Mathematicians From The United States

"I think that medical oncology could really use a mathematical modeling toolbox that can leverage clinical measurements to optimize treatments for individual patients. Mathematical modeling can also help us make predictions to improve clinical care."

"For example, you might first want to predict which drug or combination of drugs will work best on particular patients, and then it becomes important to know the right dose and schedule for administering that drug. Mathematical modeling can help answer these types of questions."

"You had a lot of people there – a lot of people from all different cultures – and we all worked together. And if I ever needed anything – I know that doesn't sound believable, but if I ever needed anything -- they were there to help out"

"I'm just in there working, just doing my thing, trying to do the best that I can do. And knowing that I was among the minority there that I had to do my best if I was going to stay there"

"Part of it is respecting and learning about the contributions different cultures have made to math in addition to Pythagoras — the one name people know"

"It’s also about wanting students to develop a positive math identity and not just see it as a procedure, but to realize that a lot of what they’re doing is math."

"What does a math task look at when it’s both culturally relevant and cognitively demanding?"

"It’s an awesome book I really enjoyed doing"

"When I was a young child, I loved the show “Square One”. This was shown on PBS and focused on showcasing abstract mathematical concepts. It showed different vignettes including “Mathman” which was a Pacman-type game, and Mathnet, a detective show like Dragnet."

"Another experience that stands out to me was learning how to multiply by watching School House Rock videos! “Three is a magic number” is still a favorite of mine. You could say that public television and educational videos were my thing when I was a kid."

"Externally: Last year I bought a house on my own. I never thought I would be a homeowner and I am so proud of myself for not letting my doubts keep me from realizing this dream. I also co-founded a publishing company, 619 Wreath LLC, with my friend Miloš Savić… and we wrote a book titled “Radical Grace: Essays and Conversations on Teaching”. These are things that make me feel like such a grown-up!"

"Internally: A while back I decided that I am not in competition with anyone but who I was yesterday. I try to reflect on everything in order to grow. I am very proud of where I am now and excited for the future."

"What I’ve seen is an increased focus and acknowledgment of supporting our various institutions,"

"So that’s one of the reasons why I think I really fell in love with math, and why I enjoyed it, and why I try to help my students and everybody else around me see its power."

"Second is our environmental sustainability efforts. We are committed to protecting the environment and conserving natural resources. RI&S — and Raytheon Technologies as a whole — is working to reduce our environmental footprint through responsible resource management, implementing innovative solutions and collaborating with stakeholders."

"In fact, Raytheon Technologies recently appointed a chief sustainability officer to help ensure that our products, solutions and platforms are built with sustainability in mind, and that we’re positively impacting the Earth’s climate and biodiversity in the process. I love that sustainability is something we’re working toward as a company."

"That was because I just had something in me where I learned how to network and interact with people very, very early. And I just began to observe how folks [who had] what I thought was more power, I just observed to see how they moved in the world and began to engage them."

"I’ve learned through some of my research that Black girls want to be able to have more of a family, relaxed environment — to be able to laugh and be social — while at the same time doing their math work."

"When I was a younger student, I was that kid who was able to do school. I knew how to talk to the right people and figure out what classes and things that I needed. That’s not because I had a legacy family that all went to college."

"It really is like, man, if you can be math literate — I don’t care if you’re an artist, if you’re a nurse, if you’re a janitor — math literacy is going to help you push forward in your life and just open up so many opportunities."

"I’ve been fortunate to have many incredible experiences at Raytheon Technologies and Raytheon Intelligence & Space. One that stands out to me occurred through my work with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), which gave me the opportunity to travel and participate in NATO workshops and conferences."

"I developed a duodenal ulcer from the medication and I eventually became unable to walk without a walker. But God! I eventually regained most of my strength, returned to finish high school on time, and I started college on August 27, 1983 (my 18th birthday). Although I still have to manage the MG and now a new illness (Fibromyalgia), I have been able to achieve all of my goals to date."

"There are many factors that make Raytheon Intelligence & Space a great place to work, and two things in particular stand out as an RI&S employee."

"As I touched on earlier, is RI&S’ global impact. We’re not just working to address national challenges, but also global issues. For example, we develop advanced sensors, cyber services and software solutions, and we deliver cutting-edge technology that enables our customers to succeed in any domain, against any challenge."

"My interest in mathematics was sparked and sustained in high school not by courses per se but by a number of well written, engaging books aimed at readers with a high school mathematics background."

"I enjoyed math because of its power to help me understand things. Not to just sit in the library and do a long problem; it wasn’t about that for me."

"My current research focuses on oscillation criteria for certain linear and nonlinear second order dynamic equations. While I am also interested in applications of time scales to biology, economics, and statistics, I have a keen interest in increasing the number women, especially those underrepresented, in STEM and improving the undergraduate preparation of mathematics majors."

"When I entered graduate school, I was a sponge for external pressures. Please tell me the rules I must abide by in order to make no waves! Which jokes should I not find offensive? Oh, am I here because of Affirmative Action?"

"While I was in middle school, I went to Algebra with an adequate math foundation and without Pre-Algebra although I barely passed the entrance exam. Within a few weeks, I began to struggle. While I was trying to understand just how letters belonged in mathematics, my Algebra teacher Mrs. Gwendolyn Scott found a way to “motivate” me."

"My thesis is this thing that was initially going to be a grenade launched at my ex-prison, for better or for worse, and instead turned into some kind of positive seed bomb where flowers have sprouted beside the foundations I thought I wanted to crumble."

"I always had an affinity for mathematics. As a child I was always interested in studying patterns, working on puzzles, and solving logic problems; and I was very intrigued by the various ways in which mathematics showed up in everyday life. While in junior high school"

"My thesis is that thing I got sick of just when I should have been fine-tuning its organization. It’s where I find typos that have already gone to print. I am a writer; don’t ask me about my writing."

"She moved my seat, gave me extra work, and required a parental signature on all graded assessments. Since Cs were not acceptable grades and guaranteed at least 6 weeks of punishment, I was going to spend my entire eighth grade year punished because I was making Ds and Fs. Mrs. Scott’s “motivation” helped me discover my interest in math."

"ou don’t need to have a special brain or be a certain kind of person to take on math"

"I was dismissed after the first year because I didn’t get high enough grades in geometry and statistics, and this was a program where you couldn’t get C’s and I got C’s in those courses."

"I find it very rewarding,” said Eubanks-Turner. “Most teachers join the program because they love learning mathematics. Even teachers who have been in the classroom 20 or 30 years learn something they never knew or see an aspect of math in a new way."

"Although I did not realize it, I did many things to build my mathematical abilities."

"I was awarded a National Physical Science Consortium fellowship to pursue graduate studies in mathematics and earned my M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduate school, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Environmental Protection Agency in the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina."

"I am most proud of being a mentor. Throughout my career, I have spent a great deal of time working with students who need additional supports outside of the classroom. I work with them to master good study habits; set goals and create action plans; manage time, stress, and life circumstances; and prepare for their future careers. It gives me great joy to know that I have mentees who have become successful teachers, doctors, and researchers; but more importantly have gone on to mentor others in need of support."

"Personally, I am most proud of taking a leap of faith, leaving a tenured faculty position, to relocate to the DC-area to be near and help care for my aging parents. It has been the best decision of my life."

"For 7 years I called myself an escaped graduate student. I laughed and made light, but each passing month increased my shame burden. Having kids made it easier to throw my hands up like I was okay with things and not at all failing, but I was never okay. I’m still not okay. After my defense"

"I had to fill out an exit survey. They asked how many years spent on coursework (3), how many years spent on dissertation (10). TEN YEARS?! WHAT KIND OF PERSON SPENDS TEN YEARS ON ONE DOCUMENT AND STILL HAS TO BUILD UP COURAGE TO DISCUSS IT OPENLY?"

"In my second year, my body temporarily lost the ability to properly deal with sugar. I don’t know if this is a thing. My doctor never really figured it out even after she got “really scientific about it.” Whatever it was, I realized stress had sent me to the hospital and I was thoroughly against that on principle, so I gave up stress."

"After completing the my undergraduate studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, I went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to earn my doctorate. In 2008, I was one of the first two African-American women to earn a doctoral degree in Mathematics from UNL."

"I was a creative writing major at that school. There was math happening but this was in no way an environment of STEM that I’ve experienced today."

"I never thought of myself as a mathematician. I went to a performing arts school from the fourth to the eighth grade. Most of my formative years were spent in classes where there was creative dance, piano and art."

"In high school, I got accepted into a magnet program. I switched to a different school because I had heard this program was like my art school but just for math and science, I thought it would be interesting to see how that would turn out and it didn’t go so great."

": I knew I wanted to be a mathematician later when I was in college.2I originally majored in computer science, but I really disliked computer programming. I loved the logical thinking involved in creating computer algorithms, which I realized was just mathematical thinking, but I found the actual coding and"

"I’ve always loved math, but I don’t think it always loved me back"

"It never gets too old. I am just so pleased that I was able to make a contribution. When I was working, I never imagined that the GPS would be used in the civilian world. I love seeing all the ways that it can be used and I probably have no idea how vastly used it is."