Emmy Noether was an influential German mathematician known for her
groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical
physics. In 1935, writing to the New York Times in America, Albert Einstein did not tame his praise. “In the judgment of the most competent living mathematicians,” penned the great man, “Fräulein Noether was the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.” After a lifetime of being discouraged and disallowed, underpaid and unpaid, doubted and ousted, Emmy Noether had reached the pinnacle of peer respect among her fellow giants of mathematical science. “In the realm of algebra, in which the most gifted mathematicians have been busy for centuries,” Einstein continued in his letter, “she discovered methods which have proved of enormous importance in the development of the present-day younger generation of mathematicians.”
Today’s home-page illustration by gifted Team Google Doodle artist Sophie Diao. (courtesy of GOOGLE 2015)
Emmy Noether was no ordinary person...need proof? How many people do you
know can count Albert Einstein as a fan of their work? The legendary
physicist once referred to Noether as, “The most significant creative
mathematical genius thus far produced,” a fitting endorsement for a
mathematician who made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of
abstract algebra and theoretical physics, all the while overcoming deep
seated sexism in her line of work. For Noether’s 133rd birthday, I
thought it would be best to highlight the mathematician's numerous
accomplishments and shine a light on the influence Noether had on the
world.
In her native Germany, Noether had sometimes been blocked and barred
as a student because of her gender; in time, though, she had nurtured
the next waves of great students. Noether had risen against wall after
wall of obstacles to work on such areas as ring theory; now she was
counted among those in a most rarefied academic circle.“Pure
mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. One seeks the
most general ideas of operation which will bring together in simple,
logical and unified form the largest possible circle of formal
relationships. In this effort toward logical beauty spiritual formulas
are discovered necessary for the deeper penetration into the laws of
nature.” –A.E.
Noether studied French and English as a girl
growing up in Bavaria, but upon reachng adulthood, she followed her
father (Max Noether) and a brother (Fritz) into math, and it was there
she discovered and gave her full expression to the poetry of logical
ideas. But at the University of Erlangen, and then at Gottingen
University, she was allowed only to audit classes because she was not
male.
Google celebrates the great woman today, on the 133rd anniversary of her birth in Erlangen, with an engaging illustration by eminently gifted Doodle artist Sophie Diao, who writes of her artwork: “There weren’t any obstacles that would stop Noether from her studies. In this doodle, each circle symbolizes a branch of math or physics that Noether devoted her illustrious career to. From left to right, you can see topology (the donut and coffee mug), ascending/descending chains, Noetherian rings (represented in the doodle by the Lasker-Noether theorem), time, group theory, conservation of angular momentum, and continuous symmetries and the list keeps going on and on from there! Noether’s advancements not only reflect her brilliance but also her determination in the face of adversity.”
At one point, in Germany, Noether wasn’t even permitted to lecture under her own name. Yet she selflessly fought for, and found, ways for her ideas to take root. Her brilliance would not be denied, and that academic illumination glows still. “However inconspicuously the life of these [academic] individuals runs its course,” Einstein wrote in his Noether letter, “none the less the fruits of their endeavors are the most valuable contributions which one generation can make to its successors.”
Emmy Noether was no ordinary person...need proof? How many people do you
know can count Albert Einstein as a fan of their work? The legendary
physicist once referred to Noether as, “The most significant creative
mathematical genius thus far produced,” a fitting endorsement for a
mathematician who made groundbreaking contributions to the fields of
abstract algebra and theoretical physics, all the while overcoming deep
seated sexism in her line of work. For Noether’s 133rd birthday, I
thought it would be best to highlight the mathematician's numerous
accomplishments and shine a light on the influence Noether had on the
world.
In her native Germany, Noether had sometimes been blocked and barred
as a student because of her gender; in time, though, she had nurtured
the next waves of great students. Noether had risen against wall after
wall of obstacles to work on such areas as ring theory; now she was
counted among those in a most rarefied academic circle.“Pure
mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. One seeks the
most general ideas of operation which will bring together in simple,
logical and unified form the largest possible circle of formal
relationships. In this effort toward logical beauty spiritual formulas
are discovered necessary for the deeper penetration into the laws of
nature.” –A.E.
Noether studied French and English as a girl
growing up in Bavaria, but upon reachng adulthood, she followed her
father (Max Noether) and a brother (Fritz) into math, and it was there
she discovered and gave her full expression to the poetry of logical
ideas. But at the University of Erlangen, and then at Gottingen
University, she was allowed only to audit classes because she was not
male.
Google celebrates the great woman today, on the 133rd anniversary of her birth in Erlangen, with an engaging illustration by eminently gifted Doodle artist Sophie Diao, who writes of her artwork: “There weren’t any obstacles that would stop Noether from her studies. In this doodle, each circle symbolizes a branch of math or physics that Noether devoted her illustrious career to. From left to right, you can see topology (the donut and coffee mug), ascending/descending chains, Noetherian rings (represented in the doodle by the Lasker-Noether theorem), time, group theory, conservation of angular momentum, and continuous symmetries and the list keeps going on and on from there! Noether’s advancements not only reflect her brilliance but also her determination in the face of adversity.”
At one point, in Germany, Noether wasn’t even permitted to lecture under her own name. Yet she selflessly fought for, and found, ways for her ideas to take root. Her brilliance would not be denied, and that academic illumination glows still. “However inconspicuously the life of these [academic] individuals runs its course,” Einstein wrote in his Noether letter, “none the less the fruits of their endeavors are the most valuable contributions which one generation can make to its successors.”
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