Zvezdelina Stankova

Stankova was born in Ruse, Bulgaria. She became a student at an elite English-language high school, and competed on the Bulgarian team in the International Mathematical Olympiads in 1987 and 1988, earning silver medals both times. She entered Sofia University but in 1989, as the Iron Curtain was falling, became one of 15 Bulgarian students selected to travel to the US to complete their studies. Stankova studied at Bryn Mawr College, completing bachelor's and master's degrees there in 1992, with Rhonda Hughes as a faculty mentor. She worked at the University of California, Berkeley as Morrey Assistant Professor of Mathematics She also serves on the advisory board of the Proof School in San Francisco. ==Contributions==

In the theory of permutation patterns, Stankova is known for proving that the permutations with the forbidden pattern 1342 are equinumerous with the permutations with forbidden pattern 2413, an important step in the enumeration of permutations avoiding a pattern of length 4. In 1998 she became the founder and director of the Berkeley Math Circle, an after-school mathematics enrichment program that Stankova modeled after her early experiences learning mathematics in Bulgaria. The Berkeley circle was only the second math circle in the US (after one in Boston); following its success, over 100 other circles have been created, For six years, she served as a coach of the US International Mathematical Olympiad team. ==Publications==

With Tom Rike, she is co-editor of two books about her work with the Berkeley Math Circle, A Decade of the Berkeley Math Circle: The American Experience (Vol. I, 2008, Vol. II, 2014). ==Awards and honors==

In 1992, Stankova won the Alice T. Schafer Prize of the Association for Women in Mathematics for her undergraduate research in permutation patterns. In 2011 Stankova won the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching, given by the Mathematical Association of America, "for her outstanding work in teaching, mentoring, and inspiring students at all levels, and in leading the development of Math Circles, and promoting participation in mathematics competitions". From 2009 to 2012 she was the Frederick A. Rice Professor of Mathematics at Mills. ==References==