The Mathematician Touted by Einstein Just Scored Major Props From Google
In the early 20th century, Emmy Noether pioneered revolutionary theories in algebra and physics. Albert Einstein once called her “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced.” While Einstein’s E=mc2 formula, physical likeness, and cultural impact need no introduction, Noether has gone virtually unrecognized—until Google turned the German mathematician’s work into an animated doodle on its home page on Monday in honor of her 133rd birthday.
“Noether was passionate about math, despite living in an era where women were often excluded from these subjects,” wrote illustrator Sophie Diao, who came up with the concept for the Google Doodle. Noether was one of just two women permitted at the University of Erlangen in Germany in 1900—but because she was a woman, she couldn’t enroll in classes. Instead, she needed her professors’ permission to audit them. Still, Noether persevered. She passed her graduation exam, and when the university wouldn't hire her as a teacher, she began subbing for her father’s classes at the school’s Mathematical Institute.
The Google Doodle coincides with Monday’s fifth annual White House Science Fair, which boasted a majority of women scientists for the second year in a row, according to the White House blog. The push to recruit more female scientists at the D.C. fair is part of the Obama administration’s goal to increase the participation of women and girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, referred to collectively as STEM.
While women account for nearly half of the working population, they’re severely underrepresented in STEM-related careers: In 2011, just 26 percent of workers in the industry were women, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Adding to the problem are gender biases that still plague institutions and workplaces: A 2012 Yale University study found that faculty members are apt to view a young male scientist more positively than they do his female counterpart and will offer him nearly $4,000 more to do the same job.
It’s all the more reason why Noether’s story is exceedingly relevant today. A Google Doodle won’t solve the gender imbalance in math and science, but initiatives like the White House Science Fair and the administration’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, which aims to increase women and minorities in STEM fields, are a good start.
Original article from TakePart
