Leila Bram facts for kids

Leila Ann Dragonette Bram (born in 1927, died in 1979) was an important American mathematician. She was one of the first people to study something called mock theta functions. For many years, she led the math program at the Office of Naval Research. This was a big job where she helped decide what kind of math research would be done across the country.

Early Life and School Days

Leila Bram was born in 1927 in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. She went to Lansdowne High School in Maryland. For college, she attended Bryn Mawr College. There, she studied two main subjects: mathematics and physics. This is called "double-majoring." She was a very bright student. She won the Maria L. Eastman Brooke Hall Memorial Scholarship and a European Fellowship. These were the college's highest awards. She also wrote a special research paper, called an "honors thesis," about beta rays and how they are measured (spectroscopy). She finished college in 1947.

Advanced Studies in Mathematics

After college, Leila went to the University of Pennsylvania to continue her math studies. She earned both a master's degree and a Ph.D. (a very high-level degree) there. Her Ph.D. paper, finished in 1951, was about "Asymptotic Formula for the Mock Theta Series of Ramanujan." Her professor, Hans Rademacher, helped her with it. This paper was very important. It was one of only three studies on mock theta functions between the 1920s and 1966. This shows how early and important her work was in this special area of math.

Career and Important Work

After getting her Ph.D., Dr. Bram became a special researcher at the Office of Naval Research. This is a part of the U.S. Navy that supports scientific research. In 1953, she got a permanent job there as a mathematician. Later, she became the head of the Mathematics Bureau. Then, she led the entire Mathematics Program.

Leading Math Research

In her role at the Office of Naval Research, Dr. Bram helped guide many important math projects. One of her big ideas was to start a series of conferences. These meetings connected computer graphics with mathematics. These conferences grew into the International Conferences on Computer Aided Geometric Design. This is a field that uses math to create and design shapes and images on computers.

Later Life

Leila Bram passed away from cancer on September 7, 1979. Her work helped shape math research for many years.