I don’t know how many of you have gotten bored like me and done a google image search of things like professor and mathematician, but it’s results weren’t very surprising for me.
In fact the results have actually improved since the last time I did this search! Last time “professor” had only yielded images of Einstein lookalikes.
It was exciting (and inspiring) to be at MAA Mathfest this past week and get to interact with many mathematicians who don’t fit the stereotype. If I were to be asked what a mathematician looks like, I have no idea what I would draw! Maybe myself, maybe any one of the friends I just made, there are so many people that become mathematicians!
Junior faculty learning math and having fun.
Equally inspiring was the session at Mathfest on the journey of how many of the women mathematicians I admire arrived at where they are. One of my many takeaways from that session was that mentorship matters and that I should learn more about finding mentors for myself and being a good mentor for students that might one day follow in my footsteps.
Programs like EDGE and Math Alliance were instrumental in helping these folks get to where they are today as well as groups like SACNAS. I’m glad to have heard more about some of these groups so that I can share these opportunities with my students and others colleagues who could not make it out to Chicago.
This is what a mathematician looks like 