N 1964 at the World's Fair in New York I City one room was dedicated solely to mathematics. The display included a very at tractive and informative mural, about 13 feet long, sponsored by one of the largest com puter manufacturing companies and present ing a brief survey of the history of mathemat ics. Entitled, "Men of Modern Mathematics," it gives an outline of the development of that science from approximately 1000 B. C. to the year of the exhibition. The first centuries of this time span are illustrated by pictures from the history of art and, in particular, architec ture; the period since 1500 is illuminated by portraits of mathematicians, including brief descriptions of their lives and professional achievements. Close to eighty portraits are crowded into a space of about fourteen square feet; among them, only one is of a woman. Her face-mature, intelligent, neither pretty nor handsome-may suggest her love of sci- 1 Emmy Noether ence and creative gift, but certainly reveals a likeable personality and a genuine kindness of heart. It is the portrait of Emmy Noether ( 1882 - 1935), surrounded by the likenesses of such famous men as Joseph Liouville (1809-1882), Georg Cantor (1845-1918), and David Hilbert (1862 -1943). It is accom panied by the following text: Emmy Noether, daughter of the mathemati cian Max, was often called "Der Noether," as if she were a man.

This book, written primarily for the young adult reader, tells the life story of Emmy Noether, the most important female mathematician of our time. Because no one expected her to grow into an important scientist, the records of her early life are sketchy. After all, it was assumed that she would grow up to be a wife and mother. Instead, she was a g

A companion publication to the international exhibition "Transcending Tradition: Jewish Mathematicians in German-Speaking Academic Culture", the catalogue explores the working lives and activities of Jewish mathematicians in German-speaking countries during the period between the legal and political emancipation of the Jews in the 19th century and their persecution in Nazi Germany. It highlights the important role Jewish mathematicians played in all areas of mathematical culture during the Wilhelmine Empire and the Weimar Republic, and recalls their emigration, flight or death after 1933.

In 1915 and 1916 Emmy Noether was asked by Felix Klein and David Hilbert to assist them in understanding issues involved in any attempt to formulate a general theory of relativity, in particular the new ideas of Einstein. She was consulted particularly over the difficult issue of the form a law of conservation of energy could take in the new theory, and she succeeded brilliantly, finding two deep theorems. But between 1916 and 1950, the theorem was poorly understood and Noether's name disappeared almost entirely. People like Klein and Einstein did little more then mention her name in the various popular or historical accounts they wrote. Worse, earlier attempts which had been eclipsed by Noether's achievements were remembered, and sometimes figure in quick historical accounts of the time. This book carries a translation of Noether's original paper into English, and then describes the strange history of its reception and the responses to her work. Ultimately the theorems became decisive in a shift from basing fundamental physics on conservations laws to basing it on symmetries, or at the very least, in thoroughly explaining the connection between these two families of ideas. The real significance of this book is that it shows very clearly how long it took before mathematicians and physicists began to recognize the seminal importance of Noether's results. This book is thoroughly researched and provides careful documentation of the textbook literature. Kosmann-Schwarzbach has thus thrown considerable light on this slow dance in which the mathematical tools necessary to study symmetry properties and conservation laws were apparently provided long before the orchestra arrives and the party begins.

An engaging picture book biography of a groundbreaking female mathematician. Emmy Noether is not pretty, quiet or good at housework — all the things a girl of her time is expected to be. What she is, though, is brilliant at math. And when she grows up, she skirts the rules to first study math at a university and then teach it. She also helps to solve of the most pressing mathematical and physics problems of the day. And though she doesn’t get much credit during her lifetime, her discoveries continue to influence how we understand the world today. One of the most influential mathematicians of the twentieth century finally gets her due!

When scientists peer through a telescope at the distant stars in outer space or use a particle-accelerator to analyze the smallest components of matter, they discover that the same laws of physics govern the whole universe at all times and all places. Physicists call the eternal, ubiquitous constancy of the laws of physics symmetry. Symmetry is the basic underlying principle that defines the laws of nature and hence controls the universe. This all-important insight is one of the great conceptual breakthroughs in modern physics and is the basis of contemporary efforts to discover a grand unified theory to explain all the laws of physics. Nobel Laureate Leon M. Lederman and physicist Christopher T. Hill explain the supremely elegant concept of symmetry and all its profound ramifications to life on Earth and the universe at large in this eloquent, accessible popular science book. They not only clearly describe concepts normally reserved only for physicists and mathematicians, but they also instill an appreciation for the profound beauty of the universe’s inherent design. Central to the story of symmetry is an obscure, unpretentious, but extremely gifted German mathematician named Emmy Noether. Though still little known to the world, she impressed no less a scientist than Albert Einstein, who praised her "penetrating mathematical thinking." In some of her earliest work she proved that the law of the conservation of energy was connected to the idea of symmetry and thus laid the mathematical groundwork for what may be the most important concept of modern physics. Lederman and Hill reveal concepts about the universe, based on Noether’s work, that are largely unknown to the public and have wide-reaching implications in connection with the Big Bang, Einstein’s theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and many other areas of physics. Through ingenious analogies and illustrations, they bring these astounding notions to life. This book will open your eyes to a universe you never knew existed.

The name Emmy Noether is one of the most celebrated in the history of mathematics. A brilliant algebraist and iconic figure for women in modern science, Noether exerted a strong influence on the younger mathematicians of her time and long thereafter; today, she is known worldwide as the "mother of modern algebra." Drawing on original archival material and recent research, this book follows Emmy Noethers career from her early years in Erlangen up until her tragic death in the United States. After solving a major outstanding problem in Einsteins theory of relativity, she was finally able to join the Göttingen faculty in 1919. Proving It Her Way offers a new perspective on an extraordinary career, first, by focusing on important figures in Noethers life and, second, by showing how she selflessly promoted the careers of several other talented individuals. By exploring her mathematical world, it aims to convey the personality and impact of a remarkable mathematician who literally changed the face of modern mathematics, despite the fact that, as a woman, she never held a regular professorship. Written for a general audience, this study uncovers the human dimensions of Noethers key relationships with a younger generation of mathematicians. Thematically, the authors took inspiration from their cooperation with the ensemble portraittheater Vienna in producing the play "Diving into Math with Emmy Noether." Four of the young mathematicians portrayed in Proving It Her Way - B.L. van der Waerden, Pavel Alexandrov, Helmut Hasse, and Olga Taussky - also appear in "Diving into Math.".

The ultimate mathematics reference book This is a one-of-a-kind reference for anyone with a serious interest in mathematics. Edited by Timothy Gowers, a recipient of the Fields Medal, it presents nearly two hundred entries—written especially for this book by some of the world's leading mathematicians—that introduce basic mathematical tools and vocabulary; trace the development of modern mathematics; explain essential terms and concepts; examine core ideas in major areas of mathematics; describe the achievements of scores of famous mathematicians; explore the impact of mathematics on other disciplines such as biology, finance, and music—and much, much more. Unparalleled in its depth of coverage, The Princeton Companion to Mathematics surveys the most active and exciting branches of pure mathematics. Accessible in style, this is an indispensable resource for undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics as well as for researchers and scholars seeking to understand areas outside their specialties. Features nearly 200 entries, organized thematically and written by an international team of distinguished contributors Presents major ideas and branches of pure mathematics in a clear, accessible style Defines and explains important mathematical concepts, methods, theorems, and open problems Introduces the language of mathematics and the goals of mathematical research Covers number theory, algebra, analysis, geometry, logic, probability, and more Traces the history and development of modern mathematics Profiles more than ninety-five mathematicians who influenced those working today Explores the influence of mathematics on other disciplines Includes bibliographies, cross-references, and a comprehensive index Contributors include: Graham Allan, Noga Alon, George Andrews, Tom Archibald, Sir Michael Atiyah, David Aubin, Joan Bagaria, Keith Ball, June Barrow-Green, Alan Beardon, David D. Ben-Zvi, Vitaly Bergelson, Nicholas Bingham, Béla Bollobás, Henk Bos, Bodil Branner, Martin R. Bridson, John P. Burgess, Kevin Buzzard, Peter J. Cameron, Jean-Luc Chabert, Eugenia Cheng, Clifford C. Cocks, Alain Connes, Leo Corry, Wolfgang Coy, Tony Crilly, Serafina Cuomo, Mihalis Dafermos, Partha Dasgupta, Ingrid Daubechies, Joseph W. Dauben, John W. Dawson Jr., Francois de Gandt, Persi Diaconis, Jordan S. Ellenberg, Lawrence C. Evans, Florence Fasanelli, Anita Burdman Feferman, Solomon Feferman, Charles Fefferman, Della Fenster, José Ferreirós, David Fisher, Terry Gannon, A. Gardiner, Charles C. Gillispie, Oded Goldreich, Catherine Goldstein, Fernando Q. Gouvêa, Timothy Gowers, Andrew Granville, Ivor Grattan-Guinness, Jeremy Gray, Ben Green, Ian Grojnowski, Niccolò Guicciardini, Michael Harris, Ulf Hashagen, Nigel Higson, Andrew Hodges, F. E. A. Johnson, Mark Joshi, Kiran S. Kedlaya, Frank Kelly, Sergiu Klainerman, Jon Kleinberg, Israel Kleiner, Jacek Klinowski, Eberhard Knobloch, János Kollár, T. W. Körner, Michael Krivelevich, Peter D. Lax, Imre Leader, Jean-François Le Gall, W. B. R. Lickorish, Martin W. Liebeck, Jesper Lützen, Des MacHale, Alan L. Mackay, Shahn Majid, Lech Maligranda, David Marker, Jean Mawhin, Barry Mazur, Dusa McDuff, Colin McLarty, Bojan Mohar, Peter M. Neumann, Catherine Nolan, James Norris, Brian Osserman, Richard S. Palais, Marco Panza, Karen Hunger Parshall, Gabriel P. Paternain, Jeanne Peiffer, Carl Pomerance, Helmut Pulte, Bruce Reed, Michael C. Reed, Adrian Rice, Eleanor Robson, Igor Rodnianski, John Roe, Mark Ronan, Edward Sandifer, Tilman Sauer, Norbert Schappacher, Andrzej Schinzel, Erhard Scholz, Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze, Gordon Slade, David J. Spiegelhalter, Jacqueline Stedall, Arild Stubhaug, Madhu Sudan, Terence Tao, Jamie Tappenden, C. H. Taubes, Rüdiger Thiele, Burt Totaro, Lloyd N. Trefethen, Dirk van Dalen, Richard Weber, Dominic Welsh, Avi Wigderson, Herbert Wilf, David Wilkins, B. Yandell, Eric Zaslow, and Doron Zeilberger

Grete Hermann (1901-1984) was a pupil of mathematical physicist Emmy Noether, follower and co-worker of neo-Kantian philosopher Leonard Nelson, and an important intellectual figure in post-war German social democracy. She is best known for her work on the philosophy of modern physics in the 1930s, some of which emerged from intense discussions with Heisenberg and Weizsäcker in Leipzig. Hermann’s aim was to counter the threat to the Kantian notion of causality coming from quantum mechanics. She also discussed in depth the question of ‘hidden variables’ (including the first critique of von Neumann’s alleged impossibility proof) and provided an extensive analysis of Bohr’s notion of complementarity. This volume includes translations of Hermann’s two most important essays on this topic: one hitherto unpublished and one translated here into English for the first time. It also brings together recent scholarly contributions by historians and philosophers of science, physicists, and philosophers and educators following in Hermann’s steps. Hermann's work places her in the first rank among philosophers who wrote about modern physics in the first half of the last century. Those interested in the many fields to which she contributed will find here a comprehensive discussion of her philosophy of physics that places it in the context of her wider work.