Edray Herber Goins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edray H. Goins
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| Born | June 29, 1972 |
| Alma mater | California Institute of Technology Stanford University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Pomona College Purdue University |
| Thesis | Elliptic curves and icosahedral Galois representations (1999) |
| Doctoral advisors | Daniel Bump Karl Rubin |
| Doctoral students | Alexander J. Barrios, Tyler Billingsley, Jacob Bond, Kevin Mugo, and James Weigandt |
Edray Herber Goins (born June 29, 1972, in Los Angeles) is an American mathematician. He is an expert in number theory, which studies numbers, and algebraic geometry, which uses algebra to solve problems about shapes. He is especially interested in how these areas connect.
Early Life and Education
Edray Goins was born in Los Angeles in 1972. His mother, Eddi Beatrice Brown, was a teacher. He went to public schools in South Los Angeles. In 1994, he earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from the California Institute of Technology. He even won two awards for his math skills there! Later, in 1999, he earned his PhD from Stanford University. His special project was about "Elliptic Curves and Icosahedral Galois Representations."
Career in Mathematics
For many years, Dr. Goins taught at Purdue University. He also visited important research places like the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and Harvard University. In 2018, he started working at Pomona College.
Dr. Goins loves helping students, especially those who might not usually get involved in math research. Every summer, he leads a program called "Pomona Research in Mathematics Experience (PRiME)." This program helps college students do real math research. He started this program in 2016 when he was at Purdue University. He is also known for an essay he wrote in 2018 called "Three Questions: The Journey of One Black Mathematician." In 2019, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics.
From 2015 to 2020, Dr. Goins was the president of the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM). This group supports African-American mathematicians.
Mathematicians of the African Diaspora
In 1997, a mathematician named Scott W. Williams created a website called Mathematicians of the African Diaspora (MAD). This website was made to celebrate and share the amazing work of Black mathematicians. It especially focused on their contributions to new math research.
When Professor Williams retired in 2008, a group of mathematicians decided to keep the website going. In 2015, the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) formed a special team to update the MAD Pages. Edray Goins, as the president of NAM at the time, was a key part of this team. He worked with others to make sure Professor Williams's important work continued to inspire new generations.
