Melanie Wood
Encyclopedia
Melanie Matchett Wood is an American
mathematician
who became the first female American to make the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad
Team. She completed her Ph.D.
in 2009 at Princeton University
(under Manjul Bhargava
) and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, after spending 2 years as Szegö Assistant Professor at Stanford University
.
While a high school student at Park Tudor School
in Indianapolis, Melanie (then aged 16) became the first, and until 2004 the only female American to make the U.S. International Math Olympiad Team, receiving silver medals in the 1998 and 1999 International Mathematical Olympiad. At her school, in addition to being a math whiz, Melanie was a cheerleader and student newspaper editor.
Melanie graduated from Duke University
where she won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Fulbright fellowship
, and a National Science Foundation
graduate fellowship in 2003, in addition to becoming the first American woman and second woman overall to be named a Putnam Fellow in 2002. During the 2003–2004 year she studied at Cambridge University
.
In 2004, she won the Morgan Prize
for work in two topics, Belyi-extending maps and P-orderings, making her the first woman to win this award. Her paper on the second topic was published in the Journal of Number Theory
.
She was also named the Deputy Leader of the U.S. team that finished second overall at the 2005 International Mathematical Olympiad.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
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....
who became the first female American to make the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad
International Mathematical Olympiad
The International Mathematical Olympiad is an annual six-problem, 42-point mathematical olympiad for pre-collegiate students and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except in 1980...
Team. She completed her Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 2009 at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(under Manjul Bhargava
Manjul Bhargava
Manjul Bhargava is a Canadian-American mathematician of Indian origin. He is the R. Brandon Fradd Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University...
) and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin, after spending 2 years as Szegö Assistant Professor at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
While a high school student at Park Tudor School
Park Tudor School
Park Tudor School is a private, coeducational, nondenominational school for grades junior kindergarten through 12 in the Meridian Hills neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Park Tudor was created with the 1970 merger of Tudor Hall School for Girls and Park School...
in Indianapolis, Melanie (then aged 16) became the first, and until 2004 the only female American to make the U.S. International Math Olympiad Team, receiving silver medals in the 1998 and 1999 International Mathematical Olympiad. At her school, in addition to being a math whiz, Melanie was a cheerleader and student newspaper editor.
Melanie graduated from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
where she won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Fulbright fellowship
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
, and a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
graduate fellowship in 2003, in addition to becoming the first American woman and second woman overall to be named a Putnam Fellow in 2002. During the 2003–2004 year she studied at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
In 2004, she won the Morgan Prize
Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student
The Morgan Prize is an annual award given to an undergraduate student in the US, Canada, or Mexico who demonstrates superior mathematics research. The $1,000 award, endowed by Mrs. Frank Morgan of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1995...
for work in two topics, Belyi-extending maps and P-orderings, making her the first woman to win this award. Her paper on the second topic was published in the Journal of Number Theory
Journal of Number Theory
The Journal of Number Theory , often abbreviated J. Number Theory or J. Num. Th. in bibliographies, is a mathematics journal that publishes a broad spectrum of original research in number theory. The journal was founded in 1969 by R.P. Bambah, P. Roquette, A. Ross, A. Woods, and H. Zassenhaus,...
.
She was also named the Deputy Leader of the U.S. team that finished second overall at the 2005 International Mathematical Olympiad.
External links
- An Interview with Melanie Matchett Wood (The Girls' Angle Bulletin)
- A Conversation with Melanie Wood (Math Horizons magazine)
- The Girl Who Loved Math (Discover magazine)
- Melanie Wood: The Making of a Mathematician (Duke University profile)
- Melanie Wood (homepage at Stanford University)