Alison Miller facts for kids

Alison Beth Miller is an American mathematician. She made history as the first American girl to win a gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad. She also achieved great success in the Putnam Competition, a very challenging math contest. She placed in the top 16 four times. For three of these, she received the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam award, which recognizes outstanding female mathematicians.

Early Life and Amazing Achievements

Alison Miller grew up in Niskayuna, New York. She was taught at home. In 2000, she showed her talent for words by coming in third place in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.

In 2004, Alison competed for the United States in the International Mathematical Olympiad. This is a worldwide math competition for high school students. She won a gold medal, becoming the first American girl ever to do so.

College Years and More Awards

Alison went to Harvard University for her college studies. There, she focused on mathematics. She won the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam award three times: in 2005, 2006, and 2007. This award is given to top female students in the Putnam Competition. Her three wins matched a record set by another mathematician, Ioana Dumitriu.

In 2007, Alison helped coach American girls. They were preparing for the China Girls Mathematical Olympiad. This was the first time the U.S. sent a team to that competition.

Advanced Studies and Career

In 2008, Alison received the Alice T. Schafer Prize. This award is given by the Association for Women in Mathematics. It recognizes excellent math work by undergraduate women. She earned this prize for her three research papers she wrote during college.

That same year, she graduated from Harvard University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with the highest honors in Mathematics. Her final college paper, called a senior thesis, was about "Explicit Class Field Theory in Function Fields: Gross-Stark Units and Drinfeld Modules." This paper won her the Hoopes Prize. After Harvard, she received a Churchill Scholarship. This allowed her to study for a year at the University of Cambridge in England.

Alison continued her studies at Princeton University. She earned her Ph.D. in 2014. A Ph.D. is the highest university degree. Her research was about knot invariants. These are special ways to tell different mathematical knots apart. Her advisor was Manjul Bhargava.

After getting her Ph.D., she worked as a researcher at Harvard University. Later, she became an associate editor for Mathematical Reviews. This organization helps review and summarize new math papers.

Alison Miller should not be confused with Allison N. Miller. Allison N. Miller is also a mathematician, working at Swarthmore College.