Marion Cameron Gray facts for kids

Marion Gray (born March 26, 1902 – died September 16, 1979) was a smart Scottish mathematician. She found a special kind of graph, which is like a network of points and lines. This graph had 54 points (called vertices) and 81 lines (called edges). She discovered it while working at a big company called American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T). Today, this special graph is known as the Gray graph.

Early Life and Education

Marion Gray was born in Ayr, Scotland, on March 26, 1902. Her parents were Marion and James Gray. She went to Ayr Grammar School from 1907 to 1913. Then she attended Ayr Academy from 1913 to 1919.

In 1919, Marion started studying at the University of Edinburgh. She was very good at math and natural philosophy (which is like physics). She graduated in 1922 with top honors. She continued her studies at the university for two more years. During this time, she was supervised by a famous mathematician, E.T. Whittaker.

Marion joined the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. Here, she shared some of her own research papers. These included topics like 'The equation of telegraphy' and 'The equation of conduction of heat'. She was chosen to be on the Society's committee in November 1923. She stayed an active member throughout her career.

In 1924, Marion traveled to the United States. She received special scholarships to help her go. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. There, she earned her PhD degree. Her supervisor was Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler. Marion's research was about complex math problems called 'boundary value problems'.

After getting her doctorate, Gray went back to Edinburgh. She worked as a university assistant at the University of Edinburgh for one year. Then she moved to London. For three years, she was a math assistant at Imperial College.

Working Life and the Gray Graph

The Gray graph, arranged to show its construction from a 3d grid

In 1930, Marion Gray got a job as an assistant engineer. She worked for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in New York. While working there, she made an amazing discovery. She found a unique type of graph.

This graph is called a cubic semi-symmetric graph. It has 54 points (vertices) and 81 lines (edges). Imagine a 3D grid, like a tic-tac-toe board but in three dimensions. This graph represents the 27 points and 27 lines in that grid. An edge connects a point and a line if they meet each other.

Cubic means that each point in the graph is connected to exactly three lines. Semi-symmetric means that any two lines in the graph look the same if you flip or rotate the graph. But the points themselves might not look the same. This graph was the smallest possible cubic semi-symmetric graph.

Marion thought her discovery was just a theory. She didn't think it had any real-world uses, so she didn't publish her findings. But 36 years later, another mathematician, I. Z. Bouwer, rediscovered it. He explained how this graph could help answer questions about different types of symmetry. Today, this important graph is known as the Gray graph.

In 1934, Gray started working at Bell Telephone Laboratories. She stayed with this company for 30 years until she retired.

Besides her own research, Marion also reviewed many math and physics publications. She was part of a US Government committee. This committee created a very important book called the Handbook of Mathematical Functions. She was always an active member of different math groups throughout her career.

Marion Gray was also known for helping younger co-workers. One person who worked with her in 1957 said, "I was helped by a little old lady, Marion Gray, one of Bell's finest mathematicians at that time." This shows how respected and helpful she was.

Later Life and Recognition

After she retired in 1967, Marion Gray moved back to Edinburgh, Scotland. She passed away in 1979 when she was 77 years old.

Marion Gray's contributions to science have been recognized. The National Library of Scotland featured her in their display called "Celebrating Scottish women of science." This display ran from March 1 to April 30, 2013.

See also

In Spanish: Marion Cameron Gray para niños