Due Monday, February 20, 11:59pm
It’s Black History Month! For this assignment, you will write a short profile or biography of a Black mathematician or math educator (or someone else in the Black-in-math community). You will submit your profile as a comment on this post. You have lots of choices for where to find this information and you can use whatever resources you like. Here are two suggestions:
- Suggestion 1: Back , the @BlackInMath account on Twitter hosted #BlackInMathWeek. It was a really fun week with different Twitter events planned for different days, but it kicked off with a roll call where people in the Black-in-math community introduced themselves. Later in the week, people tweeted about their own Black-in-math journeys. You do not need to have a Twitter account to see these introductions. In particular, check out the hashtags:
- Suggestion 2: The awesome website Mathematically Gifted & Black is honoring a new person every day this month. You can check out this year’s honorees or previous years’ on the Circle of Excellence tab at the top of their page. (You can also check out their Instagram page.)
Instructions
Pick one Black mathematician or math educator to learn about. Aside from their MG&B profile or their Twitter introduction, what else can you learn about them? (How has their life changed since their Twitter introduction?) Write a short biography (5 or 6 sentences….or more!) of this person. Include their name and where they are on their math journey (are they a graduate student? a professor? where? do they do research in math? are they involved in the Black math community in some other way?). Include a photo of them if you like. Include the field of math that they study and anything else you can tell us about them! What makes this person so awesome and interesting to you? What questions do you have for them? Include links to the pages where you found information about them.
Submit your profile as a comment on this post for participation credit.
Fun fact
Most of you might be too young to know who the rapper MC Hammer is, but he was a childhood hero of mine. He’s an activist too and lately he’s used his Twitter platform to promote different #BlackInSTEM initiatives, including #BlackInMath.
During Black in math week, MC Hammer retweeted and followed my friend Marissa AND IT WAS SO EXCITING!!! (PS, Someone should totally profile Marissa for this assignment because she is a BOSS! BTW she’s no longer a postdoc at Georgia Tech; she’s now a professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison.)
Under the Black in Math account on Twitter, I Wrote:
The first black African American I thought about and enjoyed so much was the Hidden Figures movie of 2016, based on three wonderful black women who made history in Nasa. MC Hammer shared on social media about them recently and read my mind. Katherine Johnson’s mathematics is known as “Orbital Mechanics” or “Astrodynamics,” which used various types of maths like Differential Equations: To model the aircraft’s motion and its response to applied loads and control inputs. Mary W. Jackson on ” Effects of Nose Angle and Mach Number on Transition Cones at Supersonic Speeds,” a book she wrote and one of the math involved on that topic is Partial Differential Equations (PDEs): To model the flow of gases and their interactions with the aircraft surface. Last we have Dorothy Vaughan, who worked with computers, which she mastered that required statistics, machine learning, numerical analysis, and more.
The reason why I picked them was the energy not to give up. According to history, they didn’t give up and didn’t let anything stop them from succeeding to the very end. The only question I wish I had for them would be if they had a chance to work somewhere else instead of Nasa, would they do it? From making a book to adapting to new technology and removing segregated departments making it into a whole union, now that is called making history!
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/places-of-hidden-figures.htm
Abiy Tasissa, assistant professor at Tufts University, was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He finished a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and he published a mathematical paper that he is very proud of, while doing it, he learned to be persistent. His interest in maths started with geometric courses in high school and I can be related to that since my interest in math started when I took classes in figures and graphs. He said that one of his favorite college courses was about Maxwell’s equations that set of modeling assumptions and vector calculus. And he shares the following “I believe it is equally important to focus on the process and work hard on what could be considered the unglamorous, mundane, routine or “boring”
https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/abiy_tasissa/
Under the Suggestion #2 and the following website “Mathematically Gifted & Black”.
José Mijares Palacios is one of the Black Mathematicians that I selected to learn upon his history, motives, and his encouragement. He is an associate professor who works in the California State University at Los Angeles. From there, he processed his journey in continuing studying the Ramsey Theory, and the possibility of combining the other mathematics such as theory, logic and Topology. I can relate to him because I dealt with a lot of stress, and depression before, and it was painful and I couldn’t just let it go. His encouragement of wanting the society where individuals can embrace prosperity, growth, and love, which gives me a sense of freedom from my burden and continues my passion of Math.
In his history, his life was considered a struggle, living in Barlovento, one of the largest African Diaspora communities in Venezuela. From there, he grew up learning and studying the concepts of mathematics such as Set theory and Logic. One of the most interesting facts about him was that even though he has researched any possibilities of identity potential application. He pursues as a student mentor in encouraging, listening and making suggestions on student current activities. Even on projects that are considered higher than his degree such as 5 master degrees and one Phd thesis. And the most of all, when he didn’t have a plan to advance, he didn’t survive alone, he had company from family to the community that are able to serve as a guide for others. Lastly, one he share a thought thats is consider hopeful “More than diplomas, we need a healthier society. Educational spaces like universities and colleges could be a starting point for that healing.”
Link- https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/jose-mijares-palacios/
I never really looked at mathematician until today. After reading about different black mathematicians, one stood out to me the most and that was Clarence W Johnson. He was born in in Cleveland, Ohio. He has five siblings and each and everyone of the, pushed each other when it came to education. He was really good at math at a young age. He won “Best Math student ” every year from pre-k to twelfth grade. He was in third place for best math student in the whole state of Ohio. He is an author of two university level textbooks. He received 11 teaching awards from the TRIO program. He mentor students as a member of the black American council. He is also a member of the 100 Black Men of Greater Cleveland organization. Clarence W Johnson got a perfect 800 on both math portion of the SAT and the quantitative portion of the GRE. He is interesting to me because he is who I wish I was. I wish I had gotten that high of a score in math. I wish I was awarded “Best Math Student”. He is someone that I look up to. He made it to the top and kept pushing to be better. He also awesome for all the things he is part of right now in life. Also he’s awesome for everything he did in his past.
Link for article – https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/clarence-w-johnson/
Isaac Harris, assistant professor at Purdue University. He’s from New Jersey and he joined Purdue’s Mathematics Department in Fall 2018. His favorite class as an undergraduate was Differential Equations. One thing that fascinated him about Differential Equations was how different areas of mathematics came together to solve interesting problems. His most proud accomplishments in regards to his career was joining Purdue’s Mathematics Department and being invited to give two talks at the Applied Inverse Problems Conference in Grenoble France July 2019. His most proud accomplishments in regards to his personal life is that he’s acknowledging that he has the capability to be successful in academia despite what he’s been told.
Link: https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/isaac-harris/
Elbert Frank Cox became the first black person to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics not just in the United States but also in the entire world in 1925. Following this recognition, Cox accepted a position as a mathematics professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He then rose to the position of mathematics department chairman in 1957. Up until his retirement in 1965, he would hold this position in high regard. To encourage young black students to major in mathematics, the Howard University Mathematics Department established the Elbert F. Cox Scholarship Fund in 1975. I was amazed to know that he was the first black man who did Ph.D. in the world. Cox extended the Boole summing formula by using generalized Euler polynomials and the generalized Boole summation formula. Additionally, he investigated a variety of customized polynomials as answers to certain differential equations. In a different work he wrote, which was published in 1947, he mathematically compared three grading systems. I also learn about Boole summing formula which I never heard before so this was something new I learned.
https://www.maa.org/programs-and-communities/outreach-initiatives/summa/summa-archival-record/elbert-frank-cox
I am doing my assignment on Isaac Harris an Assistant Professor that was awarded the Barbara A. Kunze New Frontiers Assistant Professorship of Mathematics title. This was awarded from Prudue University due to their recognition of Isaac Harris outstanding assistance as an associate professor. He joined Purdue Facility in August 2018, after holding positions within Texas A&M University. His major focus was on inverse problems and partial differential equations. He taught various classes within Purdue University ranging from calculus to advanced math. His research was viewed and praised by all the staff within Purdue University and he also was granted a NSF grant to continue his research on inverse problems, specifically to transmission eigenvalue problems. Even through all his success he continues to help educate the youth and continue his research.
https://www.math.purdue.edu/news/2023/Isaac%20Harris%20awarded%20Barbara%20A.%20Kunze%20New%20Frontiers%20Assistant%20Professorship%20of%20Mathematics.html
Haydee Lindo is an assistant professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College. She received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and political science at Williams College, her masters at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and her PhD at the University of Utah. Her interest in math developed when she was in the 9th grade. Worrying about her math grades, her parents signed her up for after school lessons and during the first class, the teacher played fun games and gave her some puzzles to struggle with. After that lesson, the teacher told Haydee’s parents that she could take the CXC exam at the end of the year, which was an exam taken in the 11th grade. She ended up passing it with flying colors and that experience made her realize that mathematics can be joyful and playful and discovered her passion for math. She has a research program that currently seeks to develop and use the theory of trace ideals to solve problems and homological algebra. Her motivation in creating this research was because trace ideals are easy to define, understand and calculate, she found that there was potential both for undergraduate projects and to effectively approach longstanding conjectures in commutative algebra and homological algebra. In addition, in 2017 she published her first solo paper and it reached over 40 citations. She is interesting to me because she has accomplished so many wonderful things in life and brings a powerful lesson that everyone has the ability to do hard things, you just need to work hard, trust yourself and never give up.
The person I selected to look up was John Urschel. John Urschel is currently a junior fellow at Harvard University and starting in the fall of 2023 he will be an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Math department. John Urschel does research and has researched graph theory, numerical analysis and machine learning. What makes John Urschel so interesting to me is that he is not only helping pave way for future advancements in technologies (machine learning and AI), but that in 2017 he retired from the NFL as an offensive lineman to pursue his desire to learn, a career many people would dream of having. John Urschel was so dedicated to learning math that even during the season he was a full time student without the Ravens knowing. If I was able to ask John Urschel any question I would ask how can he so motivated/dedicated to his studies.
Sources: https://math.mit.edu/~urschel/
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/john-urschel-freakonomics-podcast-baltimore-ravens-news-mit-student-phd/cdfoz8ktenla1llde621xg2xa
https://news.mit.edu/2019/student-john-urschel-math-football-0515
Dr. Talithia Williams is a Black mathematician and statistician who is currently a professor at Harvey Mudd College. She is also a popular speaker and TV host, having appeared on shows such as NOVA and TEDx. Dr. Williams’ research focuses on using statistics to understand large-scale, real-world problems, such as climate change and sustainability.
In addition to her academic work, Dr. Williams is also a strong advocate for increasing diversity and representation in STEM fields. She has spoken about the importance of recruiting and supporting underrepresented groups in mathematics and other STEM fields. Dr. Williams is a frequent speaker at conferences and events aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in academia and industry.
Dr. Williams is also involved in “Black math,” which refers to the efforts to promote and support Black mathematicians and mathematicians of color. She is a founding member of the National Association of Math Circles, which aims to provide access to math education and opportunities for underrepresented groups. Through her work and advocacy, Dr. Williams is helping to create a more diverse and inclusive mathematics community.https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsaltlakecommunitycollege.blogspot.com%2F2019%2F10%2Ftanner-speaker-talithia-williams-sheds.html&psig=AOvVaw21tSs3bSg1uHTxlC-0XQNN&ust=1676825146352000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA8QjRxqFwoTCNjMu8vCn_0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ
I never looked up mathematicians before this. It’s my first time, so I just searched on google and saw a mathematician named David Blackwell. He is well known for his contributions to game theory, probability theory and statistics. He was a professor at the University of California. He also taught for 10 years at Howard and served as the department chair for seven years. Blackwell published 20 papers and monographs. He is well known for his independent invention of dynamic programming which is used in finance now. He also won many awards such as COPSS DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AND NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE FOR MATHEMATICIAN. He was also the first African American member of US National Academy of Sciences. He was the seventh African American to earn a PHD. In mathematics.
I am writing about Professor Kagba N Suaray. He is from California and has been in college since the age of 15. He is a professor at California State University Long Beach, where he is a professor of Applied Statistics. He was homeschooled starting at the age of 12 by his father who gave him long math worksheets to work on. He also is a founder of Hesabu Circle which helps Black children to find their love and passion for mathematics.
Link:https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/kagba-n-suaray/
Jemar R. Bather is who i am writing on. He was born in Jamaica but was raised in the Bronx by a single mother. That mother got him a scholarship and thus jumpstarted his path of mathematics. He was inducted into the statistical honor society. and when he finished with his education put his skills in nonprofit areas with data analytics.
Katherine Johnson is one of many famous black female mathematicians, she worked at nasa and was known for having a reputation of solving complex calculations. Unfortunately, Katherine Johnson passed away on Feb 10, 2020 at 101 years old. She left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten, Katherine Johnson first started her journey by being one of the first 3 black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools; while this is something major Johnson completed so much more in her life. In 1953, Katherine Johnson was given the opportunity to temporarily work at NACA’s Langley Laboratory and within two weeks she became a permanent worker. She would go on to do many great things but one thing that stood out to me the most is that she helped out in America’s first human space flight which is huge because now we are in a time where we have so many questions about space that will be able to be answered as time goes by.
https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography
I am writing about Rosina Mamokgethi Phakeng who was born on November 1, 1966 and is a South African professor of mathematics education who in 2018 became vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT). Being the first black woman to earn her PhD in mathematics education in 2002, and she led the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa as its first female national president from 2002 to 2006. Mamokgethi is also one of only two black women to take on the position of vice-chancellor at Africa’s number one ranked tertiary institution. One of the aspect that I admired about her was that she helped students even when she had already reached the peak of her success. It was through her establishment of the project “The Adopt-a-learner Trust “. She believes that education is very important to the individual and she is here to help students who are financially disadvantaged to continue their education and achieve their ambition in life. In an interview she said that “I learned a tough lesson when I failed chemistry & botany in the first semester of my first year at varsity. Today all that is irrelevant because I took the lesson. There is no success without hard work.”
Kagba N. Suaray was born in Inglewood. CA. He moved around a lot from different cities throughout his childhood. He was given long math worksheets by his father as a form of discipline which help to greatly enhance his skills at math and by the time he was 15 he was able to teach himself calculus 1. His most proud accomplishment in terms of his career was helping black students in getting the opportunity to discover any passion they had for math. His most proud personal accomplishment was being able to be raised right and believing in his own skills more than anything and choosing effort over looking smart. Some advice he has given is that a society cannot run as a society without people having faith in it, people make up a society, from one to another passing on teachings and knowledge around. https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/kagba-n-suaray/
Abba B.Gumel is a mathematics professor in the University of Maryland . Professor Gumel is from Nigeria which according to his biograph on mathematically gifted & black states that this country is that contains the biggest black population in the whole world. Abba journey began when he was toddler sitting in a back of a class with uncle who was taking an arithmetic class and how states he remembers his uncle and his uncle’s classmates discussing about number and shapes and other things. Abba says in the article that memory of being in his uncle arithmetic class remain his head for a couple years. It wasn’t up to many years later on his academic years he went on “a group excursion” which I am guessing was a school trip) to a nearby company that made drugs and on his excursion he and his group were asked to use math to figure the right dosage for a couple of drugs . The reason they were asking this question he states in the article is that wanted him to learn that it is important to calculate the right of dose for a drug, so it be the most effect and won’t have an “resistance” or can’t any server consequences for the patient who is taking the drug. This excursion is that what inspired him to pursue mathematics and this trip excited him how you can use math to solve a problem that can have immediate effect on a human or humanity .Abba doesn’t state where he went to college, but he says that he is happy that he had strong mentors who were committed to help on his academic career and journey. According to Abba the accomplishments he is most proud of is that mathematics has helped him get a deep understanding and see the difficult humans faces when they are related to transmission of infectious diseases . And how they are passed and how to maintain after they appear or reappear . Abba says that another accomplishment is getting the opportunity to work with students from all school level and his mentors or collogues and postdocs on solving the difficulties that appear in society. He is a mentee to many students and postdocs, and it bring him satisfaction and joy. Especially when he sees them grow and complete their own goals or achieve their research. After reading his biograph on mathematically grifted and black I got interested in his story because it is amazing, and it reminds that no matter where you come from or if you have immigrated parents, you have the opportunity to become any one you want as long you study hard and apply yourself . Many of you don’t know but my father Immigrated to NYC from Domican republic as young adult illegally and today he is citizen by my dad always told me John, I want you go to college to be someone and to have an education and to greater than I was . Although Abba and my dad don’t have the same story but the thing, they have similar to each other is that Abba and my dad both understood how important is to become an educated person and how knowledge is power.
Rika Wheaton is a math teacher from Cobb County School District in Georgia. She originates from the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago, where I am also from which is why I chose her for my post. She attended Florida A&M University where she attained her bachelors in Mathematics and then she later received her masters for teaching at Florida State University. She believes in bringing the joy back to math to kids that dislike it due to a past experience. She has achieved her Gifted In-Field Endorsement which allows her to acquire new skills and strategies to help her provide those considered gifted or talented with the proper learning experience. One thing that I loved about her was her belief that we should all be our biggest cheerleader and to be the best you you can be because just by being true to you, you may inspire others to be their best self.
Link:https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/rika-wheaton/
Dr. Ruthmae Sears is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education and the University of South Florida’s Associate Director. She was born in New Providence, Bahamas, and has always excelled in mathematics. Dr. Sears attributes her interest in mathematics education to her sixth-grade and secondary mathematics teachers. She has earned several honors for her contributions to mathematics education, including becoming the first African-American to be named a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at the University of South Florida. Dr. Sears, in addition to her work in mathematics education, is active in several programs aimed at addressing educational injustices, including serving on the board of directors of the PACE Foundation.
Question: In what ways did her secondary school teacher inspire her to pursue a career in math?
Sources: https://mathematicallygiftedandblack.com/honorees/ruthmae-sears/
https://www.usf.edu/education/faculty/faculty-profiles/ruthmae-sears.aspx
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oH6VRycAAAAJ
Dr. Evelyn Boyd Granville is a notable Black mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis. Born on May 1, 1924, in Washington, D.C., Dr. Granville was the second African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics from an American University. Dr. Granville received her Bachelor’s degree from Smith College in 1945 and then went on to pursue graduate studies at Yale University. After completing her doctoral thesis in 1949, she worked at several institutions, including Fisk University, IBM, and the U.S. Space Technology Laboratories. Dr. Granville’s research focused on the numerical solutions of differential equations, and she published several papers on the subject. She also worked on the development of computer software used for trajectory analysis in NASA’s Apollo program.
Aquia Richburg born and raised in South Carolina moved to Atlanta to pursue his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Morehouse collage. He is currently a PhD candidate in applied math and is going to the University of Maryland. His planned area of research is in language processing and machine translation. He is a man that enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, and running while also enjoying indoor activities such as cooking and music. He attributes his interest in math to a math-puzzle/activities book that his aunt bought him in his middle school years. He states that one of the reason he strives for accomplishment is for people around him to witness and to celebrate with him.