Susan Howson (mathematician) facts for kids

Susan Howson was born in 1973. She is a British mathematician who studies numbers and shapes. Her work helps us understand complex math problems.

Her Journey in Math and Medicine

Early Life and Education

Susan Howson earned her PhD in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 1998. Her special project was about something called Iwasawa Theory of Elliptic Curves. This is a very advanced topic in math. Her teacher, John H. Coates, helped her with her studies.

Teaching and Career Change

After her PhD, Dr. Howson taught at several famous universities. These included MIT in the United States, and the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford in the UK. She also taught at the University of Nottingham.

Later, she decided to try something different. She left her university teaching job to study medicine in Southampton. After finishing medical school, she became a consultant. This means she was an expert doctor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She worked for the NHS (National Health Service) in Devon, helping young people with their mental well-being.

Awards and Recognition

Winning the Adams Prize

In 2002, Susan Howson won a very important award called the Adams Prize. She received it for her amazing work on number theory and elliptic curves. These are special areas of mathematics. What made this even more special is that she was the first woman to win this prize in its 120-year history! This shows how brilliant her work was.

Being a Role Model

Dr. Howson also received a special award called the Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship. This fellowship helps talented scientists do important research. Susan Howson's achievements show that women can be leaders in mathematics and science. She is a great role model for young people interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.