Shiraz Hosts Intˈl Scientific Olympiad

Shiraz, Fars Prov, Aug 17, IRNA – International Scientific Mathematics, Chemistry and Statistics Olympiads for University Students started in this southern provincial capital city on Sunday with the participation of nine Iranian elites. Head of the Center for Student Olympiads and International Tests Behrouz Kavehee told IRNA that 55 students are participating in the two-day scientific event from Iran, Russia, Iraq, Oman, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Republic of Tatarstan and Azerbaijan. The tests will be conducted in English and the results will be published on Wednesday, Kavehee said. He added that Professor Maryam Mirzakhani who won the prestigious Fields Medal – known as ˈthe Nobel Prize of mathematics,ˈ was also a gold winner in Iranˈs past international Olympiads in mathematics. Mirzakhani, 37, a professor of mathematics at Stanford University is the first woman ever to win the prize since it was established in 1936. She is a graduate of Tehran Sharif University of Technology. She was awarded the Fields Medal for her sophisticated and highly original contributions to the fields of geometry and dynamical systems. Fields Medal is awarded every 4 years to between 2 and 4 young mathematicians who must be no older than 40./end