Complexities

by Case, Bettye Anne

• ISBN13: 9780691114620
• ISBN10: 0691114625
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-10
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Sophie Germain taught herself mathematics by candlelight, huddled in her bedclothes. Ada Byron Lovelace anticipated aspects of general-purpose digital computing by more than a century. Cora Ratto de Sadosky advanced messages of tolerance and equality while sharing her mathematical talents with generations of students. This captivating book gives voice to women mathematicians from the late eighteenth century through to the present day. It documents the complex nature of the conditions women around the world have faced--and continue to face--while pursuing their careers in mathematics. The stories of the three women above and those of many more appear here, each one enlightening and inspiring. The earlier parts of the book provide historical context and perspective, beginning with excursions into the lives of fifteen women born before 1920. Included are histories of collective efforts to improve women's opportunities in research mathematics. In addition, a photo essay puts a human face on the subject as it illustrates women's contributions in professional associations. More than eighty women from academe, government, and the private sector provide a rich meacute;lange of insights and strategies for creating workable career paths while maintaining rewarding personal lives. The book discusses related social and cultural issues, and includes a summary of recent comparative data relating to women and men in mathematics and women from other sciences. First-person accounts provide explicit how-tos; many narratives demonstrate great determination and perseverance. Talented women vividly portray their pleasure in discovering new mathematics. The senior among them speak out candidly, interweaving their mathematics with autobiographical detail. At the beginning of a new century, women at all stages of their careers share their outlooks and experiences. Clear, engaging, and meticulously researched,Complexitieswill inspire young women who are contemplating careers in mathematics and will speak to women in many fields of endeavor and walks of life.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Note to Readers	xv
Abbreviations	xvii
I. Inspiration	1	(76)
From the Twentieth Century	3	(35)
In Her Own Words	4	(2)
Olga Taussky-Todd
Remembering Olga Taussky Todd	6	(2)
Chandler Davis
Being Julia Robinson's Sister	8	(10)
Constance Reid
Euphemia Lofton Haynes	18	(1)
Marjorie Lee Browne	19	(5)
Patricia Clark Kenschaft
Cora Ratto de Sadosky	24	(3)
Cora Sadosky
Fifty Years in Mathematics	27	(3)
Mabel S. Barnes
Emmy Noether	30	(8)
Emiliana Pasca Noether
From Earlier Times	38	(39)
My Grandmother, Grace Chisholm Young	39	(7)
Sylvia M. Wiegand
Like Mother, Like Daughter	46	(2)
Ivor Grattan-Guinness
Charlotte Angas Scott	48	(4)
Patricia Clark Kenschaft
Sonia Kovalevsky	52	(2)
Linda Keen
Elizaveta Fedorovna Litvinova	54	(6)
Ann Hibner Koblitz
Ada Byron Lovelace	60	(8)
Dana Angluin
Sophie Germain	68	(6)
Mary W. Gray
Christine Ladd Franklin and Mary Fairfax Somerville	74	(3)
II. Joining Together	77	(72)
Women and Mathematical Ability	79	(1)
Ralph P. Boas
AWM's First Twenty Years: The Presidents' Perspectives	80	(18)
Lenore Blum
Activities and Awards	98	(7)
AWM in the 1990s	105	(10)
Jean E. Taylor
Sylvia M. Wiegand
1996: Women Preside	115	(1)
Affirmative Action: What Is It and What Should It Be?	116	(5)
Cora Sadosky
Across Borders	121	(1)
Bettye Anne Case
Anne M. Leggett
Women Invited as Speakers at ICMs	122	(2)
ICM Activities on Women in Mathematics	124	(4)
International Views on Education	128	(3)
Elizabeth S. Allman
Crossing Ocean and Equator	131	(3)
Isabel Salgado Labouriau
Voices from Six Continents	134	(15)
Complexities Photo Album (Following Page 148)
III. Choices and Challenges	149	(116)
Pathways in Mathematics	151	(26)
Bettye Anne Case
Anne M. Leggett
A Dual Triumph	177	(14)
Black and Female	178	(3)
Vivienne Malone Mayes
In Remembrance	181	(3)
Etta Zuber Falconer
Lee Lorch
How I Decided to Pursue a Ph.D. in Mathematics	184	(2)
Geraldine Darden
A Double Dose of Discrimination	186	(2)
Elayne Arrington-Idowu
Prejudice and Isolation, or Cooperation and Support?	188	(3)
Inside the Academy	191	(30)
Moment Maps in Stable Bundles	193	(2)
Karen Uhlenbeck
Honors and Awards	195	(5)
Uhlenbeck Receives National Medal of Science	195	(1)
Gung and Hu Award Conferred on Schafer	196	(1)
Linda R. Sons
Spikes Honored as Administrator and Educator	197	(2)
Chauvenet Prize Awarded to Birman	199	(1)
Expository Writing	200	(2)
Joan S. Birman
Country School to Grad School	202	(2)
Burton W. Jones
Robert A. Rosenbaum
The Real World of the 1930s	204	(1)
Dorothy L. Bernstein
Two Mentors	205	(3)
Violet Bushwick Haas	205	(2)
Pamela G. Coxson
Alice B. Dickinson	207	(1)
Joan P. Hutchinson
Increasing Minority Representation in Mathematics	208	(4)
William A. Hawkins
Gloria Hewitt
John W. Alexander
Bettye Anne Case
Research and Teaching at Liberal Arts Colleges	212	(1)
Lynne M. Butler
Sustaining a Research Program	213	(2)
Karen Brucks
Bettye Anne Case
Anne M. Leggett
Are Student Ratings Unfair to Women?	215	(3)
Neal I. Koblitz
Rules for Academic Success	218	(3)
Audrey A. Terras
Outside the Academy	221	(22)
Government and Administration	222	(5)
Mina Rees
Citations	227	(1)
Computer Science	228	(2)
Maria M. Klawe
Aerospace	230	(2)
Elizabeth Ralston
Oil Industry	232	(3)
Margaret Waid
Publishing	235	(1)
Anneli Lax
Bettye Anne Case
Anne M. Leggett
National Security Agency	236	(2)
Barbara Brown Flinn
Biomedical Research	238	(2)
Sarah E. Holte
Communications Industry	240	(3)
Margaret H. Wright
Having a Life	243	(22)
How I Became a Mathematician	244	(4)
Louise Hay
Is Geography Destiny?	248	(3)
Margaret A. M. Murray
Making a Choice	251	(2)
Judith Roitman
Universities and the Two-Body Problem	253	(3)
Susan Landau
Lifestyle Discussions	256	(1)
The Two-City Existence	257	(1)
Judy Green
Spatial Separation in Family Life	258	(2)
Marian Boykan Pour-El
Tenure Track, Mommy Track	260	(5)
Susan Landau
IV. Celebration	265	(82)
Problems, Including Mathematical Problems, from My Early Years	267	(5)
Cathleen Synge Morawetz
Looking Back . . . Looking Ahead	272	(9)
Evelyn Boyd Granville
Olga Taussky and Class Field Theory	281	(11)
Christa Binder
Numbers, Matrices, and Commutativity	292	(16)
Helene Shapiro
The Taussky Todd Celebration	308	(6)
Bettye Anne Case
Krystyna Kuperberg
Helen Moore
Lesley A. Ward
A Mathematician at NIST Today	314	(14)
Fern Y. Hunt
What Use Is Statistics for Massive Data?	328	(12)
Diane Lambert
Math, with an Attitude	340	(7)
Linda Petzold
V. Into a New Century	347	(50)
Biased Random Walk: A Brief Mathematical Biography	349	(5)
Nancy Kopell
Challenges	354	(2)
Karen Uhlenbeck
Mathematics in ``My Century''	356	(2)
Carolyn S. Gordon
Thought Problems	358	(3)
Ingrid Daubechies
Outreach and Variety	361	(3)
Suzanne Lenhart
Demographic Trends and Challenges	364	(6)
Carolyn R. Mahoney
Me, a Mathematician?	370	(2)
Catherine A. Roberts
My Path toward Mathematics	372	(9)
Karen E. Smith
A Cautionary Tale	381	(4)
Helen Moore
Role Models and Mentors	385	(3)
Judy L. Walker
An Energetic Career	388	(2)
Tamara G. Kolda
For the Love of Mathematics	390	(3)
Tasha R. Inniss
Mathematics: Mortals and Morals	393	(4)
Katherine Socha
Afterword	397	(2)
Photo Credits	399	(2)
Index of Names	401