Comment due Sunday, October 6
September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month! For this assignment, weâll honor Hispanic/Latinx mathematicians by learning about their lives and their work.
Pick one mathematician who identifies either as Hispanic/Latinx and who stands out you. Then write a short profile/biography of them as a comment on this post.
Where can you learn about mathematicians from these communities?
There are lots of places online to find out about these mathematicians. Here is one great resource:
- Lathisms showcases contributions of Latinx and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences; check out the Calendars and Podcasts tabs at the top of the screen.
Once youâve chosen the mathematician you want to profile, try to find something out about them thatâs not on this site. Most mathematicians have their own websites, which you can usually find by Googling their name (these may be more up to date than the site above). Some of them are active on Twitter and other social media. Your profile should include:
- Their name
- Something about their work (try to understand something about their work donât worry if you donât really understand it, just tell us whatever you found out about it)
- Where they are from
- Where they live/work now
- Why they are interesting or inspiring to you
- Anything else you learned about them that youâd like to share
- If you canât embed a photo in an OpenLab comment and if you want to include a photo of your mathematician, you can write your profile in a separate post and include a link to it in the comments on this post (tbh I love pictures!).
Why are we doing this?
White mathematicians of European descent tend to dominate the popular conception of who mathematicians are. For example, in Calculus, we mostly learn about work by these two dudes, who practically look like twins, right?
Our goal with this assignment is to broaden the popular conception of what a mathematician looks like and who can be a mathematician, as well as to honor the work of Hispanic/Latinx mathematicians who are living and working today!
Graciela Salicrup was a well-known Puerto Rican mathematician who made important contributions to mathematical modeling and applied mathematics. As a professor at the University of Puerto Rico, she devoted her professional life to teaching the next generation of mathematicians and advocating for the use of mathematics in a variety of scientific domains. Salicrup frequently applied mathematical techniques to engineering difficulties in his work, demonstrating how mathematical ideas may be used in real-world situations. Her commitment to her students and her support of mathematics education are especially admirable because they have contributed to the removal of obstacles facing women in STEM fields. Salicrup is recognized for her enthusiasm and dedication to the progress of mathematics in Puerto Rico and abroad, and her contribution in the field of mathematics is still felt today.
Niny Arcila-Maya is a mathematician and professor at San Francisco State University specializing in algebraic topology and topological data analysis to apply to greater societal contexts like climate science and social justice. Arcila-Maya was born and grew up in the coffee region in Colombia in Manizales, completing her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mathematics from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Manizales and MedellĂn, respectively. Arcila-Maya went on to obtain her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of British Columbia in 2021 before working at Duke University as an assistant research professor for two years. During Arcila-Maya’s time at Duke she, among other things, established decomposition theorems for topological Azumaya algebras – founded in matrices! She prioritizes inclusion and respect in her teaching methods and founded a Spanish speaking Directed Reading Program to help provide positive learning experiences for Latin American students, reaching ten countries around the world.
Sources:
https://www.lathisms.org/calendar-2024/niny-arcila-maya
https://sites.duke.edu/ninyam/research/
Griselda Pascual was a professor at the University of Barcelona and specialized in algebraic number theory. She grew up in a STEM environment as her father was a painter and musician and her aunts were teachers. Ms. Pascual was the first Spanish woman and the first one of the first women in the world to receive a Humboldt scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 1975. With this scholarship, she was able to carry out a research stay in Germany where she âstudied different geometry, group theory, and lattices and began her work on tiling of Euclidean plane and the hyperbolic plane.â Later, she engaged in secondary school reform, where she introduced contemporary mathematics and actively contributed to establishing the kangaroo examinations.
Griselda Pascual: #cientificasCASIO. @casioedu. (2019, May 6). https://www.cientificascasio.com/griselda-pascual
Ruth Gonzales born in Huston Texas on February 11, 1939 and raised by Mexican parents. Since elementary school she always had a love for mathematics, in college she graduated from the university of Texas in Austin and earned her bachelors degree in mathematics in 1976, from there she joined the Exxon Production Research company in 1980. During her time at Exxon she was able to use calculations, algorithms and seismic images to produce different pictures of geology and with these images and calculations she was able to discover gas and oil at Exxon reservoirs, not only that but she also uses these images to see how different waves act throughout different materials such as water, rock, and air which can also allow us to see what’s happening with the earth. After gaining real-world experience she went back to college this time at the university of Rice earning her a PHD in mathematics and becoming the first U.S born Hispanic woman to ever earn a PHD in mathematics encouraging others that nothing is impossible especially learning how mathematics can change the world. The fact that she was the first ever Hispanic woman to receive a PHD in math was what stood out to me the most and it inspired me to keep going no matter how hard math gets, it also taught me that even though barely seen different math styles besides from algrbra are used quite freq
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Erika Tatiana Camacho, born on September 3rd, 1974, in Guadalajara, Mexicoâa city famous for its tequila and mariachi music. In 2002, she earned her Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Cornell University. In one of Camacho’s research projects, Camacho studies how our eyes work and why some people lose their vision as they get older or due to certain eye diseases. She uses math to understand what happens inside the cells of the eye, especially the parts that help us see light, called photoreceptors. By creating special math models, she tries to figure out ways to protect the eye and slow down vision loss. The research titled A Mathematical Analysis of Aerobic Glycolysis Triggered by Glucose Uptake in Cones was published on March 11th, 2019, in Scientific Report. Erika Tatiana Camacho’s research is interesting because she uses math to study how our eye cells get their energy and what happens when they donât get enough of it or when they are under too much stress. By using math and science together, she helps people protect them. Currently she’s a Professor in Applied Math at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
More Info: Learn more about her work
Greisy Winicki Landman is currently a professor of mathematics at California State Polytechnic University Pomona. She was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and graduated from the Instituto de Profesores Artigas. One of the major contributions she had listed on her page was that she did a research on the study of pedagogical implications of the use of history of mathematics. She focused on the aesthetics of mathematical thinking and ways to enculturate it in schools which allow for teachers to be able to convey certain topics of mathematics more easily to students. She puts her work into practice through the way she teaches in her current position as a professor, which is also one of the main reasons they are interesting to me. Landman believes games generate rich opportunities to do math and incorporate them into their curriculum. She believes that it can help develop students to discover mathematics while also improving their collaboration skills. One fun fact that I read about her is that she has designed several math walks, which are math problems created anywhere, either on the street or in the park, in order to help encourage others to see math in everyday life.
Dr. Erika Tatiana Camacho, originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, and raised in East Los Angeles, is a renowned Hispanic mathematician whose work focuses on mathematical biology. She is best known for her research in modeling retinal dynamics, which has contributed to the understanding of degenerative eye diseases such as macular degeneration. Her research creates a bridge between mathematics and biology, offering new insights into complex biological processes. Currently, Dr. Camacho is a professor at Arizona State University, where she continues her research and teaching. What makes her particularly inspiring is her journey as a first-generation college student who overcame numerous challenges to become a leader in her field. She is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM, working to ensure that underrepresented groups have opportunities in mathematics. In addition to her research, Dr. Camacho co-founded a successful summer program for minority students interested in pursuing careers in math, further demonstrating her commitment to social justice in education. Her story is one of perseverance, passion, and dedication to both her field and her community.
Guillermo “Bill” P. Curbera was born in Spain in 1955, and he completed his phD at the University of Seville. He is known for his work in functional analysis, a branch of mathematical analysis dealing with function spaces and operators on them. This field plays a critical role in many areas of mathematics and its applications, particularly in understanding complex systems, such as those in physics, engineering and economics. He has also contributed significantly to the history of mathematics, exploring the role of international collaboration in the field through his book on the International Congress of Mathematicians. Curbera has held various academic positions, including at the University of Seville, and remains active in research and education. He is inspiring for both his mathematical insights and his dedication to studying the global, collaborative nature of mathematics, emphasizing its human and cultural dimensions.