Alex James (mathematician) facts for kids
Alex James is a super smart scientist from both Britain and New Zealand. She uses math to study all sorts of interesting things! She's a mathematician and a mathematical biologist, which means she uses math to understand living things.
Her research helps us learn about how wildlife behaves, like why animals move in certain ways. She also looks at how many men and women work in science and math jobs at universities. Plus, she's helped study how diseases, like COVID-19, spread. Alex James is a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, where she teaches math and statistics.
Her Journey in Math
Alex James started her math journey by studying at Newcastle University in England. After that, she earned a master's degree from University College London. She then went on to get her PhD at the University of Leeds.
During her PhD, she worked on projects about how things burn (called combustion engineering) and special devices called catalytic converters that help clean up car exhaust.
In 2001, she became a teacher at Sheffield Hallam University. Then, in 2004, she moved to New Zealand to teach at the University of Canterbury.
Amazing Achievements
Alex James has received many awards for her awesome work!
- In 2015, she was made a Fellow of the New Zealand Mathematical Society (NZMS). This is a special honor for mathematicians.
- She won the NZMS Research Award in 2018 for her important research.
- In 2020, she was part of a team that won the Prime Minister's Science Prize, which is a really big deal in New Zealand science!
- She also won the University of Canterbury Research Medal in 2021.
- Most recently, in 2024, she was awarded the NZIAM EO Tuck medal.
