De-stressing Math Collective (DMC) MEET A MATHEMATICIAN: in 3 ACTS

Join the De-Stressing Math Collective (DMC) for "MEET A MATHEMATICIAN: in 3 ACTS," a talk by Fern Hunt’69. Snacks will be served in the Math Lounge (Park 360) at 6:30 PM.

Abstract:
Fern Hunt ('69) will begin the presentation with some remarks about her early life and formation as a mathematician and activist. The second part of the talk will discuss the idea of entropy and how a problem arising from the application of mathematics generates a problem in "pure" mathematics. Finally, Dr. Hunt will address the imperative to reimagine mathematics and science research and education in the wake of the current crises confronting us.

Biography:
Fern Hunt graduated from Bryn Mawr College with an A.B. in Mathematics. She then attended New York University and earned an M.S. and then Ph.D. from Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in 1978, one of the first African American women to do so. Hunt embarked on a career in academics, teaching in the Mathematics Departments at City University of New York, University of Utah, and then Howard University. After fourteen years at Howard, Dr. Hunt joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She became scientist emeritus in 2019. Her research areas are primarily in the fields of probability and dynamical systems with applications most recently to emergence of consensus in networked systems. Support over the course of her career has come from the National Science Foundation and NIST. Dr. Hunt was awarded the Arthur S. Flemming Award for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Science in 2000 and was elected a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2019 and a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics in 2020.