Janet McDonald (mathematician) facts for kids

Janet McDonald (1905–2006) was an American mathematician and professor. She was an expert in a special area of geometry called Conjugate Nets. Janet McDonald taught at Vassar College for 27 years. When she retired in 1971, she was given the special title of professor emerita.

Janet McDonald's Early Life and Studies

Janet McDonald was born in Wesson, Mississippi, on September 3, 1905. She was the first child of Joseph and Bessie McDonald. Sometimes her last name was spelled MacDonald.

She earned her first college degree from Belhaven College for Young Ladies in Jackson in 1925. After that, she taught for three years in high schools in Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi.

Becoming a Math Expert

Janet McDonald loved math and continued her studies. She earned her master's degree in mathematics from Tulane University in 1929. After getting her master's, she became the head of the math department at Mississippi Synodical College from 1929 to 1932.

From 1932 to 1941, she was the head of the math department and the registrar at Hinds Junior College in Raymond, Mississippi.

Pursuing a Doctorate and Teaching Career

When World War II began, Janet McDonald decided to go back to school. She enrolled at the University of Chicago to get her Ph.D. After two years of studying, she also started teaching there.

She finished her doctorate degree in 1943. Her special research was about "Conjugate nets in asymptotic parameters." This is a complex topic in geometry.

Teaching at Vassar College

Right after earning her Ph.D., Janet McDonald was hired by Vassar College in New York. She started as an instructor and later became a full professor. She even became the head of her department.

She especially enjoyed teaching geometry to her students. She always encouraged them to continue their math studies and get advanced degrees. She taught at Vassar College for 27 years, until her retirement in 1971.

Traveling and Learning More

Janet McDonald loved to study and travel around the world. She spent a lot of her free time visiting countries like England, Scotland, France, Greece, and Spain. Scotland was special to her because her grandfather was from there.

She also continued her studies at other universities. She studied at the University of Rome and Indiana University. For example, in 1951, she spent the summer studying in her home state of Mississippi.

Studying in Rome

She spent time learning Italian to prepare for her studies in Rome. She chose the University of Rome because two famous professors in her field, Enrico Bompiani and Francesco Severi, were teaching there. She wanted to learn from the best in her area of math, which was projective differential geometry and algebraic geometry.

Retirement and Later Years

When Janet McDonald retired from Vassar College in 1971, she moved back to Jackson, Mississippi. She even taught some classes at her old college, Belhaven College.

Janet McDonald passed away on October 29, 2006, in Madison, Mississippi. She was 101 years old. She is buried in Prentiss Cemetery in Prentiss, Mississippi.