Marta Macho-Stadler
Full Professor of the Department of Mathematics at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Eight years have passed since the first Fields Medal was awarded to a woman, Iran's Maryam Mirzakhani. In 2018, Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska was already one of the strong candidates to receive this prestigious award but, unfortunately, it was not possible. In 2022, this recognition is particularly moving, because of the unfair situation her country is suffering and because an excellent scientist is receiving it. This award is fair and 'gives us' a new woman of reference in this discipline, mathematics, which is as complex as it is fascinating.
At the age of 38, Maryna Viazovska has solved one of those problems that is easy to understand, but which requires profound knowledge in all branches of mathematics. And very few people have the ability to understand the nuances of abstract and difficult theories and fit the pieces together to solve problems. Maryna Vaizovska is one of them.
Her main contribution has been the solution to the problem of packing spheres in dimensions 8 and 24; this is a generalisation of the so-called Kepler conjecture for dimension 3, which looks for the optimal way to place dimension 3 spheres (like oranges) so that they take up as little space as possible. The techniques developed by Viazovska to calculate the packing density of spheres in dimensions 8 and 24 could help solve the problem in other dimensions or advance knowledge in many other areas of science.