Oct 26
Special Mathematics Colloquia: Della Dumbaugh, University of Richmond
Title: Expect the Unexpected: Pioneers who Promoted Women in Math and Science
Abstract: How did a department store magnate and a playwright advance American mathematics and science---and women in these male dominated fields in particular? This talk will explore the lives of Caroline Bamberger Fuld and Clare Booth Luce as we examine the surprising range of personalities that influenced the development of mathematics and science in America in the twentieth century.
Bio: Della Dumbaugh grew up in Louisville, KY. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1994 under the supervision of Karen Parshall. Her research lies in the history of mathematics, especially in the history of algebra and number theory and she has published extensively. Dr. Dumbaugh is also interested in broadening representation in the mathematical sciences. With Deanna Haunsperger, she coedited Count Me In: Community and Belonging in Mathematics and she currently cohosts the “Count Me In” podcast. Since 2022, Dr. Dumbaugh has served as Editor-in-Chief of The American Mathematical Monthly.
Dr. Dumbaugh teaches broadly in mathematics, and has also created a cross-disciplinary travel course, “Vienna: The Biography of a City.” For her pedagogical work, she received the Distinguished Educator Award from the University of Richmond (2003), the TIAA-CREF Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (2004), and the John M. Smith Award for Distinguished University Teaching by the Maryland-DC-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Association of America (2019). She is also a 2022-23 MAA Distinguished Lecturer.
Sponsored by The Michael Morrill Fund and the Elizabeth Nason Distinguished Women Visitors Fund.