Nalini Joshi Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nalini Joshi

• Nalini Joshi grew up in Burma (now Myanmar).

• As a child, Nandini had the freedom to explore her surroundings, which later influenced her approach towards learning and discovery.

• In 1971, at the age of 12, she moved from Burma to Australia along with her family.
  

  A childhood picture of Nalini Joshi with her younger brother

• Although her parents were born in Burma, her grandparents were ethnically Indian, and this background was a key reason the family faced discrimination and ultimately left the country.
  

  Nalini Joshi with her family

• At the time of migration, her father carried only four dollars for the entire family of four because strict rules in Burma limited how much foreign currency could be taken out of the country.

• Before the family was financially settled, a man connected to her father’s former patient in Burma helped them at the airport and gave them a place to stay until her father found a job and they could afford rent.

• After migrating to Australia, Nalini’s father received accreditation to work as a doctor, as his British-based medical training in Burma was accepted shortly after the end of the White Australia Policy, when doctors were in high demand.

• During her father’s army postings, Nalini Joshi lived in remote areas near the Golden Triangle region, which she has often described as an adventurous and free childhood.
  

  Nalini Joshi with her brother and father

• During high school, Nalini enjoyed mathematics and was good at solving problems quickly. She also liked helping other students, which reinforced her interest and talent in the subject.

• In 1982, Nalini was featured on the front page of The Sydney Morning Herald.
  

  Nalini Joshi’s post on X about featuring on the cover page of The Sydney Morning Herald

• Nalini initially planned to study astrophysics at the University of Sydney and become an astronaut. However, after taking first-year physics, she realised she lacked the necessary physical intuition for the field.

• She later switched to applied Mathematics and pursued a B.Sc. honours in the subject at the University of Sydney.

• During her undergraduate studies, lecturer Ted Fackerell introduced her to integrable systems and compared them to black hole interactions, which sparked her interest in soliton theory.

• Nalini Joshi later earned her PhD at Princeton University under the supervision of Martin David Kruskal. Her thesis was titled The Connection Problem for the First and Second Painlevé Transcendents.

•  She married a fellow PhD student in geophysical fluid dynamics halfway through her PhD.

• She had her son while doing a postdoctoral research position, and her daughter a few years later while lecturing at UNSW.

• After completing her formal studies, Nalini became a Mathematician and built her academic career in Australia.

• She joined the University of Sydney, where she became a professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics.
  

  Nalini Joshi, while teaching students

• She made history by becoming the first woman in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney to hold a professorial position.

• In 2002, Nalini Joshi became the Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney.

• That same year, she began serving as a full-time professor at the University of Sydney.
  

  Nalini Joshi with fellow professors at the University of Sydney

• From 2006 to 2013, Nalini served as the Director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology, where she helped guide research at the intersection of mathematics and biology.

• Nalini Joshi served as the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics (2007-2009), where she was responsible for the School’s academic and administrative leadership.

• She served as the President of the Australian Mathematical Society from 2008 to 2010.

• In January 2011, Nalini became the Chair of the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences under the Australian Academy of Science and served in this position until April 2016.

• As the Chair of the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences, she supported and promoted mathematics in Australia and strengthened international connections.

• In December 2012, she was appointed an ARC Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow.

• Nalini served as a Member of the Council of the Australian Academy of Science from May 2012 to May 2015, and during two of those three years, she was the only mathematician on the Council.

• She served as a Member of the Commonwealth Science Council from October 2014 to March 2019.

• In 2015, Nalini Joshi co-founded and co-chaired the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program, which aimed to improve the retention of women in STEM fields using Athena SWAN principles.

• In 2016, she began serving as a member of the SAGE Expert Advisory Group.

• On 8 December 2017, Nalini was awarded the inaugural Payne-Scott Professorial Distinction, recognising her academic leadership and contributions at the University of Sydney.

• She later became the Payne-Scott Professor at the University of Sydney and also became the Head of the Applied Mathematics Research Group.

• Nalini has worked with various researchers across Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Finland.

• She is an avid traveller.

• Nalini enjoys reading, walking, wine tasting, knitting, architecture, and visiting art galleries. However, she often feels she has little time to pursue her hobbies.