Complexities : women in mathematics / edited by Bettye Anne Case, Anne M. Leggett.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Case, Bettye Anne, editor.

Leggett, Anne M., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women in mathematics--United States--History.

Women in mathematics.

Feminism and science--United States.

Feminism and science.

Women mathematicians--United States--Biography.

Women mathematicians.

Mathematics--Vocational guidance--United States.

Mathematics.

United States.

Genre:

History

Biographies

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (457 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford, [England] : Princeton University Press, 2005.

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 mélange 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, Complexities will inspire young women who are contemplating careers in mathematics and will speak to women in many fields of endeavor and walks of life.

Contents:

Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; CONTENTS; Preface; Acknowledgments; Note to Readers; Abbreviations; I. Inspiration; 1. FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY; In Her Own Words; Remembering Olga Taussky Todd; Being Julia Robinson's Sister; Euphemia Lofton Haynes; Marjorie Lee Browne; Cora Ratto de Sadosky; Fifty Years in Mathematics; Emmy Noether; 2. FROM EARLIER TIMES; My Grandmother, Grace Chisholm Young; Like Mother, Like Daughter; Charlotte Angas Scott; Sonia Kovalevsky; Elizaveta Fedorovna Litvinova; Ada Byron Lovelace; Sophie Germain; Christine Ladd Franklin and Mary Fairfax Somerville.

II. Joining TogetherWomen and Mathematical Ability; AWM's First Twenty Years: The Presidents' Perspectives; Activities and Awards; AWM in the 1990s; 1996: Women Preside; Affirmative Action: What Is It and What Should It Be?; Across Borders; Women Invited as Speakers at ICMs; ICM Activities on Women in Mathematics; International Views on Education; Crossing Ocean and Equator; Voices from Six Continents; COMPLEXITIES PHOTO ALBUM; III. Choices and Challenges; Pathways in Mathematics; 1. A DUAL TRIUMPH; Black and Female; In Remembrance; How I Decided to Pursue a Ph. D. in Mathematics.

A Double Dose of DiscriminationPrejudice and Isolation, or Cooperation and Support?; 2. INSIDE THE ACADEMY; Moment Maps in Stable Bundles; Honors and Awards; Uhlenbeck Receives National Medal of Science; Gung and Hu Award Conferred on Schafer; Spikes Honored as Administrator and Educator; Chauvenet Prize Awarded to Birman; Expository Writing; Country School to Grad School; The Real World of the 1930s; Two Mentors; Violet Bushwick Haas; Alice B. Dickinson; Increasing Minority Representation in Mathematics; Research and Teaching at Liberal Arts Colleges; Sustaining a Research Program.

Are Student Ratings Unfair to Women?Rules for Academic Success; 3. OUTSIDE THE ACADEMY; Government and Administration; Citations; Computer Science; Aerospace; Oil Industry; Publishing; National Security Agency; Biomedical Research; Communications Industry; 4. HAVING A LIFE; How I Became a Mathematician; Is Geography Destiny?; Making a Choice; Universities and the Two-Body Problem; Lifestyle Discussions; The Two-City Existence; Spatial Separation in Family Life; Tenure Track, Mommy Track; IV. Celebration; Problems, Including Mathematical Problems, from My Early Years.

Looking Back ... Looking AheadOlga Taussky and Class Field Theory; Numbers, Matrices, and Commutativity; The Taussky Todd Celebration; A Mathematician at NIST Today; What Use Is Statistics for Massive Data?; Math, with an Attitude; V. Into a New Century; Biased Random Walk: A Brief Mathematical Biography; Challenges; Mathematics in "My Century"; Thought Problems; Outreach and Variety; Demographic Trends and Challenges; Me, a Mathematician?; My Path toward Mathematics; A Cautionary Tale; Role Models and Mentors; An Energetic Career; For the Love of Mathematics.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781400880164

1400880165

OCLC:

1303458076