Ami Radunskaya facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ami Elizabeth Radunskaya
|
|
|---|---|
Ami Radunskaya at AWM Research Symposium, 2017
|
|
| Alma mater | Stanford University, 1992 |
| Known for | Dynamical systems, Applications of mathematics to medicine |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Pomona College |
| Doctoral advisor | Donald Samuel Ornstein |
Ami Elizabeth Radunskaya is an American mathematician and musician. She is a professor of mathematics at Pomona College. She uses math to understand how things change over time, which is called dynamical systems.
She also uses math to help with medicine. For example, she models how medicines move in the body using something called cellular automata. In 2016, she became the president of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).
Early Life and Music
Ami Radunskaya started playing the cello when she was nine years old. Her father was an economist at UC Berkeley. After high school, at age 16, she took a break from school for ten years.
During this time, she worked as a cellist and a music composer. She played with the Oakland Symphony for seven years. She was known for playing new and experimental music. She performed across the U.S. and Europe with Don Buchla.
In the late 1970s, a company called Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments made a special synthesizer for her. It was called the "Sili-Con Cello." She also used a radio baton in her music. This is like a conductor's baton that controls electronic music. One of her pieces, "A Wild and Reckless Place" (1990), used a special musical scale.
Her Education Journey
Ami Radunskaya went to college at the University of California, Berkeley. She was a single mother while studying there. She first studied computer science and chemistry. Later, she decided to major in mathematics.
She then went on to get her advanced degree in math. She earned her doctorate from Stanford University in 1992. Her advisor was Donald Samuel Ornstein. Her research was about how certain systems behave over time.
Career in Mathematics
After finishing her studies, Dr. Radunskaya worked at Rice University. She was the only woman in the math department there. In 1994, she joined the faculty at Pomona College.
In June 2022, Pomona College gave her a special honor. She was named the Lingurn H. Burkhead Professor of Mathematics. This is a very important teaching position.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Radunskaya has received many awards for her work. In 2010, she gave a special lecture called the AWM/MAA Falconer Lecture. She spoke about "Mathematical Challenges in the Treatment of Cancer." This showed how math can help fight cancer.
In 2016, she became a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. This was for her work in math related to cancer and medicine. It was also for her service to the math community. She won the Mentor Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This was for her work with the EDGE Foundation. This program helps women study math at a higher level.
She was the president of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) from 2017 to 2019. In 2021, she was named a Fellow of the AWM. This was for helping more women get into math. She worked to make the math community more welcoming. She also helped lead the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education summer program. In 2022, she gave the main opening speech at the AWM Research Symposium.
