Aissa Wade facts for kids

Aissa Wade is a brilliant Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University. She is also known for being the President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) center in Senegal from 2016 to 2018.

Early Life and Education

Aissa Wade was born in Dakar, which is the capital city of Senegal. She loved mathematics from a young age. She studied math at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal. She successfully graduated from there in 1993.

After her studies in Senegal, Aissa needed to travel to earn her Ph.D. This was because there were no opportunities for advanced math degrees in Africa at that time. She went to the University of Montpellier in France. In 1996, she earned her Ph.D. Her special research was about something called "formal normalization of Poisson structures." This is a very advanced topic in a field of math called symplectic geometry. Her professor, Jean Paul Dufour, helped guide her research.

A Career in Mathematics

After getting her Ph.D., Aissa Wade became a postdoctoral researcher. She worked at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. There, she studied complex mathematical ideas. She also taught as a visiting professor at several universities. These included the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the African University of Science and Technology.

Later, Professor Wade joined Pennsylvania State University. Her hard work and dedication led her to become a full professor in 2016.

Leading and Inspiring

Professor Wade has taken on many important roles in the world of mathematics. She was a managing editor for The African Diaspora Journal of Mathematics. She is also an editor for Afrika Mathematika. These journals help share new math discoveries.

She is part of the scientific committee for the NextEinstein forum. This group works to connect science, society, and important decisions in Africa. A big achievement for Aissa Wade was becoming the President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) center in Senegal. She was the very first woman to hold this important position!

Professor Wade has also received funding from the National Science Foundation. This money helped support a special workshop in Senegal. The workshop focused on geometric structures in math. She has also worked with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her goal was to improve STEM research in Africa. This included finding ways to measure progress and suggest new policies. In 2017, Aissa Wade was recognized as a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. This is a great honor for scientists in Africa.

Recognition for Her Work

Aissa Wade's amazing accomplishments have been celebrated. She was featured by Mathematically Gifted & Black in 2020. This honor recognized her during Black History Month. It highlighted her important contributions to mathematics.