Pamela E. Harris

Mexican-American mathematician

  • Williams College
  • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
ThesisCombinatorial problems related to Kostant’s weight multiplicity formula (2012)Doctoral advisorJeb Willenbring

Pamela Estephania Harris (born November 28, 1983) is a Mexican-American mathematician, educator and advocate for immigrants. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[1] was formerly an associate professor at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and is co-founder of the online platform Lathisms.[2][3] She is also an editor of the e-mentoring blog of the American Mathematical Society (AMS).[4]

Early life and career

Harris first emigrated with her family from Mexico to the United States when she was 8 years old.[5][6] They returned to Mexico, before eventually settling in Wisconsin when Harris was 12.[5][7] Because she was undocumented, she could not attend university.[8][7] Instead, she studied at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, where she earned two associate degrees in two and a half years.[7][8] After she married a US citizen and her immigration status changed, she transferred to Marquette University, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics.[8][5] She went on to complete her master's degree and in 2012 a PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her Ph.D. dissertation was advised by Jeb F. Willenbring.[9] Harris was a Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) fellow in 2012.[10] She was a Davies Research Fellow at the United States Military Academy,[5][7] and, in 2016, joined the faculty at Williams College[11][7] where she was an associate professor.[12] In 2022, she joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as an associate professor.[1]

Harris studies algebraic combinatorics, in particular the representation of Lie algebras.[7][13] In order to understand this representation she studies vector partition functions, in particular Kostant's partition function.[5] She is also interested in graph theory and number theory.[13] In 2016 she co-founded an online platform called 'Lathisms' which aims to promote the contributions of Latinxs and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences.[2][5] In 2020 she co-authored the book "Asked and Answered: Dialogues On Advocating For Students of Color in Mathematics".[14] Harris, along with Aris Winger, run a podcast, Mathematically Uncensored, through the Center for Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences. Starting in October 2020, they discussed current issues in mathematics that minorities encounter.[15]

Recognition

In 2020, Harris was selected as part of the inaugural class of Karen EDGE Fellows.[16] In 2019, Harris won the Mathematical Association of America Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member,[17] for her mentorship towards undergraduate research and for being a "fierce advocate for a diverse and inclusive mathematics community."[18] She further received the early career Faculty Mentor Award from the Council of Undergraduate Research in the Mathematics and Computer Sciences Division.[11] She was a 2022 winner of the Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.[19]

She gave one of the Mathematical Association of America Invited Addresses at the 2019 Joint Mathematics Meetings.[20] In 2019 she was a featured speaker at the national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).[8][21][22] She was named a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, in the 2022 class of fellows, "for contributions to algebraic combinatorics, for mentorship of undergraduate researchers, and for contributions to a more equitable and inclusive mathematical community".[23] In 2022 she will become a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics, "For exceptional leadership in establishing programs and mentoring networks that support, encourage, and advance women and underrepresented minorities in the mathematical sciences; and for contributions through public speaking that create positive systemic change in the culture and climate of the mathematics profession."[24]

In 2018 Harris was featured in the book Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics.[6][21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Faculty-Department of Mathematical Sciences". University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Check out the Lathisms website, co-founded by Professor Harris!". Mathematics & Statistics. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  3. ^ "About". www.lathisms.org. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "About the Editors". e-Mentoring Network. January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Williams, Talithia (October 23, 2019). "Spotlight on: Pamela Harris". Chalkdust. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Williams, Talithia (2018). "Pamela E. Harris (b. November 28, 1983): Improving Diversity on the Mathematical Sciences". Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics. Race Point Publishing. pp. 192–195. ISBN 978-0-7603-6028-6.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Cortez, Ricardo; Ardila, Federico (September 1, 2018). "Pamela Harris: The Mathematical Rise and Social Contribution of a Dreamer" (PDF). Notices of the American Mathematical Society. 65 (8): 1. doi:10.1090/noti1723.
  8. ^ a b c d Serrato Marks, Gabriela (January 16, 2020). "Five facts about Pamela E. Harris, Mexican-American mathematician and educator of "leaders of character"". Massive Science. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Pamela E. Harris at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  10. ^ "Fellow Search Form | Mathematical Association of America". www.maa.org. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "CUR Math/CS Division Selects 2019 Faculty Mentor Awardees | General News – News | Council on Undergraduate Research". www.cur.org. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "Faculty". Mathematics & Statistics.
  13. ^ a b "Research". Pamela E. Harris PhD. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  14. ^ "Asked and Answered". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  15. ^ "Mathematically Uncensored". The Aperiodical. November 25, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "2020 Inaugural Class of Karen EDGE Fellows".
  17. ^ "Henry L. Alder Award". Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "Henry L. Alder Awards - Pamela Harris" (PDF). Mathematical Association of America - Henry L. Alder Award. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award: Pamela Harris" (PDF). Mathematical Association of America. August 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Joint Mathematics Meetings 2019". Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Keynote Speakers – SACNAS". Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  22. ^ "SACNAS Announces Keynote & Featured Speakers for 2019 SACNAS - The National Diversity in STEM Conference in Hawai'i". SACNAS. August 13, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  23. ^ "2022 Class of Fellows of the AMS". American Mathematical Society. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  24. ^ "2022 Class of AWM Fellows".

External links

  • Personal webpage
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Meet a Mathematician! Video interview
  • Carrington, Léolène (January 22, 2018). "#WCWinSTEM: Pamela E. Harris, Ph.D. (interview)". Vanguard: Conversations with Women of Color in STEM.
Authority control databases: Academics Edit this at Wikidata
  • MathSciNet
  • Mathematics Genealogy Project
  • zbMATH