minor in a different study area; now I think that this system would have fitted me much better.) I did worry a lot that people would not take me seriously either in Maths or in Music when they’d find out, and that is why I kept hiding my respective “second” identity in both communities for a very long time from most people. Luckily, I also met people that inspired me to keep up both interests and I am still very grateful for them. When I received a prestigious research fellowship towards the end of my PhD studies in Mathematics, for the first time I felt strong enough to speak publicly about my two paths. Often, I was asked: “So what will you choose? Maths or Music?” My answer has always been: “Both, of course!”

Maths and Music gave me the perfect balance to challenge both my analytical and creative skills on an emotional and structural level

Maths and Music gave me the perfect balance to challenge both my analytical and creative skills on an emotional and structural level during my university studies. I could not have gone forward and succeeded in one without the other. Later, both activities gave me such amazing opportunities to travel and meet people, where often it benefitted both my professions! And lastly – this brings me right in the present – eventually I have managed to combine both professions in an interdisciplinary research project that I am now carrying out.

But first, back to my path in Maths! My first undergraduate course in mathematical image processing showed me how enjoyable it can be to visually experience the results of a mathematical solution. I began to love the idea of using mathematics to process or even create a digital image, and the satisfaction to see the result of a successful algorithm (for example to make a noisy image clearer). I kept this excitement and was very grateful to find a supervisor for a Master’s thesis on image analysis – the project even included medical images from a hospital! I had not planned to stay for a PhD, but when I was offered to stay in the research project, I felt excited to deepen my understanding of mathematical image analysis and applications further.

The calm that once gave me comfort in pure Mathematics I now found in the compromises that have to be made in translational research

Soon my passion for interdisciplinary research was released, and gradually I started loving the edginess that comes when applying Mathematics to real-world problems. The calm that once gave me comfort in pure Mathematics I now found in the compromises that have to be made in translational research when trying to bridge theory, application and task-based needs.

Many little twists and turns have brought me to where I am now and I am absolutely thrilled about my interdisciplinary research project at the University of Cambridge, working on image analysis and historical music manuscripts. Having encountered various obstacles challenging my unusual path, I still would tell my younger self to delve into both passions, and I would advise everyone to stay true to themselves and feel free to go their own personal, individual path.

Published on October 15, 2025.
Photo credit: Flora Wiederkehr

Sep

2025

Mihyun Kang

Born in Jeju, South Korea • Studied Mathematics Education at Jeju National University in Jeju, South Korea • PhD in Mathematics from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea • Lives in Graz, Austria • Full Professor at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz)

In a way, becoming a Professor of Mathematics was probably always on the cards for me. Even as a child, the only subject I remember enjoying at school was mathematics and so pursuing higher education in this field felt natural.

I had both my parents’ support and encouragement to pursue this path in life. My father, a professor himself, gave me an early insight into the profession and all it entails. What I saw was mostly positive and so it was maybe no big surprise that I ended up in academia as well.

After finishing my PhD in 2001, I made my way to Berlin, Germany, to become a Postdoc at Humboldt University. Almost everything there – maths, academic culture, language, people’s attitude, as well as everyday life outside the university – was new and sometimes challenging to me, but I loved it. In this new world I could be what I was, without feeling the need to try to overly adjust myself to the standards and expectations of society.

I spent ten years in Germany, managing to progress from a postdoc to Heisenberg Fellow and then to Acting Professor at the University of Munich. I also used this time to learn the German language, which I now speak fluently. But I must say it took quite a few years to be able to teach in German, because the language of maths research is English and I taught only small Master’s courses, also in English.

Only later, when I started to teach Bachelor’s courses in German for engineering students and took part in academic administration as a Senate member of TU Graz, did I become more confident in using German in teaching and daily discussions.

I believe my approach of bridging multiple fields has contributed greatly to my career success, as it allows me to be more inventive and recognise patterns among seemingly different objects and mathematical behaviours that can only be discovered by thinking in an interdisciplinary manner.

For the past 13 years I have been a full professor at TU Graz in Austria, where I lead the Combinatorics Group. In my work, I draw inspiration from many neighbouring disciplines. My main research is centered around the phase transition phenomenon, partly because it appears in many different disciplines, including combinatorics, discrete probability, computer science, statistical physics, and network sciences. In fact, this phenomenon is almost everywhere including daily life, e.g., the change from ice to water and then to gas.

I believe my approach of bridging multiple fields has contributed greatly to my career success, as it allows me to be more inventive and recognise patterns among seemingly different objects and mathematical behaviours that can only be discovered by thinking in an interdisciplinary manner.

Doing research in mathematics involves a lot of collaboration with mathematicians from all over the world. I greatly enjoy discussions with mathematicians from different mathematical and cultural backgrounds.

Although mathematics may appear too abstract and detached from real life to most people, everybody has been exposed to hot topics such as digital security or artificial intelligence, which, in fact, rely heavily on progress in mathematics.

In addition to being part of this international network, my participation in the SFB (Research Network) “Discrete random structures: enumeration and scaling limits” – supported by a science and research funding organization in Austria – gives me a rewarding opportunity to forge closer collaborations with mathematicians coming from top universities in Austria. This research network brings together researchers from the fields of combinatorics and probability and even touches on areas such as quantum physics.

Although mathematics may appear too abstract and detached from real life to most people, everybody has been exposed to hot topics such as digital security or artificial intelligence, which, in fact, rely heavily on progress in mathematics. I therefore strongly believe that maths is invaluable to our society and a field worth pursuing a career in.

Published on September 3, 2025.
Photo credit: TU Graz

May

2025

Laura Lewis

Born in China • Studied mathematics and computer science at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in USA • Master’s in mathematics from University of Cambridge in UK • Lives in USA • Quantum information student, pursuing PhD at the University of California, Berkeley

Throughout my educational journey meandering through pure math, theoretical computer science, physics, and ultimately arriving in quantum information, I’ve seen that all these fields have deep foundations in mathematics, regardless of their outward label.

Early in life, I was drawn to math for its concreteness. To add two numbers together, there was a fixed set of rules, in contrast to other subjects we learn in elementary school, e.g., spelling which (especially in English) has many arbitrary rules and exceptions.

I was lucky to have a previous college math professor as my high school math teacher. He taught advanced math courses not typically covered in the high school curriculum, e.g., real and complex analysis.

With this initial interest, my experiences during high school solidified it and greatly influenced my academic path. I was lucky to have a previous college math professor as my high school math teacher. He taught advanced math courses not typically covered in the high school curriculum, e.g., real and complex analysis. With this, I was able to get a head start on math and got a glimpse of how it is explored in higher education: less through calculations and numbers, but with proofs.

Another pivotal experience was when I attended a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during the summer of my junior year in high school. There, I was challenged with advanced courses and projects but, perhaps most importantly, it was where I was first exposed to quantum mechanics. It immediately fascinated me due to its mystery, where even the first axioms are still debated. This is especially in contrast to other high school physics subjects, e.g., kinematics and electromagnetism, which are taught as having already been solved. This first experience with quantum mechanics planted a seed which would grow in college.

I double majored in pure mathematics and computer science, and as a part of the freshman seminars, one professor mentioned the intersection of these fields with quantum physics: quantum computing. I was fascinated.

When I started my undergraduate degree at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), I kept in mind my previous exposure to quantum physics and kept my eyes peeled for any interesting opportunities. I double majored in pure mathematics and computer science, and as a part of the freshman seminars, one professor mentioned the intersection of these fields with quantum physics: quantum computing. I was fascinated. This subject would allow me to explore my interdisciplinary interests in math, physics, and computer science, and I thought it was a great fit. That summer, I reached out to the professor and started a project with him on how to efficiently check the correctness of a powerful quantum computation using only your laptop. With this experience, I saw how important a strong mathematical foundation is for this type of research, which focuses on rigorously proving the security of such verification protocols.

It was also at this point in my education where I started to notice the gender imbalance in math and quantum science, where I was the only female pure math major in my year in undergrad. This was not at all specific to Caltech but representative of the field as a whole.

During my undergrad, I also worked on designing machine learning algorithms to predict ground states. A ground state is the lowest energy state of a system, where one can think of a ball lying at the bottom of a bowl. A good understanding of ground states can provide us with insights into different properties of quantum systems, so this is an important problem in quantum physics. In this project, I was able to leverage my mathematical background in analysis to provide rigorous theoretical proofs on the performance of my algorithms. It was fascinating to see how math could help pave the way for novel scientific exploration in important physics problems. I received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for my research (awarded to undergraduates in the USA for outstanding research), which increased my confidence to pursue the subject further.

It was also at this point in my education where I started to notice the gender imbalance in math and quantum science, where I was the only female pure math major in my year in undergrad. This was not at all specific to Caltech but representative of the field as a whole. I hope that by continuing to pursue a research career, I can inspire other young women to follow their passions and dive into mathematics with confidence.

After college, I pursued two master’s degrees in the UK through a Marshall Scholarship (awarded to recent college graduates from the USA to perform two years of graduate study in the UK). The first was at Cambridge in mathematics, a course which is well-known for offering an extensive array of advanced math classes. The second is a research degree at the University of Edinburgh in computer science, where I am free to explore a research topic of choice. These past two years have allowed me to hone my research interests and learn new mathematical tools to attain these goals. Soon I will start my Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, focusing on quantum information, and I’m excited to see where my pursuit of mathematics leads me next in advancing our scientific understanding of the universe.

Published on May 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Daniel Chen

Stories

Johanna Grames

Aleksandra Brodowy

Tabitha Rajashekar

Mikaela Iacobelli

Christina Runkel

Nishu Kumari

Lisa Hefendehl-Hebeker

Surya Mathialagan

Ilse Fischer

Anna Breger

Mihyun Kang

Laura Lewis

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

Hashtags

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta