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GREAT WOMAN OF MATHEMATICS: DR. EMMY NOETHER, 1882-1935. Responsible for concept of "Noetherian" mathematical objects, colleague of Einstein, genius whose work unified topology, geometry, logic, and algebra. Noether grew up in Germany in the family of a maths professor, #GWOM 1/8
though she received the traditional female education towards housewifery until age 18. Then she used her dad& #39;s connections to get permission to audit classes, the only way women could study at uni. Finally allowed to begin formal study in 1903 and awarded her PhD only 4 years 2/8
later. Despite obvious qualifications, she was not permitted to teach due to her sex. She continued to do research and substitute-taught for her dad serving as mentor to maths PhD students, and published widely in maths. In 1915, two colleagues who were working with Einstein 3/8
on general relativity sought her as a collaborator due to her expertise in invariant theory (a branch of abstract algebra that can be seen in the gravitational relationship between a star and planet). She had to work unpaid and her courses were listed under the names of male 4/8
colleagues, but she persisted. Her work with Einstein led to Noether& #39;s Theorem, a proof of the relationship between time and energy in the universe. Despite her growing fame, some male colleagues were STILL uncomfortable having students "learn at the feet of a woman," to 5/8
which a male ally retorted, "We are a university, not a bath house." 12 years after her PhD, she was finally allowed to formally teach. She made enormous contributions to abstract algebra and especially hyper-complex numbers. In 1932, she won the Ackermann-Teubner Prize. In 6/8
1933, Hitler& #39;s declaration that Jewish profs be removed from universities put an end to her job, but she welcomed students, even pro-Nazi students, to her home if they wished to learn maths. She moved to America and taught at Bryn Mawr until her death from a post-surgery 7/8
infection in 1935. Noether& #39;s contributions to maths and physics, and the way she refused to allow sex-based oppression to stop her from doing all she could to advance human knowledge, are ongoing sources of insight and inspiration to mathematicians and physicists everywhere. /end
Addendum: during the 2020 #dailymaths challenge, the problem for February 26 was answered by @drrollergator, who provided an excellent introduction to Noether& #39;s field of abstract algebra. Read it here: https://twitter.com/GWOMaths/status/1232967309154750465?s=20">https://twitter.com/GWOMaths/...
