Jacqueline Ferrand facts for kids

Jacqueline Lelong-Ferrand (born February 17, 1918, in Alès, France – died April 26, 2014, in Sceaux, France) was a brilliant French mathematician. She was known for her work on how shapes can be mapped onto each other while keeping their angles the same (called conformal geometry), how forces like gravity or electricity spread out (called potential theory), and the study of curved spaces (Riemannian manifolds). She taught mathematics at several universities in France, including Caen, Lille, and Paris.

Early Life and Education

Jacqueline Ferrand grew up in Alès, France. Her father was a classics teacher, and she went to secondary school in Nîmes.

In 1936, a famous French school called the École Normale Supérieure started letting women apply. Jacqueline was one of the very first women to be accepted! In 1939, she and another mathematician, Roger Apéry, both came in first place in a very difficult math exam called the agrégation.

After this, she started teaching at a girls' school in Sèvres. At the same time, she kept doing her own math research with her supervisor, Arnaud Denjoy. She published three important papers in 1941 and earned her doctorate degree in 1942.

In 1943, she won a special award, the Girbal-Baral Prize, from the French Academy of Sciences. Soon after, she got a job as a professor at the University of Bordeaux.

Teaching Career

Jacqueline Lelong-Ferrand moved to the University of Caen in 1945. Then, in 1948, she was given a special position as a full professor at the University of Lille. Finally, in 1956, she moved to the University of Paris as a full professor, where she continued to teach and research until she retired in 1984.

Important Discoveries

Jacqueline Lelong-Ferrand was a very active mathematician. She published almost 100 mathematical papers and wrote ten books! She continued her research even into her late 70s.

One of her most important achievements happened in 1971. She proved a difficult idea about "conformal mappings" on certain curved spaces. This solved a problem that another mathematician, André Lichnerowicz, had wondered about. Because of this important work, she was invited to speak at a big international meeting for mathematicians in Vancouver in 1974. This is a huge honor in the world of mathematics!

Personal Life

In 1947, Jacqueline Ferrand married another mathematician named Pierre Lelong. After they married, she started using both their last names, becoming Jacqueline Lelong-Ferrand, for her publications. They separated in 1977.

More Information

• For information about Jacqueline Ferrand in Spanish, you can visit: Jacqueline Ferrand para niños