Leah Berman facts for kids

Leah Wrenn Berman Williams, born in 1976, is a smart mathematician. She works at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her special area of study is called discrete geometry. At the university, she is a professor and leads the math and statistics department. She also helped lead the College of Natural Science and Mathematics for a while. From 2018 to 2021, she was part of the local government in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska.

Exploring Shapes: Discrete Geometry

Leah Berman's research focuses on discrete geometry. This is a branch of math that studies shapes and patterns made of separate, distinct points and lines. It's like looking at how dots and straight lines can be arranged in cool ways.

Points and Lines: Building Blocks

A big part of her work is about "configurations of points and lines." Imagine you have a bunch of dots and a bunch of straight lines. How can you arrange them so that each line goes through a certain number of dots, and each dot has a certain number of lines going through it?

Movable Designs and Symmetry

Leah Berman made an exciting discovery. She built the first "movable configurations." These are special designs where you can shift the points and lines around, but they still keep their original pattern. Her designs had four points on every line and four lines going through every point.

She also worked with another mathematician, Jill Faudree. Together, they found ways to create very balanced and beautiful designs. Some of these designs had as many as six points on each line and six lines going through each point.

Her Journey: Education and Career

Leah Berman was born in 1976 in St. Louis. Her dad, Harry J. Berman, was a psychologist who studied older people.

High School and College Years

When she was in high school at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Leah was very good at academic competitions. She chose to study two subjects in college: math and philosophy. She went to Lewis & Clark College and finished her studies in 1997. She was one of the top students in her class.

Becoming a Doctor of Math

Leah continued her education and earned her Ph.D. in mathematics in 2002. She got this advanced degree from the University of Washington. Her main teacher was a famous mathematician named Branko Grünbaum. Her special project was about "Astral Configurations."

Teaching at Universities

After getting her Ph.D., Leah Berman taught at Ursinus College from 2002 to 2009. Then, in 2009, she joined the team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Making a Difference: Political Work

In 2018, Leah Berman was chosen to be part of the local government in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska. This group is called the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. She served for three years.

Changing Laws for Fairness

While on the assembly, she helped make an important change. She led the effort to rewrite the local laws. She made sure the laws used words that were fair to everyone, no matter their gender. This means using "they" instead of always saying "he" or "she" when talking about people in general.