Marjorie Hahn facts for kids

Marjorie "Molly" Greene Hahn was born on December 30, 1948. She is an amazing American mathematician and a talented tennis player. In math, she is famous for her work in probability theory. This includes studying how likely events are to happen. She also researched central limit theorems, stochastic processes, and stochastic differential equations. These are advanced topics about random changes over time. Molly Hahn is now a professor emeritus of mathematics at Tufts University. This means she is a retired professor who still holds her title.

Molly Hahn's Education Journey

Molly Greene started her college studies at Stanford University. She finished her degree there in 1971. After Stanford, she continued her education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1973, she married Peter Florin Hahn. Peter also graduated from Stanford in 1971. He studied mathematics at Harvard University and later worked in radiology there.

Earning Her Ph.D.

Marjorie Hahn earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in 1975. Her main teacher was Richard M. Dudley. Her special research paper was about "Central Limit Theorems for D[0,1]-Valued Random Variables." This is a complex topic in probability theory.

Her Career in Mathematics

After finishing her Ph.D., Molly Hahn did more research at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1977, she became a professor at Tufts University. She was a very active professor at Tufts.

Guiding Future Mathematicians

Molly Hahn helped many students with their doctoral research. She guided 16 students who were earning their Ph.D.s. This was more than any other professor in her department. One of her students was Weiwen Miao, who became a legal statistician. Molly Hahn retired from Tufts University in 2016. She is now a professor emeritus.

Recognized for Her Work

In 1985, Molly Hahn was chosen as a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. This is a special honor for mathematicians who have done important research.

Molly Hahn's Tennis Achievements

Besides being a brilliant mathematician, Molly Hahn is also a skilled tennis player. She played on the Stanford University tennis team from 1967 to 1971. She even had the chance to play tennis professionally. However, she chose to focus on her mathematics career instead.

Hall of Fame and International Play

In 2006, Molly Hahn's name was added to the United States Tennis Association New England Hall of Fame. This recognized her great achievements in tennis. In 2008, she played for the U.S. team in an international competition. This was called the Alice Marble Cup. Her team won a silver medal in this event.

In 2017, she was part of another U.S. team. They won the Kitty Godfrey Cup for women aged 65 or older. This was at the International Tennis Federation World Super-Senior team championships.

Math and Tennis: A Comparison

Molly Hahn sees similarities between mathematics and tennis. She once said, "In mathematics, you try to prove things step by step; you attempt to set up a logical method." She added, "I approach tennis by using this plan and then adjust on the fly." This shows how her logical thinking from math helps her in tennis.