In Ghana, Angela Tabiri is a young mathematician who has established herself in scientific journals thanks to her research on homogeneous spaces. She also leads an initiative seeking to promote female African mathematicians.
May 12 is International Women in Mathematics Day. She pays homage to Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, who died in 2017. Maryam Mirzakhani was the first woman in history to win the Fields Medal in 2014 — the equivalent of the Nobel Prize not intended for mathematicians.
In Ghana, young Angela Tabiri is making waves. One of the few female PhDs in mathematics in the country, she has sought since her return to Ghana in 2019 to educate Ghanaian women on the benefits of a career in science. His initiative, Femafrimaths, was received very positively by public opinion in Ghana. Several female scientists from home and abroad are promoting it. Today, many of them make donations for schools, or visit high schools to encourage young girls to choose a scientific path.
For Angela, it is above all her feminist side that led her to activism. “When I was teaching, instead of 'Doctor', the students called me 'Madam'. Colleagues commented that I couldn't start a family and said that I might never get married. There is a cultural pressure of the type 'You should be in the kitchen'”, says the young scientist.
At #femaafricamaths, we believe in nurturing the talents of future #mathematicians. #mathqueen Yolande led the reading group on Hopf algebras seminar @AIMSghana last week. She was confident and demonstrated understanding of the topic.#womeninstem #womeninmaths #stem #math #Africa pic.twitter.com/2v2JttCkyy
— Femafricmaths (@femafricmaths) December 16, 2019
Angela Tabiri, a locomotive for African mathematicians
Angela's journey, however, is proof to the contrary. Before joining civil society, she distinguished herself above all through her research in quantum algebra. His research with Boston MIT star Kenneth Stephen Brown on homogeneous quantum spaces paved the way for many discoveries. A paper that she had published in 2018 was also taken up by physicists and engineers from the largest aeronautical manufacturers.
A year later, Angela Tabiri obtained her doctorate at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. She returned directly to Ghana where she obtained a postdoctoral position at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). She continues her research there with her doctoral students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), an academic branch highly coveted by research institutes and on the job market.
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She also admits: “One of the challenges of research in abstract mathematics is to stay motivated. I tell myself that my research will make it possible to build the technology in 100 years. I also teach pure mathematics to people who want to become engineers and computer scientists. They must be well taught”.
In any case, Angela Tabiri created a lot of stir within the academic community. But she also realizes the long way to go if she wants to equal her idol, the Iranian genius Maryam Mirzakhani, of whom she wears a portrait in her office. Will Angela Tabiri become the first African and second woman to win a Fields Medal?
May 12th each year is celebrated worldwide as Women in Mathematics Day in honor of Maryam Mirzakhani, the only female winner of a Fields Medal in Mathematics.
You are invited to an event for graduate students by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Berkeley @mathmoves pic.twitter.com/kYeKHHEVT3— Angela Tabiri, PhD (@angela_tabiri) May 11, 2022