Nalini Joshi

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Nalini Joshi
AO
NaliniJoshiSmall.jpg
Nalini Joshi in 2014
Born
Yangon, Myanmar
Alma mater Princeton University
Known forResearch in integrable systems
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, 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

Nalini Joshi AO is an Australian mathematician. Since 2002 and as of March 2026 she is Chair of Applied Mathematics and a professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, the first female mathematician to be appointed professor at the university. Her research concerns integrable systems. She is a past president of the Australian Mathematical Society, and in July 2018 was elected vice-president of the International Mathematical Union, the first Australian to hold this position. She was awarded the Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2012.

Contents

Early life and education

Nalini Joshi was born Yangon, Myanmar (Burma),[ citation needed ] 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]

Joshi attended Fort Street High School in Sydney, and gained her Bachelor of Science with honours in 1980 at the University of Sydney. She earned her PhD at Princeton University in the United States, under the supervision of Martin David Kruskal. [1] [2] Her PhD thesis was entitled The Connection Problem for the First and Second Painlevé Transcendents. [3]

Career

After 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.[ citation needed ]

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 at Sydney University (associate head from 2010). [4] She was the first female mathematician to be appointed professor at the university. [5] first woman to hold this position. [1] She is also a member of the School's Applied Mathematics Research Group. [6] As of March 2026 she remains Chair of Applied Mathematics at the School. [7]

Other achievements and roles

Joshi has held a number of positions in the Australian Mathematical Society, including its presidency from December 2008 to September 2010. [4] [8] She was a board member of the Australian Mathematics Trust (2010–13), and joined the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences in January 2010. [4]

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. [9]

Since 2016, she has served as a member of the SAGE Expert Advisory Group. [10]

Awards and honours

Joshi was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in March 2008, [4] the third woman to be elected to the Australian Academy of Science. [5] She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN). [11]

In 2012, Joshi became a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow, which involves the five-year project, Geometric construction of critical solutions of nonlinear systems. [6] [12] [13] [14]

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. [15]

In June 2016, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. [16]

Joshi was elected vice-president of the International Mathematical Union in July 2018, the first Australian to hold this position. [17]

She was recognised in the October 2019 NSW Premier's Prizes for Science & Engineering for "Excellence in Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Chemistry or Physics". [18]

In 2020, Joshi was awarded the George Szekeres Medal from the Australian Mathematical Society (AMS). [19] 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". [20]

Joshi was named NSW Scientist of the Year in 2025, the first time the award has been made to a mathematician. [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A good head for figures". University of Sydney. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Research supervisor profile for Professor Nalini Joshi". Research Supervisor Connect. University of Sydney. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Nalini Joshi". Mathematics Genealogy Project . Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "N. Joshi: Brief History". University of Sydney. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Bagshaw, Eryk (29 March 2016). "Top Sydney University mathematician Nalini Joshi laments gender discrimination". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Professor Nalini Joshi". University of Sydney. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Professor Nalini Joshi". University of Sydney. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Gill, Katynna (9 December 2008). "Nalini Joshi elected President of Australian Mathematical Society". The University of Sydney . Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Diversity Leads to Innovation: Interview with Professor Nalini Joshi". Science in Australia Gender Equity . 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "SAGE Expert Advisory Group". Science in Australia Gender Equity . Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Fellows – The Royal Society of NSW". royalsoc.org.au. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ "Profiles: Georgina Sweet Fellows". Australian Research Council . Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Garrick, Jesse (2 March 2015). "LMS 150th Anniversary Hardy Lecture Tour". London Mathematical Society. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "The Queen's Birthday 2016 Honours List" (PDF). 13 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "International Mathematical Union honours Nalini Joshi". The Royal Society of NSW. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "2019 Category Winners – NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer". chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  19. ↑ "Mathematics People - 2020 Australian Mathematical Society Awards" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 68: 436–437.
  20. ↑ "ANZIAM : The 2021 ANZIAM Medal". www.anziam.org.au. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  21. ↑ Fagan, Siena (18 November 2025). "The Sydney mathematician finding a better way to keep your data safe". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 November 2025.


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