Tilla Weinstein facts for kids
Tilla Weinstein (born Tilla Savanuck, 1934–2002) was an American mathematician. She was well-known for helping and guiding younger women who were studying mathematics. Her research focused on advanced topics in geometry, like how shapes bend and change. She taught for many years at Rutgers University. There, she even led the mathematics department at the Douglass Residential College.
Early Life and School
Tilla Savanuck was born in 1934. Her father was a lawyer who had moved from Russia. Her mother worked as a legal secretary in New York City. In 1951, Tilla started college at the University of Michigan. She first planned to study English. She wanted to live closer to relatives in Detroit and be away from her family's difficult situation.
At Michigan, she took math classes like calculus. She also studied the basics of mathematics. After her second year, in 1953, she got married and moved back to New York. She decided to study mathematics at New York University (NYU). At that time, she was the only woman in the math program there. After her marriage, she used the name Tilla Klotz for her published work.
At NYU, her calculus teacher, Jean van Heijenoort, saw how talented she was. He encouraged her to join the school's math competition team. He also helped her take more advanced math classes. One of her professors, Lipman Bers, was very supportive. Even while starting her family, Tilla worked hard to finish her degree. She earned her Ph.D. from NYU in 1959. Her main project was about a math idea called "Caratheodory's Conjecture."
Her Career Journey
After finishing her studies, Tilla Weinstein got a job offer at the University of California, Berkeley. However, she couldn't find a job for her husband there. So, she took a position at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) instead. In 1966, she became a tenured professor at UCLA. This meant she had a permanent teaching position. She was the first woman to earn tenure in the mathematics department at UCLA.
Later, in 1968, she married another mathematician named John Milnor. She then started using the name Tilla K. Milnor for her publications. In 1969, she moved to Boston College. This move helped her be closer to her husband, who was working in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1970, Rutgers University hired Tilla Weinstein. She became the head of the mathematics department at the Douglass Residential College. She led the department from 1970 to 1973. She served a second term from 1978 to 1981. After that, her department joined the main mathematics department at Rutgers.
In 1992, she married Kive Weinstein and changed her name to Tilla Weinstein again. She retired from Rutgers in 2000. Tilla Weinstein passed away on January 21, 2002.
Lasting Recognition
The mathematics department at Rutgers University honors Tilla Weinstein every year. They give out the Tilla Weinstein Award. This award recognizes outstanding achievements by undergraduate students in mathematics.
