Judith Roitman
Encyclopedia
Judith "Judy" Roitman is a mathematician
, currently a professor at the University of Kansas
. She specializes in set theory
, topology
, Boolean algebra, and mathematics education
.
. She attended Oberlin College
, followed by Sarah Lawrence College
, graduating in 1966 with a degree in English literature
. Next she became interested in mathematical linguistics. As she had little formal mathematical education, Roitman started taking mathematics
classes at the University of California, Berkeley
and San Francisco State University
. She had enjoyed mathematics as a high school
student, and found her interest renewed. In 1969 she started graduate studies in mathematics at Berkeley. During graduate school she spent some time teaching mathematics in elementary school
s as a Community Teaching Fellow. Roitman received her Ph.D.
in 1974 from UC Berkeley with a thesis in topology; her thesis advisor was Robert M. Solovay
. She taught at Wellesley College for three years, then spent a semester at the Institute for Advanced Study
. She has been at the University of Kansas since then.
She has been involved in the field of mathematics education
for much of her career, running workshops for elementary school teachers and high school teachers and observing them in the classroom. She has encouraged individual mathematicians and the mathematical community at large to get involved and take mathematics education more seriously. She was in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
writing group that produced Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
. Dismayed at the politicization
of U.S. mathematics education, Roitman has insisted, "There is no math war."
Roitman has been active in the Association for Women in Mathematics
since its early years, and she served as President for the term 1979–1981. She has been a Zen Buddhist since 1976, and is currently the guiding teacher of the Kansas Zen Center, of which she and her husband Stanley Lombardo
were founding members.
Roitman is also a poet
. Her poetry has appeared in a number of magazines, three chapbook
s and one book.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, currently a professor at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. She specializes in set theory
Set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics...
, topology
Topology
Topology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
, Boolean algebra, and mathematics education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
.
Biography
Roitman was born in 1945 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She attended Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, followed by Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, graduating in 1966 with a degree in English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. Next she became interested in mathematical linguistics. As she had little formal mathematical education, Roitman started taking mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
classes at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. She had enjoyed mathematics as a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student, and found her interest renewed. In 1969 she started graduate studies in mathematics at Berkeley. During graduate school she spent some time teaching mathematics in elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s as a Community Teaching Fellow. Roitman received her Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1974 from UC Berkeley with a thesis in topology; her thesis advisor was Robert M. Solovay
Robert M. Solovay
Robert Martin Solovay is an American mathematician specializing in set theory.Solovay earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1964 under the direction of Saunders Mac Lane, with a dissertation on A Functorial Form of the Differentiable Riemann–Roch theorem...
. She taught at Wellesley College for three years, then spent a semester at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
. She has been at the University of Kansas since then.
She has been involved in the field of mathematics education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
for much of her career, running workshops for elementary school teachers and high school teachers and observing them in the classroom. She has encouraged individual mathematicians and the mathematical community at large to get involved and take mathematics education more seriously. She was in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics was founded in 1920. It has grown to be the world's largest organization concerned with mathematics education, having close to 100,000 members across the USA and Canada, and internationally....
writing group that produced Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics are guidelines produced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in 2000, setting forth recommendations for mathematics educators. They form a national vision for preschool through twelfth grade mathematics education in the US and Canada...
. Dismayed at the politicization
Math wars
Math wars is the debate over modern mathematics education, textbooks and curricula in the United States that was triggered by the publication in 1989 of the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and subsequent development and...
of U.S. mathematics education, Roitman has insisted, "There is no math war."
Roitman has been active in the Association for Women in Mathematics
Association for Women in Mathematics
The Association for Women in Mathematics is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences. Equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences are promoted. The AWM was...
since its early years, and she served as President for the term 1979–1981. She has been a Zen Buddhist since 1976, and is currently the guiding teacher of the Kansas Zen Center, of which she and her husband Stanley Lombardo
Stanley Lombardo
Stanley F. Lombardo is an American professor of Classics at the University of Kansas. He is best known for his translations of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid...
were founding members.
Roitman is also a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. Her poetry has appeared in a number of magazines, three chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
s and one book.