Ayşe Şahin facts for kids

Ayşe Arzu Şahin is a Turkish-American mathematician who is now the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Embry-Riddle University. She explores complex number patterns and works in an exciting area of mathematics known as dynamical systems. A dynamical system uses rules to describe how things move or change over time. In June 2020, she became a dean at Wright State University. She has also helped write popular college textbooks about calculus and other math topics.

Early Life and Education

Ayşe Şahin loved learning about patterns from an early age. She went to college at Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated in 1988. Mount Holyoke is famous for supporting women in higher education.

After college, she wanted to solve deeper math problems. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park to earn her doctorate, which is also called a Ph.D. She completed her degree in 1994. Her advanced research focused on geometric shapes, special grid patterns, and math dimensions. Her main research advisor during this work was mathematician Daniel Rudolph.

Career in Teaching and Leadership

After finishing graduate school, Şahin began teaching college students. She worked at North Dakota State University starting in 1994. She spent seven years there helping students understand math before moving to Chicago.

In 2001, she joined the faculty at DePaul University. She became a full professor there in 2010. While at DePaul, she co-directed a special master's program. This program helped middle school teachers learn better ways to teach mathematics to young students.

Şahin moved to Wright State University in Ohio in 2015. She first served as the chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. In 2020, she became the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. In this role, she helps organize science programs and guides teachers and researchers.

Research and Helping Students

As a researcher, Şahin studies how rules can predict what happens over long periods. She works on ergodic theory and symbolic dynamics. These tools help scientists track everything from the orbits of planets to changing weather systems.

Besides her research, Şahin works hard to make math welcoming for everyone. She supports programs in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She wants all kinds of students to have the chance to discover a love for math.

Published Textbooks

Şahin is also a textbook author who explains tricky ideas clearly.

• In 2016, she worked with other authors, including Deborah Hughes Hallett, William G. McCallum, and Andrew M. Gleason, to write the seventh edition of Calculus: Single and Multivariable.
• In 2017, she wrote Discovering Discrete Dynamical Systems along with fellow mathematicians Kathleen Madden and Aimee Johnson. This book was published by the Mathematical Association of America.

Through her teaching, books, and university leadership, Ayşe Şahin inspires young people to solve difficult problems.