Joan Birman facts for kids

Joan Sylvia Lyttle Birman (born May 30, 1927) is an American mathematician. She is known for her work in a field called low-dimensional topology. This area of math studies shapes and spaces that are like knots or surfaces.

Joan Birman has made important discoveries about knots (like tangled ropes), 3-manifolds (3D shapes), and how surfaces can be twisted or moved. She is a research professor emerita at Barnard College, Columbia University. She has worked there since 1973.

About Joan Birman's Family

Joan Birman's parents were George and Lillian Lyttle. They were both Jewish immigrants. Her father, George, came from Russia and grew up in Liverpool, England. Her mother was born in New York. Her grandparents were immigrants from Russia and Poland.

George came to the US when he was 17. He became a very successful dress maker. He wanted his daughters to focus on getting a good education. Joan has three children: Kenneth, Deborah, and Carl. Her husband, Joseph Birman, was a physicist. He was also a strong supporter of human rights for scientists.

Joan Birman's Education

After high school, Joan Birman went to Swarthmore College. She studied mathematics there. She didn't like living in the dorms, so she moved to Barnard College. This was a women's college linked to Columbia University. She could live at home while studying there.

She earned her first degree (a B.A.) in mathematics from Barnard College in 1948. Later, she got a master's degree (M.A.) in physics from Columbia University in 1950. After working for ten years, she went back to school. She earned her PhD in mathematics in 1968. She studied at the Courant Institute at New York University. Her main teacher was Wilhelm Magnus. Her PhD paper was about "Braid groups."

Joan Birman's Career

After getting her first degree, Joan Birman worked in different companies. She worked for Polytechnic Research and Development Co. and other technical groups.

Early Academic Work

Her first job as a professor was at the Stevens Institute of Technology. This was from 1968 to 1973. She was the only female professor among 160 faculty members when she started.

In 1969, she published an important paper called "On Braid Groups." In this paper, she showed a new way to understand how surfaces can be twisted. This idea is now known as the Birman Exact Sequence. It is a very important tool for studying braids and surfaces.

Braids, Links, and Mapping Class Groups

Later, she wrote a book called Braids, links, and mapping class groups. This book was based on a class she taught at Princeton University. It was the first book to explain braid theory in a complete way. It also had the first full proof of the Markov theorem about braids.

Professor at Barnard College

In 1973, Joan Birman joined the faculty at Barnard College. She was the head of the Mathematics Department for many years. She held this role from 1973 to 1987, 1989 to 1991, and 1995 to 1998. She also visited the Institute for Advanced Study in 1988.

She helped 21 students earn their PhDs. These students then went on to have their own academic careers.

Publishing and Human Rights

Joan Birman was also a founding editor for two math journals: Geometry and Topology and Algebraic and Geometric Topology. She helped start Mathematical Sciences Publishing, which is a non-profit company that publishes math books and journals. She was also part of a committee that worked for the human rights of scientists.

Joan Birman's Work

Joan Birman has published many scientific papers. She has written 106 research papers and reviewed over 300 others. She also wrote the important math book Braids, Links, and Mapping Class Groups.

Awards and Recognition

Joan Birman has received many awards for her work.

• In 1974, she became a Sloan Research Fellow.
• In 1994, she was chosen as a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow.
• In 1996, she won the Chauvenet Prize. This is a top award for clear mathematical writing. She won it for her essay New Points of View in Knot Theory.
• In 1997, she received an honorary doctorate from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
• In 2003, she was elected to the European Academy of Sciences.
• In 2005, she won the New York City Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology.
• In 2012, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• In 2015, she became an honorary member of the London Mathematical Society.
• In 2021, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

American Mathematical Society

Joan Birman was a member of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) Council from 1978 to 1980 and again from 1990 to 1992.

In 1990, she gave money to the AMS to create the Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics. She did this to honor her sister, Ruth Lyttle Satter, who studied plants. In 2017, she also started the Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship. This fellowship helps women mathematicians in the middle of their careers.

In 2013, she became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Association of Women in Mathematics

In 1987, the Association for Women in Mathematics chose her to be a Noether Lecturer. This honor recognizes her important contributions to mathematics.

In 2015, the Association for Women in Mathematics started giving out the Joan & Joseph Birman Research Prize in Topology and Geometry. In 2020, they named her a Fellow for her amazing research and for supporting women in math. They also included her in a special deck of cards featuring famous women mathematicians.

See also

In Spanish: Joan Birman para niños

• Birman–Wenzl algebra