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.
Did you know? (See the Archive for past announcements)
- The movie Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani examines the life and mathematical work of Maryam Mirzakhani. You can watch the trailer at the film's website and read the film's synopsis and production information on the 59 minute film.
- The May 2020 newsletter of the International Mathematical Union Committee for Women in Mathematics is available at https://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/CWM/Initiatives/CWMNewsletter3.pdf. This issue contains an interview with Cheryl Praeger, the second person to be appointed as a professor of mathematics at an Australian university.
- Congratulations to Team USA who earned fourth place in the 2020 European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad. The competition took place virtually April 15-21, and 53 countries competed. Each member of the U.S. team also earned an individual medal for her performance. For more information about the team sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America, see the MAA website. To see the problems from the 2020 competition, visit the EGMO website.
- In 2018, at the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics in Rid de Janeiro, delegates voted to establish May 12 as a yearly global Celebration of Women in Mathematics on Maryam Mirzakhani's birthday. The first celebration occurred on May 12, 2019. Stories about the events on that day from around the world can be found in the article "May 12: Celebrating Women in Mathematics - From One Idea to One Hundred Events" in the December 12 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
- Congratulations to Cheryl Praeger for being awarded the Australian Prime Minister's prize for science for her outstanding contributions in group theory and combinatorial mathematics that have led to advances in algebra research and computer cryptography. For more information see the story in The Guardian.
- From the IMU Newsletter for September 2019: The Committee for Women in Mathematics CWM is happy to announce the forthcoming publication of the book:
World Women in Mathematics 2018 - Proceedings of the First World Meeting for Women in Mathematics (WM)2 (https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030211691). The estimated publication date for the hardcover is December 21, 2019, with the eBook to follow on January 18, 2020.
The book was edited by CWM in coordination with the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), and has just been published by Springer, as part of their AWM Series.
The first part of the volume starts with a short report with pictures on the activities of the first World Meeting for Women in Mathematics - (WM)2 - held in Rio de Janeiro on July 31, 2018, as a satellite event of ICM 2018. It includes a tribute to Maryam Mirzakhani. The report is followed by survey research papers from invited lecturers of the (WM)2: Monique Laurent, Alicia Dickenstein, Maria Eulália Vares and Maria J. Esteban. These articles provide panoramic views of different fields in pure and applied mathematics. The second part of the volume documents the CWM panel discussion at ICM 2018, entitled "The gender gap in mathematical and natural sciences from a historical perspective", with articles from the panelists.
- The thirty-third reporting of Statistics on Women Mathematicians appeared in the October 2019 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.
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 https://awm-math.org/awards/student-essay-contest/.
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.
https://www.AgnesScott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm