Picard-Fuchs Uniformization: Modularity of the Mirror Map and   Mirror-Moonshine
  Motivated by a conjecture of Lian and Yau concerning the mirror map in string theory, we determine when the mirror map q-series of certain elliptic curve and K3 surface families are Hauptmoduln (genus zero modular functions). Our geometric criterion for modularity characterizes orbifold uniformization properties of their Picard-Fuchs equations, effectively demystifying the mirror-moonshine phenomenon. A longer, more comprehensive treatment of these results will appear shortly. 
Charles F. Doran