Rhonda Hughes facts for kids

Rhonda Jo Hughes, born Rhonda Weisberg on September 28, 1947, is an American mathematician. She is a retired professor of mathematics at Bryn Mawr College. She is well-known for helping women succeed in mathematics.

Early Life and Education

Rhonda grew up in Chicago. She went to Gage Park High School, where she was a cheerleader and the top student in her class.

She first studied engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. After a year and a half, she took a break from school. Later, she returned to college at the University of Illinois at Chicago. There, she studied mathematics.

Getting a Ph.D.

At the University of Illinois at Chicago, a professor named Yoram Sagher encouraged her to continue her studies in math. Rhonda earned her Ph.D. (a high-level degree) in 1975 from the same university. Her main teacher for this degree was Shmuel Kantorovitz. Her Ph.D. paper was about "Semi-Groups of Unbounded Linear Operators in Banach Space."

Career in Mathematics

Rhonda Jo Hughes started her teaching career at Tufts University. After that, she spent a year as a special researcher at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College.

In 1980, she moved to Bryn Mawr College. She worked there as a professor of mathematics. She was also the head of the math department for six years. She retired from Bryn Mawr in 2011. She is now a professor emeritus, which means she is a retired professor who keeps her title.

Leadership Roles

Rhonda Hughes has held important leadership roles in the world of mathematics.

• She was the president of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) from 1987 to 1988.
• She also served on a special council for the American Mathematical Society (AMS) from 1988 to 1990. These groups help support mathematicians and advance the field.

Helping Other Students

Rhonda Hughes is especially known for her work in helping other students.

• From 1992 to 1994, she and Sylvia Bozeman created a summer math program. This program was for female college students.
• In 1998, they started the EDGE Program. EDGE stands for "Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education." This program helps women who are starting advanced math studies in college. The EDGE Program has been running for over two decades, helping many women in mathematics.

Her most recent research has been about "ill-posed problems." These are types of math problems that are tricky to solve.

Awards and Recognition

Rhonda Jo Hughes has received many awards for her teaching and for helping others.

• In 1998, she received the Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. This award recognizes excellent college math teachers.
• In 2004, she received the AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• In 2010, she was given the Gweneth Humphreys Award. This award is for mentoring (guiding and supporting) undergraduate women in mathematics.
• In 2013, she received the Elizabeth Bingham Award. This award came from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Women in Science.
• In 2017, she was chosen as a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics. This was a special honor given to the first group of fellows.