Yael Dowker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yael Dowker
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Yael Dowker in New Orleans, 1961.
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| Born |
Yael Naim
1919 |
| Died | 2016 (aged 96–97) |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University Radcliffe College |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Institute for Advanced Study, Victoria University of Manchester, University of London |
| Thesis | The Ergodic Theorems and Invariant Measure (1948) |
| Doctoral advisor | Witold Hurewicz |
Yael Naim Dowker (born in 1919, died in 2016) was a brilliant English mathematician. She was well-known for her work in special areas of math. These areas include measure theory, ergodic theory, and topological dynamics.
Her Life and Studies
Yael Naim, who later became Yael Dowker, was born in Tel Aviv. She moved to the United States to study at Johns Hopkins University. This university is in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1941, while she was a student, she met Clifford Hugh Dowker. Clifford was a Canadian mathematician who studied topology. He was teaching at the university. Yael and Clifford got married in 1944.
From 1943 to 1946, they both worked at the Radiation Laboratory. This lab was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Clifford also helped the United States Air Force during World War II.
Her Advanced Degrees
Yael Dowker earned her Ph.D. (a very high university degree) at Radcliffe College. This college is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her teacher was Witold Hurewicz, a mathematician from Poland.
She finished her important paper, Invariant measure and the ergodic theorems, in 1947. She received her Ph.D. in 1948.
After her Ph.D., she worked at the Institute for Advanced Study. This was from 1948 to 1949 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Moving to the United Kingdom
After World War II, a time called McCarthyism made things difficult for many academics. Some of the Dowkers' friends who were mathematicians faced problems. Because of this, Yael and Clifford moved to the United Kingdom in 1950.
In 1951, Yael Dowker became a professor at the University of Manchester. Later, she taught at the Imperial College London. She was the first woman to hold a high teaching position there called "reader" in her department.
While at Imperial College, she taught and guided many students. One of her students was Bill Parry. He finished his own important math paper in 1960. Yael also worked with the famous Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős.
Yael and her husband also worked with the National association for gifted children. They helped smart children who were having trouble at school.
Her Impact
Today, the best Ph.D. award at Imperial College London is given in her name every year. This award honors her great contributions to mathematics.
See also
In Spanish: Yael Dowker para niños
