Rachel Levy (mathematician) facts for kids

Rachel Levy is an American mathematician and blogger. She helps lead the Data Science Academy at North Carolina State University. This academy teaches people how to use data to solve problems.

Before this, she worked in the United States Senate as a special fellow, helping with science and technology policies. She also worked for the Mathematical Association of America. For many years, she was a professor at Harvey Mudd College. There, she studied applied mathematics, which is like using math to solve real-world problems. Her work included studying thin films and how fluids move, which is called fluid mechanics.

Her early research was supported by groups like the National Science Foundation. Now, Rachel Levy focuses on how math is taught, how to use data science, and helping college students do math research. She has also been a leader in the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), which is a group for people who use math in industry.

She is part of several important groups that advise on education and data science. She also helped start the BIG Math Network and the Math Modeling Hub, which are groups that help people learn about math modeling. She even came up with the word VITAL to describe different types of college teachers.

Education and Career Journey

Rachel Levy went to Oberlin College and earned two degrees in 1989: one in English and one in Mathematics. Later, she continued her studies. She earned a master's degree in Educational Media and Instructional Design from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996. She then earned another master's degree and a PhD in applied mathematics from North Carolina State University in 2005. Her PhD research was about the math of thin liquid films.

Before and during her graduate studies, she taught math to high school and college students. After finishing her PhD, she did research at Duke University. From 2007 to 2019, she taught at Harvey Mudd College. There, she became a full professor of mathematics. She also helped faculty members grow in their careers as an Associate Dean.

Books and Research

Rachel Levy has written several helpful books and reports. She co-authored a book called Math Modelling: Computing and Communicating. This book is a practical guide for high school students interested in using math to solve problems.

She also wrote BIG Jobs Guide with other authors. This book helps mathematicians, statisticians, and researchers find jobs in business, industry, and government. She was also the main author for a section of the GAIMME Report. This report gives guidelines for teaching and assessing mathematical modeling.

With Michael Shearer, she wrote a textbook called Partial Differential Equations: An Introduction to Theory and Applications. This book teaches about partial differential equations, which are special math equations used to describe how things change.

Her research in applied mathematics has covered many interesting topics. She has studied surfactants, which are substances that reduce surface tension (like soap). She also researched miniature robotic submarines and even flukeprints, which are the tracks left by whales on the ocean surface. She has also looked into how "flipped classrooms" work in college. In a flipped classroom, students learn new material at home and do practice problems or discussions in class.

Rachel Levy also shares her knowledge through blogging. She created a blog called Grandma Got STEM. This blog shares stories about women from earlier generations who worked in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She also writes for MAA MathValues, another math blog.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Rachel Levy has received many awards for her work in mathematics and education:

• In 2021, she became a SIAM Fellow. This honor recognized her leadership in teaching applied mathematics, especially in mathematical modeling.
• She received the HMC Leadership Award in 2016 for being an outstanding faculty member at Harvey Mudd College.
• In 2013, she won the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching from the Mathematical Association of America.
• She was also named a Fulbright Specialist, which means she can share her expertise internationally.
• She held special professorships, including the Iris and Howard Critchell Chair at Harvey Mudd College and the Avery Professor at Claremont Graduate University.
• She was a Project NExT Fellow and received a Microsoft Future Professors Fellowship.

Writing Awards

Her writing has also been recognized:

• She won an award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) for her article on "Modeling in the High School Curriculum."
• Her blog post, "5 Ways to Respond when Students Respond with Incorrect Answers," was the most read on MAA Teaching Tidbits in 2016-17.
• An article she wrote about industrial mathematics was featured in "The Best Writing on Mathematics 2016."
• Her blog post, "5 Reasons to teach Mathematical Modeling," was the most read on the American Scientist Macroscope Blog in 2015 and 2016.
• She won the SIAM Student Paper Prize in 2005 for her research on thin film flow.