The Association for Women in Mathematics has announced that four women will share the 2022 Presidential Recognition Award. The four women were honored for the creation of the Mathematically Gifted and Black website. The MGB website, which was founded in 2016, profiles nearly 200 inspiring lives in mathematics, using first-person storytelling and contextualizing math in terms of a full life experience. Every year during Black History Month, the site highlights 28 living Black mathematicians with a photo and their responses to questions about their lives and mathematical interests.
Here are brief biographies of the four women sharing the award:
Erica J. Graham is an associate professor of mathematics at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She joined the faculty in 2015. Dr. Graham is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Utah.
Raegan Higgins is an associate professor of mathematics at Texas Tech University. Dr. Higgins joined the faculty at Texas Tech in 2008. She is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, where she majored in mathematics. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Nebraska.
Candice Price is an associate professor of mathematics and statistics at Smith College in North Hampton, Massachusetts. Born and raised in California, Dr. Price has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from California State University, Chico and a master’s degree from San Francisco State University. She earned her doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa.
Shelby Wilson is a senior professional at the Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. Wilson is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, where she majored in computer science and mathematics. She holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park.
“As the founders and directors of Mathematically Gifted and Black, we appreciate AWM’s acknowledgment of the impact our work has on increasing the visibility of historically and systemically excluded individuals in the mathematical sciences,” the four women said in a statement. “We are committed to continuing this valuable work.”