Mathematicians Made Visible #6 is Amie Wilkinson, an American mathematician who works in Dynamical Systems. In her research, she discovers complex systems of motion that unfold in unexpected ways. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021 for her overall contributions to the field. She is currently a professor at the University of Chicago.
This article in Quanta Magazine gives a beautiful insight into how she thinks about mathematics. I loved watching this video of her explaining the work of Maryam Mirzakhani at the Fields Symposium in 2018.
Mathematicians Made Visible #5 is John Urschel, a Canadian-American mathematician and a retired professional football player. He played college football at Penn State and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. His research fields include numerical linear algebra, graph theory, and data science/machine learning. He is currently a PhD student and mathematics professor at MIT.
Mathematicians Made Visible #4 is Chelsea Walton, an American mathematician who specializes in Non-Commutative Algebra. She was educated in Detroit public schools, and loved counting, patterns, and puzzles from a young age. In her advice to students of mathematics, she recommends cultivating a network of supportive mentors, colleagues, and friends as essential to combating discouragement. She was named a Sloan fellow in 2017, and was the first woman awarded the André Lichnerowicz Prize in Poisson geometry in 2018. She currently researches and teaches at Rice University.
While I was working on this print, I listened to this lecture on Non-Commutative Algebra. I can’t claim to have understood everything, but I still found it very interesting and informative!
On Open Studio Weekend, Vermont Crafts Council members open their studios or galleries to the public. Come to Long River Gallery, meet some of our artists and see them demonstrate their techniques. Make it a day of great food and great art, visit us after a nice brunch at Piecemeal Pies, lunch or dinner at Trailbreak, Tuckerbox, Thyme, or Elixir. Stroll around town and check our new neighbors, Kishka Gallery & Libraryat 83 Gates Street and Tourist, at 89 South Main Street.
when – Saturday June 19th from 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday June 20th from 10 AM to 4 PM (masks required)
where – 49 South Main Street | White River Junction, VT
follow the signs from I-89 (Exit 11), I-91 (Exit 7), or the intersection or VT Routes 4 (from Quechee) and 5
what –
Artist demonstrations (see lineup below)
Sales on some items
Sweets for the Sweet, free caramels with each purchase over $10, until supplies run out
Free gift wrapping on request
Betsy Derrick, Interactive Pastels Demonstration, Sat 10-1
Painter Betsy Derrick will do an interactive demonstration, sharing information, demonstrating different techniques and material for the pastel medium, and letting visitors use materials themselves. This will include soft, hard, and oil pastels, also different surfaces and tools.
Sharin Luti, Beadwork Demonstration, Sat 2-5
Artist Sharin Luti will demonstrate two beadwork techniques. Peyote Stitch is an off-loom bead weaving technique from ancient Egypt and indigenous communities that Sharin uses for bracelets and necklaces. Netting Stitch creates a very loose, flexible beaded fabric, which she uses to create beaded scarves.
Block printing is a very accessible medium: beginners and experts, artists and non-artists alike can find satisfaction in it because the prints can be both very controlled yet also contain spontaneous quirks that add to their beauty. In this demonstration Tracy will show the entire process: print design, carving the block, printing, and coloring with watercolors.
Moon Duchin: Geometry, Topology, and Dynamical Systems
Mathematicians Made Visible portrait #3 is Moon Duchin, currently a mathematician and professor at Tufts University with areas of expertise in geometry, topology, and dynamical systems. She also works and lectures on science, technology, and society. In 2016 she founded the MGGG Redistricting Lab to research data science interventions for civil rights.
(A new printmaking project to make sure our visual representations of mathematicians more closely match the reality of the people doing mathematics).
One of my favorite paintings is Rafael’s The School of Athens.
Is it my imagination, or do all these scholars look the same?
I have a copy of it in my classroom to remind me and my students that by studying Algebra, they are part of a community of scholars. But lately that community is seeming a little . . . homogenous. As in, male, white, and dead.
I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to update this painting, make it look more like the world we actually live in? Fill that school with mathematicians with a broader diversity of racial and gender identities. If I were repainting it, who would I put in?
Mathematicians Made Visible is my attempt to figure that out, and to address the need for more diversity in the visual representation of mathematicians. I’ll be updating the page with sketches and prints. I’d love to know your thoughts and recommendations!
Tracy Gillespie, Whitewashed, block print, watercolor, and glue on canvas, 2020
I created this 4″ by 4″ work for the Morill Mini silent auction benefiting the Justin Morrill Homestead in Strafford, VT. Whle not typical of my work, it feels important to me in this time to use any platform I can to address the current awakening to racial injustice that is happening.
What follows is my artist statement about the piece:
During this time of social and political unrest, I find myself shocked at how ignorant I have been of the lived reality of my black neighbors and friends, and at how easy it has been for me to be this ignorant. I’m shocked and ashamed at my misperceptions and profound ignorance of the history of our country, and it makes me wonder about the history of our region: what else am I willfully ignoring?
Most images of summer in Vermont evoke an idyllic country landscape. I wonder: what history are we not seeing when we look at these images? To address this theme, I created a print of a barn on a hillside casting a shadow of an American flag over the field. The flag is concealing a history of black Americans in Vermont, the people whose stories I have never heard. The flag is unraveling to reveal the parts of our human story that are refusing to remain hidden, ignored and overlooked.
Students all over my school are striking for climate action and I’m not sure what to do. I definitely support their actions, but I also think that learning Algebra is critical to understanding our climate crisis.
I created a lesson on changes in the rate of global petroleum consumption over time as a way to introduce them to the wonders of the online graphing software Desmos (and as a way to educate them on our consumption rates.)
Global Petroleum Consumption Rate (in Millions of Gallons per Day) Over Time
I got all of the data online from the U.S. Energy Information Administration website here.
The green dots are the data. The green line is a linear regression (using a line to model the data.) The blue line is an exponential regression (using an exponential curve to model the data.) There are quite a few great questions this graph can generate about the data and the lines that potentially model our future behavior.
I’m still not sure whether I’ll run this lesson today (when many of my students may be striking) or next week when I’m guaranteed a full captive audience. The good/bad news is that the climate crisis is not going to be a quick fix, so I’ll have many future opportunities for this education.
One of my favorite Fall traditions is to work as Osborne the Printer at the Tunbridge World’s Fair. I’ve been attending the fair nearly 20 years and just recently found my calling up on Antique Hill working in the print shop. Even though it’s not typically something you’d print with a letterpress, I created a commemorative block print that will be available for print enthusiasts. I’ll be working there Saturday night, but the print shop is open 10-5 every day of the fair. See you there!
