Winnie Li facts for kids

Wen-Ch'ing (Winnie) Li (Chinese: 李文卿; born on December 25, 1948) is a famous Taiwanese-American mathematician. She is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University.

Winnie Li is a number theorist. This means she studies numbers and their properties. Her research looks at special mathematical patterns called automorphic forms. She also uses her math skills to help with things like coding theory (how to send information safely) and spectral graph theory (how to understand networks). She even helped create super-efficient communication networks called Ramanujan graphs.

Becoming a Mathematician

Winnie Li started her university studies at National Taiwan University. She graduated in 1970. She was in the same class as other well-known female mathematicians.

After that, she moved to the United States. She earned her Ph.D. (a high-level university degree) from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1974. Her main teacher there was Andrew Ogg.

Where She Has Worked

Before joining Pennsylvania State University in 1979, Winnie Li worked at other important universities. From 1974 to 1977, she was a special assistant professor at Harvard University. Then, from 1978 to 1979, she was an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

She also led the National Center of Theoretical Sciences in Taiwan. She was the director there from 2009 to 2014.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Winnie Li has received many important awards for her work in mathematics.

• In 2010, she won the Chern Prize. This award is given every three years to a top Chinese mathematician.
• In 2012, she became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society. This means she is recognized as a leading member in the math community.
• In 2015, she was chosen to give the Noether Lecture. This is a special lecture given by outstanding women in mathematics.