Sylvia Wiegand facts for kids

Sylvia Margaret Wiegand (born March 8, 1945) is an American mathematician. She is known for her work in a field of math called Commutative algebra. She also cares a lot about math education and the history of math.

Early Life and Education

Sylvia Wiegand was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1945. Her family is full of mathematicians! Her father was Laurence Chisholm Young. Her grandparents were also famous mathematicians, Grace Chisholm Young and William Henry Young.

In 1949, when Sylvia was four, her family moved to Wisconsin in the United States. She went to Bryn Mawr College and finished her studies there in 1966.

Later, in 1971, Sylvia earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her special research paper was about "Galois Theory of Essential Expansions of Modules and Vanishing Tensor Powers."

Sylvia Wiegand's Career

In 1987, Sylvia Wiegand became a full professor at the University of Nebraska. At that time, she was the only female professor in the math department. She worked to help other women get jobs in math. In 1988, she helped hire two more women for the department.

Sylvia and her husband, Roger Wiegand, also a mathematician, created a special fund in 1996. This fund helps graduate students at the university with their research. They named it after Sylvia's famous grandparents.

From 1997 to 2000, Sylvia Wiegand was the president of the Association for Women in Mathematics. This group works to support and encourage women in math.

She also helped edit important math magazines like Communications in Algebra and the Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics. From 1997 to 2000, she was on the board of directors for the Canadian Mathematical Society. She was also a member of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) Council.

Awards and Recognition

Sylvia Wiegand has received many honors for her work.

• She is featured in a book called Notable Women in Mathematics: A Biographical Dictionary. This book was published in 1998.
• In 2000, she won an award from the University of Nebraska. It was for her great work in helping women in mathematics.
• In May 2005, the University of Nebraska held a special event called "WiegandFest." This celebration honored the important contributions of Sylvia and her husband, Roger Wiegand, to math.
• In 2012, she became a fellow of the AMS. Being a "fellow" means she is a highly respected member.
• In 2017, she was chosen as a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She was part of the very first group to receive this honor.

See also

In Spanish: Sylvia Wiegand para niños