By Maryam Vahedi

The Ministry of Science and Technology honored Sharam Kohan and recognized his innovative contributions to his field with the prestigious Brilliant Mind Award. Sharam Kohan, who remains virtually unknown to the public, is an Iranian mathematical logician and professor of law at the University of Judicial Sciences, and a legal scholar at the Parliament of Iran. He is a two times gold medalist at Iran’s National Mathematics Olympiad for High School students and the National Mathematics Olympiads for University Students. He gained fame after winning the gold medal at the age of 17. Others have won the gold in mathematics but none has been like Kohan. What sets him apart from rest of the very smart and bright people is that he quit school at the age of 10 so that he could work and support his family. What amazed academics was Kohan’s extraordinary ability to study on his own all school subjects, pass annual school exams with perfect GPAs and on top of all that win a gold medal in one of the most trying mathematics examinations in Iran.

It was not a surprise when the University of Tehran, ranked the best university in Iran, waived the national entrance examination for Kohan and invited him to be a student at the University of Tehran. Setting new records seems to have become a habit for Kohan who received Exceptional Talent Awards from the University of Tehran and Distinction Award from the President of Iran and the Minister of Technology for completing 9 consecutive years of full time studies in mathematics and philosophy with perfect GPAs and for graduating from the law school with highest distinction.

Kohan is a visiting mathematics lecturer at the University of Tehran, professor of law at the University of Judicial Sciences, and serves as an expert in international human rights for the parliament of Iran. He is a fervent human rights advocate.