Gloria Olive facts for kids

Gloria Olive (born June 8, 1923 – died April 17, 2006) was a smart mathematician from New Zealand. She was a university professor who taught math.

Gloria's Journey in Math

Gloria started her math journey in the United States. She earned her first degree (a BA) from Brooklyn College in 1944. Then, she got a master's degree (an MA) from the University of Wisconsin in 1946. She finished her studies with a PhD from the University of Oregon in 1950. Her special research for her PhD was about something called Generalised Powers.

In 1972, Gloria moved to New Zealand and started teaching at the University of Otago. She became a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics. This means she was a very experienced teacher and researcher. She retired in December 1988 and passed away in Dunedin in 2006.

What Gloria Achieved

Gloria Olive was part of a small group of about seven women. These women helped start the group that later became the Association for Women in Mathematics. This association helps support women who work in math.

She also wrote a book called Mathematics for Liberal Arts Students. It was published in 1973.

Gloria published several papers about her "generalized powers" research. These are special math ideas related to how powers are expanded in algebra. She had a theory about these math ideas, but she couldn't prove it completely.