She began her mathematics studies with her bachelor's degree at Isfahan University of Technology, followed by her master's at Sharif University of Technology. In 2019, she moved to France to pursue a master's degree 2, followed by a PhD at the École normale supérieure de Lyon, where she will defend her thesis in July 2023. During her master's degree, she worked on the Combinatorics curvature of graphs and, during her thesis, on topics at the intersection of geometric graph theory and chi-bornitude theory. She was particularly interested in Burling graphs and contributed to the solution of open problems in graph theory, notably Scott's conjecture for complete graphs.
After her thesis, she took up an ATER position at the Collège de France, in the Combinatorics chair, under the supervision of Prof. Timothy Gowers. During her studies, she developed a taste for interdisciplinary research in mathematics, combining Combinatorics with tools and concepts from a variety of fields. She is currently working on projects combining Combinatorics, geometry and operator algebras.
Pegah Pournajafi is the winner of the Prix de la Fondation Hugot du Collège de France 2024, nominated by Prof. Timothy Gowers, CombinatoricsChair .