Born: March 23, 1882 (Erlangen, Germany)
Died: 1935
Biography:
Amalie Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who is widely recognized for her groundbreaking contributions to the field of abstract algebra. Born on March 23, 1882, in Erlangen, Germany, Emmy came from a Jewish family and was the daughter of the renowned mathematician Max Noether. Although she initially intended to become a language teacher, Emmy’s passion for mathematics led her to pursue a different path.
Emmy Noether began her mathematical journey at the University of Erlangen, where her father worked as a lecturer. Despite facing significant gender biases and societal expectations at the time, she pursued her studies in mathematics and obtained her doctorate in 1907 under the guidance of Paul Gordan. However, her career in academia faced numerous challenges due to prevailing gender discrimination.
For the next seven years, Emmy worked at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen without any salary, as women had limited access to academic positions during that era. Her perseverance and dedication to her craft allowed her to eventually gain recognition for her exceptional abilities in mathematics.
In 1915, Emmy Noether received an invitation from renowned mathematicians David Hilbert and Felix Klein to join the mathematics department at the University of Göttingen. However, facing resistance from the philosophical faculty, she lectured under Hilbert’s name for four years. It was not until 1919 that she was granted habilitation, enabling her to obtain the rank of Privatdozent.
Despite the obstacles she faced throughout her career, Emmy Noether became an influential figure in the Göttingen mathematics department. Her exceptional teaching skills and profound mathematical insights earned her the respect of her colleagues and students. In fact, her students, known as the Noether boys, greatly benefited from her guidance and went on to make significant contributions to the field of mathematics.
Emmy Noether’s work on abstract algebra and algebraic invariants significantly impacted the development of modern mathematics. Her collaboration with Dutch mathematician B. L. van der Waerden led to the publication of his influential textbook, Moderne Algebra, in which her ideas formed the foundation for the second volume.
In 1933, when the Nazi regime dismissed Jews from university positions, Emmy Noether emigrated to the United States. She accepted a position at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where she continued to teach and inspire numerous female mathematicians. Additionally, she also conducted research and gave lectures at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Emmy Noether’s mathematical contributions are divided into three epochs. In the first epoch (1908-1919), she made significant contributions to the theories of algebraic invariants and number fields. However, it was her work on Noether’s theorem and differential invariants in the calculus of variations that solidified her place in history as one of the most influential mathematicians.
Throughout her career, Emmy Noether faced countless hardships due to her gender and background, but her dedication and passion for mathematics never wavered. Her groundbreaking achievements paved the way for future generations of female mathematicians, and she was widely regarded as the most important woman in the history of mathematics by eminent mathematicians such as Pavel Alexandrov, Albert Einstein, Jean Dieudonné, Hermann Weyl, and Norbert Wiener.