Talithia Williams facts for kids

Talithia D. Williams is an American statistician and mathematician. She works at Harvey Mudd College. She studies how data changes over time and space. Dr. Williams was the first Black woman to become a permanent professor at Harvey Mudd College. She works to get more African Americans involved in science and engineering.

Education and Early Life

Dr. Williams earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Spelman College. She then got master's degrees in Mathematics from Howard University and Statistics from Rice University. Later, she completed her Ph.D. in Statistics at Rice University. She was part of an early group of women supported by the EDGE Foundation. This foundation helps women succeed in math. She also won a special award called the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.

Career and Research

Dr. Williams has worked at important places like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She also worked for the National Security Agency (NSA) and NASA. Today, she is a math professor at Harvey Mudd College. She also helps lead research and learning projects there.

She is a leader for the EDGE Foundation. This group runs summer programs for women in math. She also serves on the boards of the MAA and SACNAS. Dr. Williams loves sharing math with others. She wants to show that math is exciting and important for the future.

Dr. Williams creates special math models. These models help understand data that changes over time and in different places. She has used her skills to help the World Health Organization. She helped them create a model to guess how many cataract surgeries are needed in African countries.

In 2018, Dr. Williams hosted a PBS TV show called NOVA Wonders. She also wrote a book called Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics. In 2021, she narrated another PBS series, NOVA Universe Revealed.

TED Talk

In 2014, Dr. Williams gave a very popular TED talk. It was called "Own Your Body's Data." In her talk, she discussed how useful it can be to collect your own health information. She showed how this data can help you understand your body better.

Awards and Recognition

In 2015, Dr. Williams received the Henry L. Alder Award from the MAA. This award is for great teaching by new math professors. In 2017, she was honored by the Association for Women in Mathematics. She gave a special lecture called "Not So Hidden Figures: Unveiling Mathematical Talent." This talk highlighted amazing women in math.

She was also recognized by Mathematically Gifted & Black in 2017. In 2022, she won the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics Communication Award. She received this award for sharing math and statistics with many people through TV, talks, and her book.