Last Friday, Maryam Mirzakhani, a Stanford professor of mathematics and the only woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal in Mathematics, died at the age of 40 after a long battle with breast cancer. As people around the globe grieve the loss of this talented mathematician, Maryam's life stands as an inspiration for young girls and boys from all walks of life the world over. Her calm exterior and warm smile, hid the hard life she and her family experienced living through the hard economic and social transformations after the Iran revolution in 1979, as well as the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war that followed. Although Maryam originally wanted to be a writer, she found an even greater joy in how rewarding it felt to solve mathematical problems. "The beauty of mathematics only shows itself to more patient followers," she once said. To read more about the life and achievements of this remarkable woman go to Maryam Mirzakhani, Stanford mathematician and Fields Medal winner, dies.