Nalini Joshi AO is an Australian mathematician. She is a professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, the first woman in the School to hold this position, and is a past-president of the Australian Mathematical Society.[1] [2] Joshi is a member of the School's Applied Mathematics Research Group. Her research concerns integrable systems. She was awarded the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2012.[3] Joshi is also the Vice-President of the International Mathematical Union, and is the first Australian to hold this position.[4]
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 |
Early life
editJoshi was born and spent her childhood in Burma. In 2007, she described her experience growing up there:
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)[1]
Education
editJoshi attended Fort Street High School and gained her Bachelor of Science with honours in 1980 at the University of Sydney, and her PhD at Princeton University under the supervision of Martin David Kruskal.[1] [5] Her PhD thesis was entitled The Connection Problem for the First and Second Painlevé Transcendents.[6]
Career
editAfter a postdoctoral fellowship in 1987 and a research fellowship and lectureship (1988–90), both at the Australian National University, Joshi took up a lectureship at the University of New South Wales in Sydney (1990–94) and was promoted to senior lecturer in 1994. In 1997, she won an Australian Research Council (ARC) senior research fellowship, which she took up at the University of Adelaide, and became an associate professor/reader at that university a year later. In 2002 she moved to the University of Sydney as Chair of Applied Mathematics; since 2006 she has been director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology, from 2007 to 2009 head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics (associate head since 2010).[7]
In 2015, Joshi co-founded and co-chaired the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program, which works to increase retention of women in STEM fields using Athena SWAN principles.[8] Since 2016, she has served as a member of the SAGE Expert Advisory Group.[9]
Awards and honors
editJoshi was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in March 2008, and has held a number of positions in the Australian Mathematical Society, including its presidency from December 2008 to September 2010. She was also a board member of the Australian Mathematics Trust (2010–13) She has been on the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences since January 2010.[7]
In 2012, Joshi became a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow, which involves the five-year project, Geometric construction of critical solutions of nonlinear systems.[3][10][11][12]
In 2015, she was the 150th Anniversary Hardy Lecturer, an award by the London Mathematical Society involving an extensive series of lectures throughout the United Kingdom.[13] She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN).[14] In June 2016, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.[15]
Joshi was elected vice-president of the International Mathematical Union in July 2018. She was recognised in the October 2019 NSW Premier's Prizes for "Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry or Physics".[16]
In 2020, Joshi was awarded the George Szekeres Medal from the Australian Mathematical Society.[17] She was awarded the 2021 ANZIAM Medal by Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics for "unparalleled contributions to applied mathematics in leadership, gender equity, and promotion of mathematics."[18]
References
edit- ^ a b c "A good head for figures". University of Sydney. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ Gill, Katynna (9 December 2008). "Nalini Joshi elected President of Australian Mathematical Society". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Professor Nalini Joshi". University of Sydney. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "International Mathematical Union honours Nalini Joshi". The Royal Society of NSW. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Research supervisor profile for Professor Nalini Joshi". Research Supervisor Connect. University of Sydney. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ "Nalini Joshi". Mathematics Genealogy Project. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ a b "N. Joshi: Brief History". University of Sydney. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "Diversity Leads to Innovation: Interview with Professor Nalini Joshi". Science in Australia Gender Equity. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "SAGE Expert Advisory Group". Science in Australia Gender Equity. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "Professor Nalini Joshi: Geometric construction of critical solutions of nonlinear systems" (PDF). Australian Research Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ Leatherdale, Verity (30 July 2012). "Three Sydney researchers acknowledged with Australian Laureate Fellowships". University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ "Profiles: Georgina Sweet Fellows". Australian Research Council. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ Garrick, Jesse (2 March 2015). "LMS 150th Anniversary Hardy Lecture Tour". London Mathematical Society. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "Fellows – The Royal Society of NSW". royalsoc.org.au. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ "The Queen's Birthday 2016 Honours List" (PDF). 13 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "2019 Category Winners – NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer". chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "Mathematics People - 2020 Australian Mathematical Society Awards" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 68: 436–437.
- ^ "ANZIAM : The 2021 ANZIAM Medal". www.anziam.org.au. Retrieved 23 December 2021.