Stories

Nov

2025

Ilse Fischer

Born in Klagenfurt, Austria • Birth year 1975 • Studied Mathematics at the University of Vienna in Austria • PhD in Mathematics from the University of Vienna Austria • Lives in Vienna, Austria • Professor of Mathematics and Vice-Dean, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna

I was drawn to maths not because of my background, but because it came naturally. I loved being good at maths. Even though my father was a university professor in math education, he never pushed me into this field.

My inspiration instead came from the simple content we learned at school. I enjoyed mathematics as a creative process with very strict rules and gained immense satisfaction from overcoming these rules to achieve success. If I am perfectly honest, another reason was that I was just really good at maths in school, which boosted my ego. I enjoyed it when my peers asked me for help.

My Career Path – Between Klagenfurt and Vienna

After studying mathematics for 5 years at the University of Vienna, I returned to my hometown, Klagenfurt. I really appreciated the relaxed pace of living in Klagenfurt compared to Vienna. The position was in applied mathematics, with a focus on optimization. Optimization in mathematics refers to calculations identifying the best solution among a set of alternatives, such as the quickest route via train from Vienna to Paris if one transfers at a third train station. This was quite different from my original focus on pure mathematics.

To me this offer in pure mathematics was akin to winning the lottery, which is why there was no question that I would return to Vienna.

During my time in Klagenfurt, my mathematical taste was strongly shaped by my professor, who, like me, really enjoyed mathematical problems that are easy to state but hard to solve.

After a few years in Klagenfurt, I ended up back in Vienna having an offer for a postdoctoral position. To me this offer in pure mathematics was akin to winning the lottery, which is why there was no question that I would return to Vienna. Here, I returned to my initial field of pure mathematics. My specialty now is enumerative combinatorics. In enumerative combinatorics, our job is to count possibilities such as how many ways can you shuffle a deck of cards or how many different routes exist between two points in a grid.

Why Combinatorics?

Combinatorics used to be a bit of an underdog in mathematics.

What I love about combinatorics is that the problems are very easy to state, but hard to prove. Furthermore, it’s a very accessible field that does not require extensive reading in order for doctoral students to start working in it.

Combinatorics used to be a bit of an underdog in mathematics. However, it is valuable for applications in diverse fields such physics and statistics, and therefore now seems to have become a rising star, which I find really satisfying to witness.

Some people, not least my father, ask why I chose pure mathematics over applied mathematics. What drives me particularly in pure mathematics is the aesthetic aspect, the desire to do something nice. I also really enjoy working on blue skies research (where the immediate applications are not yet known) and chasing deep discoveries. This can lead to revolutionary and useful outcomes in the long run that we can’t even predict at the time of doing the work, which feels very inspiring.

My Advice to other Mathematicians

My advice to others would be to always follow your own taste and concentrate on your chosen field. I believe success comes from motivation rather than pressure.

Yet over time, I started to appreciate that a very satisfying aspect of mathematics is establishing intellectual connections with other people.

My second piece of advice is to forge intellectual connections and work collaboratively. I started out working alone, partially because, when I was applying for positions in the early 2000s, people looked closely at whether you had single-authored papers. It was also what suited me best at the time, probably due to the fact that I was a woman in a male-dominated field. Yet over time, I started to appreciate that a very satisfying aspect of mathematics is establishing intellectual connections with other people.

My Thoughts on Women in Mathematics

When it comes to the struggles of women in mathematics, I do believe a contradiction exists. I am on a lot of hiring committees, and I have observed that if women publish with other people, the committee members often end up saying, “Well, she didn’t do it.” And I find it incredibly frustrating that this still happens.

This is why I would say as a female mathematician, a smart choice is going for a balance of single-author papers and collaborations. But maybe more importantly, you should do what you think suits you best.

I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.

Another aspect about being a woman in mathematics that frequently causes me irritation is that people feel very surprised when they find out that I am a mathematician. When they hear this, they usually assume that I’m a high school teacher. Then they find out that I’m a professor and are even more surprised. I don’t think that’s good news, and I do think that this is just down to my gender. While it creates some funny situations, it shouldn’t be the case in 2025.

I hope that we will get to a point in the future where a woman can be an excellent mathematician without it being remarked upon as something out of the ordinary.

Published on November 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Joseph Krpelan

Oct

2025

Anna Breger

Born in Austria • Studied Mathematics and Music • PhD in Applied Mathematics from University of Vienna, Austria • Assistant Research Professor at University of Cambridge

It was the beauty of abstract aesthetics that first drew me to Mathematics. Finding calm and excitement in analytical thinking and mathematical problems, it has always been clear to me that I will study Mathematics at the University.

Being from Austria gives you the huge privilege to obtain great education for free at nearby universities. That is how, right after my final high school exam, I enrolled for my Maths undergraduate studies without even thinking about the future. I still remember very clearly one of my first Math lectures at the University of Vienna. In a room with hundreds of excited and nervous students, the professor took us by surprise: “Look left and look right, most of you won’t make it through the first study term!” Back then I encountered that as a challenge I was happy to participate in, today I wonder how such pedagogical manners could be acceptable.

The excitement, the frustration, the joy – it felt like training acrobatics of the mind

A competition – that is how it felt the first years of studying and I dearly enjoyed the long hours studying and solving mathematical problems with my amazing colleagues that soon became close friends. The excitement, the frustration, the joy – it felt like training acrobatics of the mind and I embraced the clarity of pure Mathematics, presenting an undefeatable truth.

What I have not told yet – alongside Mathematics I obtained another degree at a different institution, namely in music pedagogy for violin performance and later also studied early music with baroque violin. (In Austria you cannot obtain two majors or a minor in a different study area; now I think that this system would have fitted me much better.) I did worry a lot that people would not take me seriously either in Maths or in Music when they’d find out, and that is why I kept hiding my respective “second” identity in both communities for a very long time from most people. Luckily, I also met people that inspired me to keep up both interests and I am still very grateful for them. When I received a prestigious research fellowship towards the end of my PhD studies in Mathematics, for the first time I felt strong enough to speak publicly about my two paths. Often, I was asked: “So what will you choose? Maths or Music?” My answer has always been: “Both, of course!”

Maths and Music gave me the perfect balance to challenge both my analytical and creative skills on an emotional and structural level

Maths and Music gave me the perfect balance to challenge both my analytical and creative skills on an emotional and structural level during my university studies. I could not have gone forward and succeeded in one without the other. Later, both activities gave me such amazing opportunities to travel and meet people, where often it benefitted both my professions! And lastly – this brings me right in the present – eventually I have managed to combine both professions in an interdisciplinary research project that I am now carrying out.

But first, back to my path in Maths! My first undergraduate course in mathematical image processing showed me how enjoyable it can be to visually experience the results of a mathematical solution. I began to love the idea of using mathematics to process or even create a digital image, and the satisfaction to see the result of a successful algorithm (for example to make a noisy image clearer). I kept this excitement and was very grateful to find a supervisor for a Master’s thesis on image analysis – the project even included medical images from a hospital! I had not planned to stay for a PhD, but when I was offered to stay in the research project, I felt excited to deepen my understanding of mathematical image analysis and applications further.

The calm that once gave me comfort in pure Mathematics I now found in the compromises that have to be made in translational research

Soon my passion for interdisciplinary research was released, and gradually I started loving the edginess that comes when applying Mathematics to real-world problems. The calm that once gave me comfort in pure Mathematics I now found in the compromises that have to be made in translational research when trying to bridge theory, application and task-based needs.

Many little twists and turns have brought me to where I am now and I am absolutely thrilled about my interdisciplinary research project at the University of Cambridge, working on image analysis and historical music manuscripts. Having encountered various obstacles challenging my unusual path, I still would tell my younger self to delve into both passions, and I would advise everyone to stay true to themselves and feel free to go their own personal, individual path.

Published on October 15, 2025.
Photo credit: Flora Wiederkehr

Sep

2025

Mihyun Kang

Born in Jeju, South Korea • Studied Mathematics Education at Jeju National University in Jeju, South Korea • PhD in Mathematics from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea • Lives in Graz, Austria • Full Professor at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz)

In a way, becoming a Professor of Mathematics was probably always on the cards for me. Even as a child, the only subject I remember enjoying at school was mathematics and so pursuing higher education in this field felt natural.

I had both my parents’ support and encouragement to pursue this path in life. My father, a professor himself, gave me an early insight into the profession and all it entails. What I saw was mostly positive and so it was maybe no big surprise that I ended up in academia as well.

After finishing my PhD in 2001, I made my way to Berlin, Germany, to become a Postdoc at Humboldt University. Almost everything there – maths, academic culture, language, people’s attitude, as well as everyday life outside the university – was new and sometimes challenging to me, but I loved it. In this new world I could be what I was, without feeling the need to try to overly adjust myself to the standards and expectations of society.

I spent ten years in Germany, managing to progress from a postdoc to Heisenberg Fellow and then to Acting Professor at the University of Munich. I also used this time to learn the German language, which I now speak fluently. But I must say it took quite a few years to be able to teach in German, because the language of maths research is English and I taught only small Master’s courses, also in English.

Only later, when I started to teach Bachelor’s courses in German for engineering students and took part in academic administration as a Senate member of TU Graz, did I become more confident in using German in teaching and daily discussions.

I believe my approach of bridging multiple fields has contributed greatly to my career success, as it allows me to be more inventive and recognise patterns among seemingly different objects and mathematical behaviours that can only be discovered by thinking in an interdisciplinary manner.

For the past 13 years I have been a full professor at TU Graz in Austria, where I lead the Combinatorics Group. In my work, I draw inspiration from many neighbouring disciplines. My main research is centered around the phase transition phenomenon, partly because it appears in many different disciplines, including combinatorics, discrete probability, computer science, statistical physics, and network sciences. In fact, this phenomenon is almost everywhere including daily life, e.g., the change from ice to water and then to gas.

I believe my approach of bridging multiple fields has contributed greatly to my career success, as it allows me to be more inventive and recognise patterns among seemingly different objects and mathematical behaviours that can only be discovered by thinking in an interdisciplinary manner.

Doing research in mathematics involves a lot of collaboration with mathematicians from all over the world. I greatly enjoy discussions with mathematicians from different mathematical and cultural backgrounds.

Although mathematics may appear too abstract and detached from real life to most people, everybody has been exposed to hot topics such as digital security or artificial intelligence, which, in fact, rely heavily on progress in mathematics.

In addition to being part of this international network, my participation in the SFB (Research Network) “Discrete random structures: enumeration and scaling limits” – supported by a science and research funding organization in Austria – gives me a rewarding opportunity to forge closer collaborations with mathematicians coming from top universities in Austria. This research network brings together researchers from the fields of combinatorics and probability and even touches on areas such as quantum physics.

Although mathematics may appear too abstract and detached from real life to most people, everybody has been exposed to hot topics such as digital security or artificial intelligence, which, in fact, rely heavily on progress in mathematics. I therefore strongly believe that maths is invaluable to our society and a field worth pursuing a career in.

Published on September 3, 2025.
Photo credit: TU Graz

May

2025

Laura Lewis

Born in China • Studied mathematics and computer science at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in USA • Master’s in mathematics from University of Cambridge in UK • Lives in USA • Quantum information student, pursuing PhD at the University of California, Berkeley

Throughout my educational journey meandering through pure math, theoretical computer science, physics, and ultimately arriving in quantum information, I’ve seen that all these fields have deep foundations in mathematics, regardless of their outward label.

Early in life, I was drawn to math for its concreteness. To add two numbers together, there was a fixed set of rules, in contrast to other subjects we learn in elementary school, e.g., spelling which (especially in English) has many arbitrary rules and exceptions.

I was lucky to have a previous college math professor as my high school math teacher. He taught advanced math courses not typically covered in the high school curriculum, e.g., real and complex analysis.

With this initial interest, my experiences during high school solidified it and greatly influenced my academic path. I was lucky to have a previous college math professor as my high school math teacher. He taught advanced math courses not typically covered in the high school curriculum, e.g., real and complex analysis. With this, I was able to get a head start on math and got a glimpse of how it is explored in higher education: less through calculations and numbers, but with proofs.

Another pivotal experience was when I attended a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during the summer of my junior year in high school. There, I was challenged with advanced courses and projects but, perhaps most importantly, it was where I was first exposed to quantum mechanics. It immediately fascinated me due to its mystery, where even the first axioms are still debated. This is especially in contrast to other high school physics subjects, e.g., kinematics and electromagnetism, which are taught as having already been solved. This first experience with quantum mechanics planted a seed which would grow in college.

I double majored in pure mathematics and computer science, and as a part of the freshman seminars, one professor mentioned the intersection of these fields with quantum physics: quantum computing. I was fascinated.

When I started my undergraduate degree at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), I kept in mind my previous exposure to quantum physics and kept my eyes peeled for any interesting opportunities. I double majored in pure mathematics and computer science, and as a part of the freshman seminars, one professor mentioned the intersection of these fields with quantum physics: quantum computing. I was fascinated. This subject would allow me to explore my interdisciplinary interests in math, physics, and computer science, and I thought it was a great fit. That summer, I reached out to the professor and started a project with him on how to efficiently check the correctness of a powerful quantum computation using only your laptop. With this experience, I saw how important a strong mathematical foundation is for this type of research, which focuses on rigorously proving the security of such verification protocols.

It was also at this point in my education where I started to notice the gender imbalance in math and quantum science, where I was the only female pure math major in my year in undergrad. This was not at all specific to Caltech but representative of the field as a whole.

During my undergrad, I also worked on designing machine learning algorithms to predict ground states. A ground state is the lowest energy state of a system, where one can think of a ball lying at the bottom of a bowl. A good understanding of ground states can provide us with insights into different properties of quantum systems, so this is an important problem in quantum physics. In this project, I was able to leverage my mathematical background in analysis to provide rigorous theoretical proofs on the performance of my algorithms. It was fascinating to see how math could help pave the way for novel scientific exploration in important physics problems. I received the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for my research (awarded to undergraduates in the USA for outstanding research), which increased my confidence to pursue the subject further.

It was also at this point in my education where I started to notice the gender imbalance in math and quantum science, where I was the only female pure math major in my year in undergrad. This was not at all specific to Caltech but representative of the field as a whole. I hope that by continuing to pursue a research career, I can inspire other young women to follow their passions and dive into mathematics with confidence.

After college, I pursued two master’s degrees in the UK through a Marshall Scholarship (awarded to recent college graduates from the USA to perform two years of graduate study in the UK). The first was at Cambridge in mathematics, a course which is well-known for offering an extensive array of advanced math classes. The second is a research degree at the University of Edinburgh in computer science, where I am free to explore a research topic of choice. These past two years have allowed me to hone my research interests and learn new mathematical tools to attain these goals. Soon I will start my Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, focusing on quantum information, and I’m excited to see where my pursuit of mathematics leads me next in advancing our scientific understanding of the universe.

Published on May 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Daniel Chen

May

2025

Alexandra Edletzberger

Born in Vienna, Austria • Birth year 1995 • Studied Mathematics at University Vienna, Austria and Journalism at University of Salzburg, Austria • PhD in Mathematics from University of Vienna, Austria • Lives in Vienna, Austria • Innovation Manager at UBIMET Group

When I handed in my bachelor’s thesis in 2017, I couldn’t believe it – I thought to myself, “Well, here is my math degree. I’m finally done studying.” Little did I know that seven years later, I would be celebrating the completion of my PhD in mathematics and embarking on new research endeavors.

Since I had always been good at math in school, and since a math degree typically opens doors in finance, insurance, or consulting, I made my decision: I would become a mathematician as well.

My original career plan was set. Ever since my teenage years, I knew that I would become a sports journalist, most likely for a major newspaper or magazine. So after high school, I enrolled in a specialized program at the University of Salzburg to become an Academic Sports Journalist in two years. And so I did. But at the same time, I was aware that the writing business could be tough. As a Viennese girl, I knew it would be challenging to find my place in Austria’s ski-obsessed and male-dominated sports scene. So, I decided to be strategic and enroll in a second study program – one with secure and stable job prospects – just to be on the safe side. Since I had always been good at math in school, and since a math degree typically opens doors in finance, insurance, or consulting, I made my decision: I would become a mathematician as well.

There had already been very few women in my bachelor’s program, and I wondered if I would fit into the master’s program at all.

Everything went as planned. I completed my sports journalism degree, found a job at a newspaper in Vienna, and finished my math degree on the side. But then, with a very heavy heart, I realized that I am not supposed to attend math lectures any more. At the same time, I wasn’t sure whether I even had what it takes to continue with a higher degree in math – especially as a woman. There had already been very few women in my bachelor’s program, and I wondered if I would fit into the master’s program at all. A sneaky look at the master’s program curriculum got me excited – there was a specialization in algebra, my absolute favorite area of math. So I decided to enroll – just for fun. I am very thankful for the Austrian education system, where there are no entry exams and studying comes at no cost. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take this opportunity.

The more courses I took, the more I enjoyed studying. And when I realized that this could also be my chance to move abroad for half a year through an exchange program, I took a leap of faith. I quit my job as a journalist, went to Sweden, and decided to try my luck as a mathematician.

Once again, I didn’t feel ready to end my math journey just yet.

When I was completing my master’s degree, a familiar feeling crept in. Once again, I didn’t feel ready to end my math journey just yet. I was fortunate enough to be offered a PhD position by my master’s thesis supervisor, and I accepted with excitement. My math journey that had started as a practical decision, continued out of passion.

While I enjoyed doing research and the freedom of an academic position, I realized very early in my PhD studies that I did not fit – and did not want to fit – into the academic system. The structural discrimination of women, the exploitation of early-career researchers, and the lack of opportunities to make meaningful change wore me down. I felt like a flower expected to bloom with far too little water and sunlight.

But when I was done, for the first time, I felt truly content with my math chapter coming to an end. And I found a new way to use many of the skills I gained during my PhD.

Don’t get me wrong – I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to complete my PhD, meet incredible people, do exciting research, and contribute to diversity and inclusion in STEM. But when I was done, for the first time, I felt truly content with my math chapter coming to an end.

And I found a new way to use many of the skills I gained during my PhD. As an innovation manager at an Austrian medium-sized company with a focus on natural sciences and its own Research and Development department, I design and develop research projects, find project partners, write proposals, and manage ongoing projects. My fundamental knowledge about mathematical modelling is a key asset. Plus, this role combines my interest in storytelling, investigating new leads and juggling several projects – talents that once led me to journalism – with the skills that steered me to mathematics. In the end, the two plotlines of my career have merged into one in an unexpected yet fulfilling way.

Published on May 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Nora Kamml

Apr

2025

Kateryna Marynets

Born in Uzhhorod, Ukraine • Birth year 1988 • Studied Applied Mathematics at Uzhhorod National University in Ukraine • Highest Degree PhD in Differential Equations from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine • Lives in Delft, The Netherlands • Occupation Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics at Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University of Technology

4 countries, 5 languages, and 1 mathematics…

Was it my big dream to pursue a career as a math professor? No, it wasn’t. In fact, when our primary school teacher asked who we wanted to become in the future, I said that I wanted to be a pediatrician. But that was only because my parents are doctors, and my grandmother was leading the children’s department in the hospital at that time. To be honest, medicine has never been my thing—but as a kid, you tend to take on the role models you see around you. And I wasn’t an exception.

Many years have passed, and mathematics and languages have become inseparable parts of my life.

In Ukraine, we say that children inherit the talents of their grandparents. And with my grandparents working in the fields of physics and mathematics, following that logic, I was probably predestined for these directions. Interestingly enough, those were indeed my favorite subjects at school. I really enjoyed solving math puzzles and diving into the laws of physics. I was extremely lucky to have great teachers who recognized my interest and kept me engaged by offering challenging problems—even though my school had a linguistic focus, and the sciences didn’t occupy much of our curriculum. Many years have passed, and mathematics and languages have become inseparable parts of my life. Those seemingly different disciplines have a lot in common: languages help in sharing my mathematical expertise to a multilingual community, and logical thinking, developed through solving mathematical problems, helps in mastering a new language.

Obtaining a PhD brought new opportunities, but it also came with a lot of pressure—pressure to deliver, pressure not to disappoint.

The path to my current position was long and quite “nonlinear”—just like the math problems I work on. In my last year of high school, I seriously considered studying international economic relations, with applied mathematics as a second option. It was the study program where I could combine my passion for mathematics and foreign languages. But in the end, I chose applied mathematics, and I’ve never regretted the decision I made.

After graduation, I was offered a teaching position at my home university, which I combined with enrollment in a doctoral program. I studied boundary value problems for systems of nonlinear differential equations and developed iterative methods for approximating their solutions. It was a great combination of analysis and work with mathematical software—something I still enjoy doing. Back then, I could conduct research at my home institution but had to defend my thesis at a different university. I still remember all those trips to Kyiv, accompanied by my parents, who helped me organize everything…I am incredibly thankful for all their patience and time that they have invested.

Obtaining a PhD brought new opportunities, but it also came with a lot of pressure—pressure to deliver, pressure not to disappoint. Since then, sports has become my first aid when I feel overwhelmed and need to change my focus during the intense periods at work.

[Fractional differential] equations are broadly used in porous media modeling and systems with memory

After graduation, and having 3 languages ‘in my pocket’, I continued teaching at my home university for a couple of years but felt an urgent need for change. I seriously considered switching to industry and even received an offer from an IT company, but something held me back. Around that time, I won an individual grant for a short-term research stay in Slovakia, where I was introduced to a new field—fractional differential equations. These equations are broadly used in porous media modeling and systems with memory. Moreover, they are able to capture more complex dynamics of a physical system in comparison to their integer-order counterparts. Back then it was still a completely unfamiliar topic for me, something I had never worked on before, but it eventually became part of my current research profile.

My time in Bratislava was a period of reflection, and it gave me the motivation to continue pursuing an academic career. I saw many opportunities that European universities offered and started applying for postdocs. Among all the negative responses and unanswered emails, there was one that changed my life. I got a postdoc position in Vienna, which I still consider my biggest achievement to date. It might sound silly but moving from Uzhhorod, that is by the way famous for its Japanese cherry blossom, to join one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Austria was something I couldn’t have even dreamed of!

During my postdoc, I explored real-world applications of differential equations by analyzing mathematical models related to ocean and atmospheric circulation

During my postdoc, I explored real-world applications of differential equations by analyzing mathematical models related to ocean and atmospheric circulation. I was fascinated by the opportunity to apply my mathematical training to real-world phenomena, expanding my knowledge beyond purely theoretical research. As time passed and my postdoc was nearing its end, I realized I needed something more permanent. And again, I stood at a crossroads: should I switch to industry and stay in Austria with my partner, or pursue a career in academia but accept the fact that I would likely have to move to a third country within the last three years? I know many couples for whom cross-country moves didn’t work out, and in the meantime I was already fluent in German and had good chances on the Austrian labor market. Luckily, my partner was incredibly supportive, and when I got an offer from TU Delft, he did everything he could to make my decision easier.

And here we are. Five and a half years after moving, I’m now a tenured assistant professor at one of the best universities in the Netherlands, developing my own research line in nonlinear (fractional) differential equations with applications in geosciences, speaking my fifth language, and making future plans with my husband. Time has sorted out everything, and despite all difficulties I feel that I am in the right place.

Of course, at the end of the day it’s all about hard work, determination and family support —but sometimes, it’s also about that one email that changes everything in your life.

Published on April 23, 2025.
Image credit: Kateryna Marynets

Apr

2025

JoAnne Growney

Born in rural Pennsylvania in 1940 • Studied PhD in Mathematics at University of Oklahoma, United States • Lives in United States • Occupation Taught mathematics at Bloomsburg (PA) University (now part of Commonwealth University); now retired

Before I was a math girl, I was a farm girl – the oldest of three children growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania — the one who went to the barn with her father while her mother took care of the little ones.

Math (often numbers and counting) was an inconspicuous but central part of farming – counting eggs as I collected them from beneath the hens, counting the sheep as they came into shelter at night to make sure that none had drifted away. Geometric quantities also were important – the volumes of harvested grains and fruit, the distances between parallel rows of corn, the gallons of milk expected from our Guernsey cow which I milked morning and evening.

My teacher, a graduate of an elite college and unashamed of her math ability, was an energetic and supportive example of “girls can do math.”

Perhaps my farm experience helped me to be good at math – and that skill seemed fine in elementary school years but as my classmates and I moved through high school my female math ability seemed to make people turn away from me. In my senior year, I was one of only three girls in my math classes. BUT that year I also had an inspiring experience. My teacher, a graduate of an elite college and unashamed of her math ability, was an energetic and supportive example of “girls can do math.”

Receipt of a scholarship from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, enabled me to go away from home to continue my education. (To my dismay, at Westminster I had several “only girl in the class” experiences.) I started out as a chemistry major but, during my sophomore year. I learned that my “science scholarship” could be used toward a math major and then (preferring math to chemistry) I switched, combining studies of math with secondary education. AND I took creative writing courses and had work published in the campus literary journal. In those days (early 1960’s), many jobs were not available to women – but teaching was.

Graduation from Westminster led to marriage, to secondary school teaching in the Philadelphia area, to evening graduate classes at Temple University – from which I obtained an MA in Mathematics. My husband (Wallace/Wally) – who had studied physics and math and a bit of computer science – took a job at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. I did some part-time teaching at Susquehanna and at nearby Bucknell – but soon we moved to Norman, Oklahoma where Wally would pursue a doctorate so that he could qualify for tenure at Susquehanna. While we were in Oklahoma, with lots of time on my hands, I was able to attain a teaching assistantship and continue my studies also.

One of the requirements for mathematics professors at Bloomsburg University was to teach “general education” courses for non-majors and this experience led me to write and publish a textbook entitled Mathematics in Daily Life – a book containing material that engaged students in mathematical reasoning related to counting, voting, travel, decision-making, and other frequent concerns.

Graduate school brought complications to our marriage. In our earlier studies, I had gotten better grades but we credited it to his sports and fraternity activities – AND, I studied more carefully. But at The University of Oklahoma, it became evident that I was the better student and, eventually, that caused stress for both of us. I became his helper. We studied together. During our work on dissertations, I became pregnant. When our doctoral studies were completed, we returned to Pennsylvania, bringing with us a baby daughter. I secured a tenure-track position at nearby Bloomsburg State College (now part of Commonwealth University). AND I was able to keep my on-campus schedule to three days per week and to find excellent child care; our care-giver, Erma, was loving and dependable. Our family grew with another childbirth and two adoptions.

Keeping busy helped our marriage survive but over time we began to recognize that things weren’t working and weren’t repairable. This eventually led to divorce and to me and the kids moving to the town of Bloomsburg (and to me avoiding the 30-mile commute). My time in Bloomsburg involved congenial colleagues, a great neighborhood – a safe place for my children even if I was not with them and walk-to schools. When my children grew up – and left home for college and marriage and . . . I found time to revive my childhood interest (begun as a child reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses) to poetry.

One of my favorite poems celebrates the mathematician, Amalie Emmy Noether; it’s title is “My Dance is Mathematics”

One of the requirements for mathematics professors at Bloomsburg University was to teach “general education” courses for non-majors and this experience led me to write and publish a textbook entitled Mathematics in Daily Life – a book containing material that engaged students in mathematical reasoning related to counting, voting, travel, decision-making, and other frequent concerns. Work on this project and — even more so — my interest in poetry drew me into connections with other colleagues (in English and Philosophy and . . . and I gradually began to participate in poetry events and publication in addition to my math-related activities.

Writing poetry was an activity that I much enjoyed – and many of my poems incorporate mathematical ideas. One of my favorite poems celebrates the mathematician, Amalie Emmy Noether; it’s title is “My Dance is Mathematics” and it is available online at this link: https://joannegrowney.com/ChapbookMyDance.html ; here is its opening stanza:

They called you der Noether, as if mathematics

was only for men. In 1964, nearly thirty years

past your death, at last I saw you in a spotlight,

in a World’s Fair mural, “Men of Modern Mathematics.”

Once my kids were grown – and using some funds inherited from a great aunt – I began to engage in travel-related math-and-poetry activities. Via “Teachers for Tomorrow” – a non-profit organized by one of my high school friends – I spent part of several summers teaching (math and poetry and English conversation) – in India and in Romania.

A few years into retirement, I moved south to the Washington, DC area where three of my four children were living with their young families. And I am still here!

More can be learned about me at my website: https://joannegrowney.com. In 2010 I began to write a blog entitled “Intersections – Poetry with Mathematics” (found at https://poetrywithmathematics.blogspot.com/) – and, with more than 1600 posts so far, my blogging continues. My own thought processes seem to follow the rule that “everything connects” – and this article shares some related ideas: https://joannegrowney.com/Everything-Connects–JMA-Growney-26June2020.pdf

THANK YOU for reading! I hope you also enjoy math and poetry and their connections!

Published on April 9, 2025.
Image credit: Diann Growney Harrity

Mar

2025

Bindi Brook

Born in Nairobi, Kenya • Studied Mathematics at the University of Leeds • Highest Degree PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Leeds • Lives in the UK • Occupation Professor of Mathematical Medicine and Biology at the University of Nottingham

When I think back to school days, my sense is that I’ve always enjoyed mathematics. But there is one particular memory that is contrary to that. I was around 10 years old and had been finding most of the “maths” we did quite easy. Then some combination of factors (teacher, specific content) brought a sudden loss of confidence. I could not get my head around what we were being taught and I thought that was it – that I did not like maths anymore. My dad decided I was being silly (thankfully) and worked through some examples with me, every night, for about a week. By the end of it, my temporary lack of confidence had gone and ever since then I have really enjoyed some form of maths (here one can read – NOT pure maths). In fact, whenever I couldn’t make a decision about what I wanted to do next (at the end of A-levels, at the end of my undergraduate degree) I just picked the thing I enjoyed the most (maths and then applied maths) and went with it. I come from a South Asian culture where, if you’re considered “able”, you’re expected to study Medicine. That wasn’t for me – I really did not like remembering lots of facts and much preferred the problem-solving needed for studying maths.

(…) I have started to look into the mechanisms that could lead to a rare lung disease called lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and Long Covid.

In an interesting twist though, in my research career, I have essentially specialised in applying mathematics to biological and medical problems! My PhD was all about understanding what happens to blood flow in collapsible blood vessels like the giraffe jugular vein. In my postdoc I was investigating how to optimise ventilator settings for patients in ICU and then how to deliver inhaled therapies into the lungs. Since then, my focus has been in trying to understand how diseases like Asthma and other respiratory diseases originate and then progress. This involves incorporating biology and physics into mathematical and computational models, using approaches from different areas of applied maths. More recently I have started to look into the mechanisms that could lead to a rare lung disease called lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and Long Covid.

Although I am now a Professor and have spent much of my working life in academia, I took a somewhat torturous path getting there and could have picked a different route a number of times. Immediately after my PhD I worked for a credit card company, applying statistical models in a somewhat robotic fashion. There was no problem-solving involved and within 3 months I knew I could not stay and 3 months later started a postdoc in Sheffield. Towards the end of my postdoc I had my first daughter and worked part-time to complete it after which I decided I would just take time out to look after her. Two years later I had my second daughter.

Throughout my career, I have had some fantastic mentors (both women and men) who guided me through some tough times. These included workplace bullying and discrimination (as a woman of colour) and I have had to work hard to overcome these hurdles.

When my second daughter was around 2 years old I was starting to consider alternative careers to academia (I felt I had been out of it too long, hadn’t written up my postdoc work into peer-reviewed papers, etc) when I got a phone call from a previous academic colleague from the University of Nottingham asking if I would be interested in covering his teaching part-time, as he was taking a sabbatical. I took up this offer and continued to teach and work part-time until I felt my daughters were old enough for me to consider getting back into research. I applied for and was awarded a fantastic “return-to-research” Daphne Jackson Fellowship which allowed me to restart my research on a part-time basis and also write up some of my postdoc work. I will be eternally grateful for this opportunity, as it allowed me to start my research in asthma, build up a network of collaborators and eventually my first MRC grant. The other most important thing that made all this possible is my amazing, hugely supportive, parents who helped look after my daughters for many years.

Throughout my career, I have had some fantastic mentors (both women and men) who guided me through some tough times. These included workplace bullying and discrimination (as a woman of colour) and I have had to work hard to overcome these hurdles. Unfortunately, these things still exist. More recently (in my case) these have been more in the form of unconscious bias rather than overt. And significant efforts are being made to address these issues in my School. I try to contribute the best I can with these efforts. Nonetheless, it does mean that I regularly have to sit back and ask if it’s worth it. The answer isn’t an easy “yes”, not just for the above reasons but also because of the way higher education is going these days in terms of massive budget cuts and increased bureaucracy. On the positive side, I work with wonderful friends and colleagues, on worthwhile research problems, and great students.

Published on March 26, 2025.

Mar

2025

Catherine Micek

Born in United States • Studied PhD in Mathematics at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, United States • Lives in United States • Occupation Data Scientist

Galileo Galilei said “Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.” I chose to have a career in mathematics because I wanted to be a “translator” for the language of mathematics.

The first time I realized that I might enjoy teaching math was when I was in sixth grade. I was writing up a solution to a pre-algebra problem for a school newspaper article, and I discovered that I loved breaking the problem down into smaller steps that could each be carefully explained. Communicating a logical and precise solution was beautiful to me.

When I went to college, choosing a major was tough because I was curious about many subjects. What drew me towards math during my freshman year was the idea of becoming a college math professor. A career as a math professor would allow me to combine the challenge of solving math problems as well as communicating the results. Furthermore, the fact that mathematics could be applied to a variety of fields appealed to my widespread curiosity. During college, I studied applications of math to some familiar and loved subjects (such as music) as well as some new and interesting ones (such as computer science). I majored in math and minored in physics and computer science with the goal of pursuing a Ph.D. in applied mathematics upon graduation.

Graduate school was very different from my undergraduate studies. The coursework was more demanding, so I had to improve my study habits, and research required that I develop an entirely new set of skills. The nature of research was very different from the syllabus structure of problem sets and exams in a course. Since my goal was to solve a problem no one had ever solved before, it required a creative and flexible approach, one that emphasized the exploration, experimentation, and steady refinement of ideas. But perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that there is no single “correct” way to be a mathematician. I saw that fellow students succeeded by developing a process of learning and research that worked for their unique set of talents and interests. I, too, had to develop such a process, even though it was an arduous and intimidating journey, fraught with a lot of trial and error. Ultimately, though, the effort was worth it because it built my self-confidence.

Since my goal was to solve a problem no one had ever solved before, it required a creative and flexible approach, one that emphasized the exploration, experimentation, and steady refinement of ideas. But perhaps the most important lesson I learned was that there is no single “correct” way to be a mathematician.

At the end of graduate school, I had an unforeseen change of plans. My goal had always been to get a tenure-track job (which is the career track to a permanent academic position in America) at a local school. However, since no local positions were open the year I was graduating, I had to consider the trade-offs between my geographic location and the type of job I wanted. If I didn’t relocate, I would have to broaden my job search to include non-academic jobs (which I didn’t know much about) and temporary academic jobs (which had more uncertainty). It was scary to consider changing my long-held career plans, but I had an established support system of family and friends locally who were an important part of my life. After extensive deliberation, I accepted a two-year faculty position at a local school and began investigating non-academic career paths.

Luckily for me, jobs in data science were starting to surge around the time I started looking at industrial jobs. Companies were looking to hire employees who understood complex statistical and machine learning algorithms and could write computer code. Data science was a great fit for my interests and skills – I had a lot of programming experience and was willing to learn whatever additional mathematics I needed for a job – so I began looking for jobs where I could use and further develop my technical skills.

My first industry job was building statistical models for pricing policies at an insurance company, and from there I segued into data scientist and software developer roles. Although the domains are different and the mathematical techniques I use vary, my jobs generally have consisted of formulating the mathematical problem, writing the code to train the model and implementing the solution, and explaining the results to business stakeholders. I’ve worked as a data scientist at several companies on problems with diverse applications: energy, finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and media. Although the details of my professional life are different than if I was a math professor – the work is interdisciplinary and team-oriented – I still get to be a “translator” of mathematics.

Even though my career path has gone differently than I originally planned, I am happy with the unexpected directions it has taken me. Keep in mind that the best career path is not about what the majority is doing or what others advise that you “should” do: it is the path you create for yourself.

Published on March 12, 2025.
Photo credit: Catherine Micek

Feb

2025

Anna Ma

Born in the US • Studied Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles • Highest Degree PhD in Computational Science from the Claremont Graduate University • Lives in the US • Occupation Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Irvine

When I was a kid, there were lots of things I wanted to be: a lawyer, a teacher, a singer, and even, at one point, a maid (I loved organizing and cleaning as a kid, too!) The thought of being a professor, let alone a professor of mathematics, never crossed my mind. I enjoyed mathematics as a kid but wasn’t the “math wiz” in school. I simply enjoyed it. In other classes, I had to memorize all these seemingly random facts, dates, and names of cell parts and their functions. In math classes, all I needed to do was understand the underlying concept, and I would be able to solve many problems!

My first memory of just the thought of being a mathematics professor came in high school. I joined a class geared towards first-generation college students and presented a project on my dream career as a high school math teacher.

Around middle school, I decided to pursue mathematics as a career. My parents immigrated to the US as refugees during the Vietnam War and worked as nail technicians and factory workers so the only people I knew who “did math” were the math teachers I interacted with at school. Thus, I set my sights on becoming a high school math teacher. My first memory of just the thought of being a mathematics professor came in high school. I joined a class geared towards first-generation college students and presented a project on my dream career as a high school math teacher. One of my classmates turned to me after my presentation and said, “I think you’re aiming too low; I think you should be a math professor.” I told her there was no way I could ever accomplish that, and I left it at that.

While trying to figure out what other careers existed for mathematicians, I stumbled upon Applied Mathematics and research: the wonderful world of creating new and exciting mathematics for real-world applications. [..] From there, I was hooked.

In college, I began taking math classes beyond calculus: logic, analysis, algebra, combinatorics, and numerical analysis. Logic and Numerical Analysis were two of my favorite courses, and it occurred to me that if I were a high school math teacher, I’d never have the opportunity to “do numerical analysis” again. (Was I being a little dramatic? Yes. But did I know what I wanted? Also, yes!) While trying to figure out what other careers existed for mathematicians, I stumbled upon Applied Mathematics and research: the wonderful world of creating new and exciting mathematics for real-world applications. My first research project was to help develop an algorithm for the Los Angeles Police Department to clean reporting data automatically. Next, I worked on a project analyzing Twitter (now called X) data to categorize Tweets automatically into content-based topics that did not rely on keyword searches. From there, I was hooked.

In college and grade school, it was difficult to see how intertwined mathematics was with the world around us. Through these projects, I began to see mathematics and the world through a new lens. The realization that mathematical concepts and theory could directly impact and improve real-world problems is inspiring, and this shift in perspective not only enhanced my appreciation for mathematics but also fueled my passion for pursuing further research and applications that bridge theory with practice.

In academia, you raise the next generation of mathematicians, discover and create new mathematics, and serve the scientific community and beyond.

Working in academia is an incredibly unique opportunity. In academia, you raise the next generation of mathematicians, discover and create new mathematics, and serve the scientific community and beyond. At the same time, academia can be really difficult because everyone has opinions about what you should and shouldn’t be doing and how you should and shouldn’t be spending your time. Early on, I decided I would do what made me happy. If that wasn’t enough for academia, then I wouldn’t be happy doing it anyway. There really is no other job like it in the world. Currently, I am working with multiple graduate students, recruiting new students for an undergraduate research project, writing proposals, and writing manuscripts to introduce new and improved algorithms and theorems to the mathematics community. One of the most surprising things I’ve discovered about this career is how much traveling I get to do. Every year, there is typically at least one international trip (Paris, France last year for the SIAM Applied Linear Algebra conference!) and a few domestic trips for conferences, visiting collaborators, and presenting research at other universities and research institutions. My day-to-day life in my career is never the same, which makes the work and life very exciting.

Published on February 26, 2025.

Oct

2024

Michelle Snider

Studied Physics & Mathematics at Smith College, Northampton MA, and Mathematics at the University of California San Diego, CA USA and at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA • Highest Degree: PhD in Mathematics • Lives in United States • Occupation: Senior Data Analyst at SRT Labs and Adjunct Research Staff Member at Center for Computing Sciences, Institute for Defense Analyses

I was always interested in math and science, maybe because I was just good at it. I chose to go to a women’s college because even at the high school level, I had been the only girl in the class, and experienced some unhealthy dynamics that can occur in a gender-imbalanced environment. Finishing my double major in Math and Physics in an enthusiastic and supportive environment, I decided I was happy to keep learning for the sake of learning, so I started applying to graduate school.

I went to the University of California, San Diego because they had big math and applied math departments, and since I didn’t have a specific area of focus yet, this would give me lots of options. Two years in, I realized I had not narrowed down the list of mathematical topics I was interested in so much as the list of professors I was not interested in working with. I set up meetings with potential advisors across the departments, who did work in numerical analysis, representation theory, combinatorics, and even math education research. Rather than giving me an impromptu lecture, one professor spent 5 minutes setting up a problem, then handed me the chalk and said “Go up to the board and work out an example.” I thought to myself, I guess I’m an algebraic combinatorialist now!

My specific expertise seemed to be less relevant than my willingness and ability to jump into new research areas and tackle hard problems.

Six years and a cross-country move later, I finished my PhD. I had determined that I didn’t want to pursue an academic track, but with such a pure math background, I wasn’t sure what other options I would even have. That is, in academia, it is quite common that you have no idea what else to do except be an academic because no pure math professor I have met has ever done anything other than be a pure math professor. While I had a wonderful opportunity learning how to think mathematically, I had no guidance about how to transition my research to real life. After sending my resume to companies and national labs across the spectrum of options, I landed an interview at the Center for Computing Sciences in Maryland, a federally-funded research and development center, where the organizational ethos seemed to be to hire a bunch of smart people and remove all the administrative distractions so they can just focus on solving hard problems for the US government. The people I met at my interview were excited about their work, but also had interesting hobbies and work-life balance. My specific expertise seemed to be less relevant than my willingness and ability to jump into new research areas and tackle hard problems.

The AWM is a community of mathematicians from around the world who care about building up a network to help us all succeed and I love being a part of it.

Along the way, I had an opportunity to join the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) on a day trip to the US Capitol in Washington, DC, to meet with the offices of elected officials and advocate for supporting underrepresented minorities in STEM. The AWM is a community of mathematicians from around the world who care about building up a network to help us all succeed and I love being a part of it. These visits give us a chance to let our voices be heard, and to bring awareness to the importance of STEM across society—many politicians have never met a mathematician before, and we had the chance to try to counter some of the stereotyped images in the media. I met an amazing group of mathematicians, and before I knew it, I was the one organizing these Capitol Hill visits, then serving on several committees.

A few years ago, an opportunity came up to work with a small technology company with a great company culture. My job title is Senior Data Analyst, but again I was hired not for specific expertise but for my flexibility in taking on new challenges. I get to work across a broad swath of the company, talking to clients, designing solutions, and yes, analyzing some data along the way. I love being able to apply mathematical thinking to problems perhaps not thought of as classical mathematical problems, like how to help universities save energy by connecting their air conditioning system to their class scheduling system.

I could not have predicted the path that I’ve been on, and certainly would never say that I had a plan all along. I am happy to do lots of different things, but it matters a lot to me who I spend my time with. Picking each step based on the people I enjoy spending time with seems to be working just fine so far.

Published on October 16, 2024.

Oct

2024

Nadia Abdelal

Born in Tripoli, Lebanon • Birth year 1975 • Studied Science and Education at Monash University in Melbourne • Highest Degree Post Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education • Lives in Melbourne, Australia • Occupation Mathematics Education Specialist

There were only two things I ever wanted to be as a child – an artist or a scientist. Growing up as the daughter of a struggling artist, you can guess which one I was vehemently encouraged not to pursue. So, with great regret, I set aside my artistic dreams to focus on the more ‘financially stable’ study of science.

However, for a young migrant girl born in the 1970s, things were not that simple. Back then, women and girls weren’t even close to touching the glass ceiling, let alone breaking it. We were too busy dodging patriarchal bullets. For many women, particularly those of certain ethnicities, the central mission was marriage and children. Our dreams didn’t amount to much because there was only really one worth pursuing, and it definitely did not end with the word “scientist”.

(…) How does someone who was told by teachers that she would never understand maths, and who failed almost all her maths exams, end up as a maths education specialist?

Despite this, I was not discouraged. Much to the dismay of my mother, I had inherited my father’s burning desire to punch the status quo right in the face. Consequently, my feminist roots sprouted early. If I’m being totally honest, while I genuinely loved science, the idea of pushing against gender stereotypes, some of which still exist today, was equally as appealing. So, I set my course with determination.

It was not without its obstacles – and there were many. One obstacle in particular that could have derailed my entire professional future was my ongoing struggle with mathematics. I didn’t just struggle a little; I struggled a lot. For as long as I can remember, and throughout school, it was one of my greatest sources of shame. My failures in this subject accompanied me through primary school, high school, and even into university, where I eventually graduated with a major in physics and geophysics.

But how? How does someone manage to get a degree in physics while struggling so much with maths? And how does someone who was told by teachers that she would never understand maths, and who failed almost all her maths exams, end up as a maths education specialist? The answer is this: it’s not that I wasn’t good at maths, or that I couldn’t understand it. It was simply that I couldn’t understand the way maths was being taught to me!

Traditional mathematics approaches may work for a small percentage of the population, but the majority, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, non-native language speakers, or those with non-neurotypical brains, are rarely among that select few.

Traditional mathematics approaches may work for a small percentage of the population, but the majority, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, non-native language speakers, or those with non-neurotypical brains, are rarely among that select few. Unfortunately for me, I fell into all three categories, so school was a constant struggle. However, science was my art – a creative outlet for my curiosity, and anyone can tell you that when you love something and are curious about it, the teaching becomes secondary to the learning.

As I moved further into my career, I began to apply this newfound understanding to my teaching, shifting away from traditional methods and towards more conceptual approaches to maths education – methods that I wished I had been exposed to as a child and as a student of STEM.

The decision to leave the safety of my classroom in 2016 was a very difficult and personal one. However, it shaped some of the greatest learnings and experiences of my lifetime, and three years later, it led me to begin my company, EM Maths Consulting.

I began my life wanting to be one of two things, an artist or a scientist, and little did I know that I would end up as both.

The fear that comes with putting everything on the line to follow a dream can be debilitating. However, sometimes the desire to follow it is just too strong to ignore. So here I am, eight years on, and still clinging to the convictions that started me on this pathway – to drive change in mathematics education, and to encourage a system that supports and nurtures the strengths and uniqueness of every child regardless of race, gender, demographic, or physical, emotional, or spiritual preferences.

I made many discoveries along the way, but the best one was this: There is a little scientist in all of us, one who is compelled to ask questions, be curious, seek synergy, and find beauty. We don’t often connect these things to the learning of mathematics, but we should. I began my life wanting to be one of two things, an artist or a scientist, and little did I know that I would end up as both.

Published on October 2, 2024.

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