Due Monday, November 13
November is Native American Heritage month! This assignment is similar to the one you completed for Hispanic Heritage Month. This time, you will profile an indigenous mathematician in a comment on this post.
The website indigenousmathematicians.org includes profiles of several indigenous mathematicians, many of them belonging to first nations of what is now known as North/Central/South America. (The website includes profiles of mathematicians belonging to first nations in other parts of the world; while this assignment is to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, if you find an indigenous mathematician from another part of the world and you’d like to profile them, go ahead.)
- Scroll to the map or click on “profiles” or “honorees” to see a list of indigenous mathematicians.
- Choose one mathematician you’d like to profile. Read their profile on the indigeneous mathematicians webpage.
- See what else you can find out about the mathematician you chose. Many mathematicians have personal/academic webpages that include information that might not be in their profile.
Your comment should include
- The mathematician’s name and tribal/nation affiliation (if available).
- Where they are now (most of them probably have a job at a university).
- What field of math they do research in or a title of a recent research paper they published.
- Any other interesting biographical details you can find out about them.
- What made this person stand out to you.
- A photograph of them (optional).
Feel free to use other websites as resources for finding out about indigenous mathematicians! Include any relevant links in your comment.
1.Name: Jennifer McLoud-Mann, Cherokee
2.Current Position:
Jennifer McLoud-Mann, Ph.D.
Professor of Mathematics
Associate Dean for Operations
Interim Director of Graduate Academic Services
School of STEM
University of Washington Bothell
3.Discipline: Theoretical Mathematics
4.Before her Pacific Northwest adventure began, she held a tenured position at the University of Texas at Tyler and served as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.
5.In summer 2015, a tiling theory research result involving an undergraduate and now UW alum, David Von Derau, and colleague, Casey Mann, caught much media attention as well as attention from the mathematics community; after 30 years since the last major result, they discovered the 15th pentagon to tile the plane.
6.
Other Websites: https://www.griffith.edu.au/advancement/notable-alumni/2021-alumni-award-winners/professor-chris-matthews
https://profiles.uts.edu.au/Christopher.Matthews/about
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m0nBRr-6YStxP29J5oEziHmTaH34LTzdIpdtYqWZjMc/edit?usp=sharing
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a. Jared Field – Gamilaraay Kinship
b. Now is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne
c. He’s using his current position to finish a book on the math and biology of kinship systems.
d. One interesting fact about his life is that in high school he was racially stereotyped by his teacher, and she discouraged him by saying he would struggle because of his indigenous background.
e. What made him stand out to me is how even though his teacher and probably others doubted him, he’s using his research to write a book about the math and biology of kinship systems, and he wants to do it justice because the research that is currently out there isn’t justified.
f. Unfortunately, the website that was provided to us didn’t provide a picture of him.
1.Name: Geogia Sandoval
2.Current Position: works as a Cloud and Enterprise Solutions Engineer at Intel
Associate’s in General Science at Coconino County Community College
Mathematics at Arizona State University
3.Discipline: Computational mathematics
4. After graduating from ASU with a degree in computational mathematics, she joined Intel full time, where she’s now been for five years.
5. Georgia Sandoval stood out to me because she is a single mother whom struggled throughout college and seeing that she made it out is very inspiring to all those single mom out there that are trying to make it out in life. She inspired me that I could make it out as a single mom and accomplish my goals as she did.
6.
Native American Heritage Month Profile- Georgia Sandoval
Georgia Sandoval, a Diné woman from Tuba City, Arizona, working as a Cloud and Enterprise Solutions Engineer at Intel. She graduated from ASU with a degree in computational Mathematics. Sandoval has always had love for math since it was fun, and came easy to her.
Sandoval aspires to become a mathematic teacher by pursuing her master’s degree. Currently, her field of study is not only mathematic based. Her focus has been on COVID reopening. For example, Companies have sought assistance in managing video analytics for temperature monitoring, overseeing social distancing measures, and other related tasks. Additionally, she is involved in the Network Business Incubator Division, facilitating the connection of companies and nonprofits to 5G and edge computing technologies. What made me interested in Sandoval is her grit and ambition to grind. Having a daughter at a young age while single is not an easy job. It was also motivating to me given that she has a major responsibility at home, while facing inappropriate acts and being uncomfortable while working
I would like to speak about David Austin, a Choctaw. He is currently a professor in Grand Valley University. While he is currently interested in applied math and data science, he got his PhD in mathematics working on low-dimensional topology. He has a long career in mathematics, having earned his BA in mathematics and physics back in 1983. What stood up to me what his dedication to the field, more importantly him being the author for an open-access textbook “Understanding Linear Algebra”I would like to speak about David Austin, a Choctaw. He is currently a professor in Grand Valley University. While he is currently interested in applied math and data science, he got his PhD in mathematics working on low-dimensional topology. He has a long career in mathematics, having earned his BA in mathematics and physics back in 1983. What stood up to me what his dedication to the field, more importantly him being the author for an open-access textbook “Understanding Linear Algebra.” I think that resonated with me as I am heading into linear algebra next semester.
Name & Affiliation: Sione Ma’u, Tongan
Current Position: Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, New Zealand
Field: Theoretical Math
Interesting biographical details and what makes him stand out: Sione is affiliated with the Tukana program, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in complex analysis, as well as supervises PhD and Master’s students. His favorite aspect of teaching is figuring out how to convey mathematics to people with varying degrees of math understanding. He feels that describing things in their most basic form and learning how to adjust his teaching for various people offers a more in-depth grasp of the issue, not only for the people he teaches but also for himself.
Sione’s advice for students: “Acknowledge that the journey won’t always be easy, and you will need to be disciplined about your job but find the motivation, challenge yourself to do more and to be better than you once were. Be grateful to the people who encourage and believe in you, don’t forget that if someone believes in your journey enough to support you, they’re probably right to do so. Don’t give up!”
” alt=”Photo of Sione Ma’u”>
1. I chose Florence Glanfield. Métis is her nation affiliation.
2. She currently works as a Vice-Provost (Indigenous Programming & Research) & Professor in Mathematics Education at University of Alberta.
3. Her discipline is Mathematics Education.
4. In 2018 she won the Special Award Recognition from the Mathematics Council of Alberta Teachers’ Association. She has a total of 4 awards that she is recognized for.
5. The reason she stood out to me was because she received her phd the same year I was born! I love seeing woman in positions of higher level math. She also specializes in teaching math which I think is extremely important. The reason I got into math was because of a woman teacher I had in 7th grade. This is the importance of representation and I’m happy we can look to Florence as that.
Jito Vanualailai, Fijian
current Position: Professor, University of the South Pacific
current research: interests in the application of the Direct Method of Lyapunov
It sounds interesting. “Dr. Jito Vanualailai has begun exploring the intriguing world of the Bible and developing a framework to apply Mathematics to the Bible, as a means of biblical interpretation.”
Name: Craig M. Young, Diné
Discipline: Mathematics Education
University: Fielding Graduate University, 2023
Thesis Topic: Math Learning Experience and Traditional Navajo Culture: Using Math Circles and Navajo Culture to Improve 6th Grade Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning Math and Improve Attitudes Toward the Value of Traditional Cultural Wisdom.
Craig M. Young is from the Great Navajo Nation and an ex-marine. He was nominated for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) and is an Ethnomathematical and STEM educator at Tuba City Boarding School. He stood out to me with how devoted he is to helping underserved students and making their education positively meaningful.