Ruth Lawrence facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruth Lawrence
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| רות אלקה לורנס-נאימרק | |
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Ruth Lawrence, Berkeley 1991
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| Born | 2 August 1971 Brighton, England
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford (MA, DPhil) |
| Known for | Being a child prodigy Lawrence–Krammer representation |
| Awards | Fellow of the American Mathematical Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Topology, knot theory |
| Institutions | Hebrew University of Jerusalem University of Michigan |
| Thesis | Homology representations of braid groups (1989) |
| Doctoral advisor | Michael Atiyah |
Ruth Elke Lawrence-Neimark (Hebrew: רות אלקה לורנס-נאימרק), born on August 2, 1971, is a brilliant British-Israeli mathematician. She is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She studies knot theory and algebraic topology. Many people know her because she was a child prodigy in mathematics. This means she was incredibly smart in math from a very young age.
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Early Life and Family Background
Ruth Lawrence was born in Brighton, England. Her parents, Harry Lawrence and Sylvia Greybourne, both worked as computer consultants. When Ruth was five years old, her father decided to stop his job. He wanted to teach her at home instead. Ruth Lawrence is Jewish.
Her Amazing Education Journey
Setting Records in Math Exams
When Ruth Lawrence was just nine years old, she took an O-level exam in mathematics. She passed it, setting a new record for being the youngest person to do so. Later, in 2001, another student named Arran Fernandez broke her record. He passed a GCSE math exam at age five. At nine, Ruth also earned a Grade A in A-level pure mathematics. This is a very difficult exam usually taken by much older students.
Studying at Oxford University
In 1981, Ruth passed the entrance exam for the University of Oxford. She joined St Hugh's College in 1983. She was only 12 years old at the time. Her father continued to be very involved in her studies. He went with her to all her lectures and some of her study sessions.
Ruth finished her first bachelor's degree in just two years. Most students take three years to complete it. She graduated in 1985 when she was 13. She earned a congratulatory first, which is the highest possible grade. She also received a special commendation. This made her the youngest British person to get a first-class degree. She was also the youngest to graduate from Oxford University in modern times.
After her first degree, Ruth earned another bachelor's degree in physics in 1986. She then completed her Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in mathematics. She received her DPhil from Oxford in June 1989, at the age of 17. Her doctoral paper was about "Homology representations of braid groups." Her teacher for this paper was Sir Michael Atiyah.
Her Career in Mathematics
Working in America
After finishing her studies, Ruth Lawrence and her father moved to America. Ruth took her first job at Harvard University. She became a junior fellow there in 1990 when she was 19. In 1993, she moved to the University of Michigan. By 1997, she became an associate professor there. This meant she had a permanent position.
Moving to Israel
In 1998, Ruth married Ariyeh Neimark, who is also a mathematician. He worked at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Ruth then started using the name Ruth Lawrence-Neimark. The next year, she moved to Israel with him. She became an associate professor of mathematics at the Einstein Institute of Mathematics. This institute is part of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Important Math Discoveries
Ruth Lawrence is known for her research in knot theory and algebraic topology. In 1990, she wrote a paper called "Homological representations of the Hecke algebra." In this paper, she introduced new ways to understand the braid group. These are now called Lawrence–Krammer representations. Other mathematicians, Daan Krammer and Stephen Bigelow, later proved that her ideas were correct. This important discovery helped show that "braid groups are linear."
Awards and Special Recognition
In 2012, Ruth Lawrence was honored by the American Mathematical Society. She became a fellow of this society. This is a special recognition for mathematicians who have made important contributions to the field.
See also
In Spanish: Ruth Lawrence para niños
