Britta Späth, a German graduate student, spent years dedicated to proving the McKay conjecture, an important problem in group theory. Initially aiming for small incremental theorems, she found herself continually drawn back to the conjecture, which posed a considerable risk to her academic career. Partnering with fellow mathematician Marc Cabanes, their collaborative efforts yielded a blend of professional and personal success as they fell in love and started a family, ultimately leading to the successful proof of the conjecture.
"Whenever I tried to focus on something else, it didn’t connect. This conjecture just kept pulling me back in, and I couldn’t ignore it."
"It's a central theme in mathematics to understand complex objects by studying smaller fragments. This approach has fed our obsession with the McKay conjecture."
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