Lucy Joan Slater facts for kids
Lucy Joan Slater (born January 5, 1922 – died June 6, 2008) was a brilliant mathematician. She made important discoveries about special math problems called hypergeometric functions. She also found many new versions of famous math ideas known as the Rogers–Ramanujan identities.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lucy Joan Slater was born in 1922. She learned a lot at home during her early years. When she was nine, her father passed away. Lucy loved jazz music and played the piano. She went to Bedford College and then to the University of London. She earned her first degree in 1944. During World War II, she helped by teaching soldiers about trigonometry, which is a part of math.
A Career in Mathematics and Computers
Lucy Slater continued her studies at London University. Her teacher was Wilfrid Norman Bailey. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees by studying complex math problems. She even published a list of over 100 Rogers–Ramanujan Identities. Later, she received another high degree, a D.Litt., from London University.
In the early 1950s, Lucy played a big part at Cambridge University. She helped create an early version of what we now call computer operating systems. These are like the main programs that make computers work. After that, she helped write computer programs for econometrics. This is a field that uses math and statistics to study economic information. She often worked with officials from the UK government. She earned more degrees, a Ph.D. and Sc.D., from Cambridge. In 1962, she became an Assistant Director of Research in the Department of Economics there.
Lucy Slater retired in 1982. After retiring, she spent a lot of her time on genealogy. This is the study of family histories.
Her Writings
Lucy Slater wrote her life story in her memoirs, though they were not published. In them, she described what it was like to be a teenager in Portsmouth during the bombings of World War II. She also wrote about her experiences working with early computers at Cambridge.
In 1997, she finished an amazing project. She listed all the graves and their writings at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge. She even wrote a paper called "A Walk round the Ascension Burial Ground, Cambridge." This paper describes over 100 graves as if you are walking through the burial ground. It also includes detailed maps.
Later Years and Recognition
Lucy Joan Slater passed away in 2008. She was buried at the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge. She rests in the same grave as her mother, Lucy Dalton Slater.
In 2016, the University of Cambridge decided to honor Lucy Slater. They approved using her name for a part of the North West Cambridge Development. This shows how much her work was valued.
See also
