Since it’s the first day of Black History Month, it seems appropriate that I share this portrait of Marjorie Lee Browne, who was one of the first African-American women to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Quoted from Wikipedia:
Browne’s work on classical groups demonstrated simple proofs of important topological properties of and relations between classical groups. Her work in general focused on linear and matrix algebra. Browne saw the importance of computer science early on, writing a $60,000 grant to IBM to bring a computer to NCCU in 1960 – one of the first computers in academic computing, and probably the first at a historically black school. Throughout her career, Browne worked to help gifted mathematics students, educating them and offering them financial support to pursue higher education. Notable students included Joseph Battle, William Fletcher, Asamoah Nkwanta, and Nathan Simms. She established summer institutes to provide continuing education in mathematics for high school teachers. In 1974 she was awarded the first W. W. Rankin Memorial Award from the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics for her work with mathematics education.
I completed this illustration a while back for Women’s Work, a really awesome zine on women - past and present - working in STEM. The project was put together and curated by the wonderfully talented Shannon May and Celine Loup. You can learn more about the zine and see more art here.
*EDIT* A math teacher approached me about purchasing a print of this illustration for her classroom. I’ve made 7x10 prints available in my shop, here.
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