University of Sydney’s Nalini Joshi wins top gong
“I wanted to try and understand the universe,” she says, “I would look at the shadows on the hills far away, and think, what are those shadows on the hills from?”
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She began noticing mathematical patterns when playing games, and then in school science experiments, discovering that she could find solutions using numbers.
Joshi describes maths as a magical power with an importance that cannot be overstated.
“It’s like the air we breathe. It’s essential to our lives, but people don’t pay attention to it because it’s invisible.”
Joshi immigrated to Australia with her family aged 12, following a period of political unrest in Burma. Here, she discovered science fiction, which drove her interest in astronomy and astrophysics.
She attended Fort Street High School and earned a bachelor of science with honours from the University of Sydney before completing a PhD at Princeton University.
Joshi is Sydney University’s first female chair of applied mathematics. She has previously won a Eureka Prize for outstanding mentorship of young researchers and is an officer of the Order of Australia.
The NSW Scientist of the Year is named at the recommendation of the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, which is accepted by the premier, and awarded by the governor.
Joshi will receive the award at a ceremony at NSW Government House on Wednesday evening.
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