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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'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'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'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'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's field of abstract algebra. Read it here: https://twitter.com/GWOMaths/status/1232967309154750465?s=20
