Nalini Joshi

Nalini Joshi, an Australian of Indian origin, has become only the third woman in mathematics to be elected to the prestigious Australian Academy of Sciences (AAS), founded in 1954 by Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London.
Joshi, head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, was made a fellow of AAS in recognition of her life-long achievements in the field of mathematics.Her mathematical research has helped to describe delicate and precise transitions that occur in many non-linear models of the real world.She completed the four-year degree with honours in applied mathematics and her doctorate at Princeton University in the US.Born in Myanmar to Indian origin grandparents hailing from Gujarat and Punjab, Joshi migrated to Australia in 1971.After working in various positions around Australia and overseas, she returned to the University of Sydney in 2002 as chair of applied mathematics, the first woman to be appointed a professor of mathematics at the University. In April 2007 she was appointed head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, again becomingthe first woman to hold the position.