Joan L. Richards facts for kids

Joan Livingston Richards, born in 1948, is an American historian. She studies the history of mathematics. She is also a professor at Brown University. At Brown, she leads a program about science and technology.

Learning and Work

Joan Richards finished college at Radcliffe College in 1971. She graduated with "magna cum laude" honors. This means she had very high grades.

Later, she earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1981. A Ph.D. is a very advanced degree. Her studies focused on the history of science. Her main project, called a dissertation, was about a type of math called "Non-Euclidean Geometry."

After her studies, she did more research at Cornell University. In 1982, she started teaching at Brown University. She became a full professor in 2001.

Books She Wrote

Joan Richards has written several books. One book is called Mathematical Visions: The Pursuit of Geometry in Victorian England. It was published in 1988. This book explores how people in Victorian England thought about geometry.

She also wrote a book called Angles of Reflection: Logic and a Mother's Love. This book came out in 2000. It is a personal story about how she managed her work while caring for her son. Her son had a brain tumor.

She also helped edit another book. It is called The Invention of Physical Science. This book looks at how math, religion, and science have connected since the 1600s. She worked on this book with Mary Jo Nye and Roger H. Stuewer.