Ruth Aaronson Bari facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruth Aaronson Bari
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| Born |
Ruth Aaronson
November 17, 1917 |
| Died | August 25, 2005 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Brooklyn College, Johns Hopkins University |
| Spouse(s) | Arthur Bari |
| Children | 3, including Judi Bari, Gina Kolata |
| Relatives | Lisa Bari (granddaughter) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Georgetown University, George Washington University |
| Thesis | Absolute Reducibility of Maps of at Most 19 Regions |
| Doctoral advisor | Daniel Clark Lewis, Jr. |
Ruth Aaronson Bari (born November 17, 1917 – died August 25, 2005) was an American mathematician. She was known for her important work in graph theory. This is a field of math that studies how things are connected. She also worked with algebraic homomorphisms, which are special kinds of mathematical maps. Ruth Bari was a professor at George Washington University starting in 1966.
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Ruth Bari's Life and Studies
Ruth Aaronson was born on November 17, 1917. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were immigrants from Poland.
She went to Brooklyn College and earned her first degree in mathematics in 1939. Later, she earned a Master of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1943. She had planned to get her doctorate, which is the highest degree. However, the university suggested that women in the program should give up their scholarships. This was so men returning from World War II could study. Ruth agreed. After marrying Arthur Bari, she spent the next 20 years raising her family.
She returned to Johns Hopkins University when she was 47. In 1966, she finished her doctoral paper, called a dissertation. It was titled Absolute Reducibility of Maps of at Most 19 Regions. Her paper looked at chromatic polynomials and a math idea called the Birkhoff–Lewis conjecture. She showed that this idea was true for maps with fewer than 20 regions. Her professor, Daniel Clark Lewis, Jr., helped her with her research.
After she earned her degree, another mathematician named William Tutte invited her to Canada. She spent two weeks lecturing at the University of Waterloo. Ruth Bari's work in graph theory and chromatic polynomials was very important in the field of mathematics.
Solving a Big Math Problem
In 1976, two professors used computers to solve a long-standing problem. This problem was related to Ruth Bari's dissertation and the four-color conjecture. This conjecture asks if you can color any map with only four colors so that no two touching regions have the same color.
When her daughter Martha asked if she felt upset that a computer solved it, Ruth replied, "I’m just grateful that it was solved within my lifetime." She was happy to see the answer during her life.
Teaching and Community Work
Ruth Bari taught at George Washington University. During her time there, she was part of a lawsuit. This lawsuit argued that female professors were not being promoted or paid fairly. The women won their case. Some of her notable students included Carol Crawford, Steven Kahn, and Lee Lawrence.
Ruth Bari retired in 1988 when she was 70 years old. She was given the title of professor emeritus. This means she was honored for her long service.
Ruth Bari was also active in the Washington, DC community. In the early 1970s, she received money from the National Science Foundation. She used it to start a master's degree program for math teachers. She believed that math teachers in DC public schools needed more training.
Family Life
Ruth and Arthur Bari had three daughters. All of them became successful in their own fields.
- Judi Bari (1949–1997) was a leader in protecting the environment and workers' rights.
- Gina Kolata is a journalist who writes about math, health, and science for New York Times.
- Martha Bari is an art historian at Hood College.
Ruth Bari passed away on August 25, 2005, at 87 years old. She had lived in Silver Spring, Maryland since 1963. She died from problems related to Alzheimer's disease. Her husband, Arthur Bari, lived for another year. They had been married for 64 years. Besides their three daughters, they also had two grandchildren, including Lisa Bari.
