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Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska solved a problem that had puzzled mathematicians for over 400 years. Even Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton couldn’t crack it.
We live in a three-dimensional world, but Maryna solved a puzzle in an eight-dimensional space—something that’s very hard even to imagine.
She was born in Kyiv, studied at Taras Shevchenko University, worked in Bonn and Berlin, and at just 33 became a professor in Lausanne.
So what was the problem? It’s about how to pack identical spheres as tightly as possible in space. This question was first asked by Kepler back in 1611. Over time, scientists found answers for two and three dimensions—but not for eight.
Maryna proved that in eight dimensions, the densest packing is formed by a special mathematical structure called a lattice. What’s even more amazing is that she did it in just 23 pages, while earlier attempts took hundreds.
In 2022, she was awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigious prize in mathematics. She became only the second woman in history to receive it.
Today, Maryna Viazovska works in Lausanne, supports Ukrainian mathematicians, and brings pride to Ukraine with her achievements.
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