How Mathematical Objects Are like People and Other Mysteries of Intersection Theory

A Q&A with Hannah Larson, a recipient of the 2024 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize

Hannah Larson is obsessed with understanding what happens when two or more mathematical objects intersect. Larson, a mathematician at the University of California, Berkeley, and a research fellow at the Clay Mathematics Institute, recently won a 2024 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize. It’s named after the first female mathematician to win the Fields Medal, often described as the Nobel Prize of math. The New Frontiers Prize is given to exceptional female mathematicians who have recently earned their Ph.Ds.