Welcome to the web site for biographies of women in mathematics. These pages are part of an on-going project at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, to illustrate the numerous achievements of women in the field of mathematics. Here you can find biographical essays or comments on the women mathematicians profiled on this site, as well as additional resources about women in mathematics. Each time this page is reloaded, a randomly selected photo is displayed to the left (if Javascript is enabled). Click on the image to go to the profile of that woman.

We also welcome contributions of biographical information or essays from those outside Agnes Scott College. If you are interested in contributing an essay, please send your contribution to the email address below. Comments, suggestions, or corrections can also be sent to this address.

• Names in Alphabetical Order
• Names in Chronological Order
• Interactive Timeline (New!)
• Names by Location of Birth (including a Google Map view)
• Other Resources about Women Mathematicians
• The First Ph.D's in Mathematics by Women before 1930
• Prizes, Awards and Honors for Women Mathematicians
• Birth and Death Anniversaries
• Photo Credits
• Search the site

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Did you know? (See the Archive for past announcements)

• The IMU Committee for Women in Mathematics is inviting proposals for funding of up to 3000 euros for activities or initiatives taking place in 2016 aimed at establishing or supporting networks for women in mathematics, preferably at the continental or regional level, and with priority given to networks and individuals in developing or emerging countries. For more details see the CWM website (or http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/templates/wim/images/CWMCall2016.pdf).
   
• Congratulations to Alicia Dickenstein, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who was awarded the 2015 Prize in Mathematics from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries "for her outstanding contribution to the understanding of discriminants". For more information see the TWAS news story.
   
• "Women are as capable mathematically as men, so why aren't there more women in mathematical research? Are female mathematicians as ambitious as men? Are the accomplishments of female mathematicians as recognized as those of men? Dr Lynne Walling (Reader and Head of Pure Mathematics at University of Bristol) explores these questions in her talk "Women and Men: Ambition in an ambivalent society" at the School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Nottingham. She also discusses barriers and discouragement women in mathematics often face, and strategies women might employ." Watch the YouTube video.
   
• Professor Cheryl Praeger was the 2015 inductee into the Western Australia Science Hall of Fame "for her outstanding contributions to the field and her work encouraging the involvement of women in mathematics. As Australia's most highly-cited pure mathematician many of her algorithms have been incorporated into powerful computer algebra and transformed the way in which algebra is taught and researched." See the press release from the 2015 Premier's Science Awards ceremony held on August 20, 2015.
   
• Congratulations to Jacqueline Bredenberg who is only the second female to win Gold #1 designation in the 58 years of the Michigan Math Prize Competition. She actually placed Gold #1 in each of the past two competitions. The previous Gold #1 female winner did so in 1991. Jackie will begin studies in computer science at MIT this coming fall. For more information see the Detroit News article from July 12.

• Congratulations to Celine Liang (Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA) and Danielle Wang (Andrew Hill High School, San Jose, CA) for being two of the twelve winners of the 2015 USA Mathematical Olympiad. Liang and Wang also represented the United States at the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad in Minsk, Belarus, in April 2015 (see item below). They are shown here with Dr. John Holdren, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, during the celebration for the winners at the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC., on June 2.
   
• The 150th anniversary of the London Mathematical Society Women in Maths four day conference was written up in Plus online magazine! See https://plus.maths.org/content/it-all-adds.
   
• In March 2015 the newly-elected IMU Executive Committee, at its meeting in Berlin, decided to establish a new Committee for Women in Mathematics (CWM) to promote international contacts between national and regional organizations for women in mathematical sciences; maintain up-to-date content on the Committee for Women in Mathematics part of the IMU website and, with appropriate assistance from the IMU, to ensure its technical development; consider how best to facilitate electronic communications among the community of women mathematicians internationally; work with groups, committees and commissions of IMU on topics pertaining to women mathematicians and their representation; publicise, and where needed to suggest, working practices that ensure equal opportunities for women mathematicians in universities and research institutions, for example appropriate funding arrangements, family friendly policies and facilities; report annually to the IMU Executive Committee and to propose actions that would lead to an improvement in the position women in the mathematical community and to an increase in the representation of women in mathematics at all levels. Website: http://www.mathunion.org/cwm
   
• Are you on Facebook? Consider joining the Women in Maths Community at https://www.facebook.com/womeninmaths or like the page for the Association for Women in Mathematics at https://www.facebook.com/awmmath.
   
• Professor Bin Yu from the University of California, Berkeley, has been named the 2016 Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) Rietz Lecturer. She gave her lecture at the World Congress of Probability and Statistics, July 11‐15, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Rietz Lecturer is chosen every three years by the IMS Committee on Special Lectures. It is one of the highest academic honors bestowed by the IMS.
   
• The African Mathematical Union Commission for Women and Mathematics in Africa (AMUCWMA) 2015 Conference / Workshop took place at Bandari College in Mombasa, Kenya from July 16-18, 2015. The theme of the conference/workshop is "Women in Mathematics for Social Change and Sustainable Livelihoods". The conference is supported by CIMPA and is intended for African women mathematicians and women postgraduate students in Mathematical Sciences in Africa. For detailed information, contact Prof. Marie Françoise Ouedraogo, President of the AMUCWMA (omfrancoise@yahoo.fr).
   
• The fourth European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad took place in Minsk, Belarus, April 14-20, 2015. The competition, inspired by the China Girls' Math Olympiad, is similar in style to the International Mathematical Olympiad, with two tests taken on consecutive days. Participating countries send teams consisting of their strongest four high-school-age, female mathematicians. The girls who represented the United States, Meghal Gupta, Celine Liang, Danielle Wang, and Rachelle Zhang, took second place with three gold medals and one silver medal.
   
• The AWM Research Symposium 2015 was held at the University of Maryland, College Park, April 11-12, 2015. It featured four plenary talks by Maria Chudnovsky, Ingrid Daubechies, Jill Pipher, and Katrin Wehrheim, as well as 14 special sessions on a wide range of topics in pure and applied mathematics, poster sessions for graduate students and recent PhDs, networking events, a jobs panel, and a banquet. For more information, see the Symposium website.
   
• The 2015 Class of the Fellows of the American Mathematical Society includes seven women among the total of 63 Fellows. They are Kristin Lauter, Gordana Matic, Irina Mitrea, Andrea Nahmod, Brooke Shipley, Christina Sormani, and Irena Lasiecka. See the complete list from the AMS.
   
• Sylvia Bozeman and Rhonda Hughes, founders of the EDGE program, were presented with a Presidential Award from the Association for Women in Mathematics at the AWM Research Symposium 2015, held at the University of Maryland on April 11-12, 2015.

AWM Biographies Contest

To increase awareness of women's ongoing contributions to the mathematical sciences, the Association for Women in Mathematics sponsors an essay contest for biographies of contemporary women mathematicians and statisticians in academic, industrial, and government careers. This contest is open to students in the following categories: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, and College Undergraduate. At least one winning submission will be chosen from each category. Winners will receive a prize, and their essays will be published online at the AWM website. Additionally, a grand prize winner will have his or her submission published in the AWM Newsletter. For more information and to see the results of past Essay Contests, go to http://www.awm-math.org/biographies/contest.html.

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Agnes Scott College, founded in 1889, is a private liberal arts college for women in Decatur, a part of Atlanta, Georgia.

Looking for college scholarships for women? Agnes Scott, a top liberal arts college, offers women generous scholarships based on academic record, academic interests, and ethnic and religious affiliations.

Visit the Agnes Scott College Mathematics Department website.

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http://www.AgnesScott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm