Niagara’s mathematics department participated in a worldwide celebration of women in mathematics on May 9.
The inaugural event included a screening of the documentary “Journey of Black Mathematics: Forging Resilience,” which traces the evolution of a culture of Black scholars, scientists, and educators. The film follows the stories of prominent pioneers, showing how the challenges they faced and their triumphs are reflected in the experiences of today’s working Black mathematicians.
The film was offered through the May 12 initiative, a project that aims to inspire women everywhere to celebrate their achievements in mathematics and to encourage an open, welcoming, and inclusive work environment for everybody. May 12 is the birthdate of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian mathematician and professor of mathematics at Stanford University who was one of the world’s leading experts in geometry and dynamical systems. She died from cancer in 2017 at the age of 40.
Associate professor Dr. Maritza Branker organized the event “to bring some of the experience of the History of Mathematics course she taught this spring to the math community on campus.”
