Deborah Tepper Haimo (1921–2007) was an American mathematician who became president of the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

(MAA). Her research concerned "classical analysis, in particular, generalizations of the heat equation, special functions, and harmonic analysis".

Early life and undergraduate education

Haimo was born on July 1, 1921, in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, then part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. After living in the British Mandate of Palestine for several years, her family moved to the United States when she was 11. She attended the Girls' Latin School in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and first became excited by mathematics in her sophomore year, when she studied

Euclidean geometry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...

. Entering

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

, she began studying physics, because she thought that studying mathematics could only lead to a career as a schoolteacher and, at that time, teachers were dismissed once they married. However, her experiences with unknown environmental influences in physics experiments led her back to mathematics, where "we have control over our assumptions". As an upper-division undergraduate at Radcliffe, Haimo could enroll in mathematics courses at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. Her instructors there included

Hassler Whitney Hassler Whitney (March 23, 1907 – May 10, 1989) was an American mathematician. He was one of the founders of singularity theory, and did foundational work in manifolds, embeddings, immersion (mathematics), immersions, characteristic classes and, ...

and

Saunders Mac Lane Saunders Mac Lane (August 4, 1909 – April 14, 2005), born Leslie Saunders MacLane, was an American mathematician who co-founded category theory with Samuel Eilenberg. Early life and education Mac Lane was born in Norwich, Connecticut, near w ...

, and it was in one of these classes that she met her future husband, Franklin Tepper Haimo. She graduated in 1943 from Radcliffe, with both a bachelor's and master's degree in mathematics.

Career and graduate education

Next, Haimo worked as a mathematics instructor at a sequence of institutions:

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. History Lake Erie Female Seminary The semi ...

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, and

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. During this time, she also raised a family of five children. After a ten-year break from her education, she returned to graduate study while she taught at Washington University and Southern Illinois University, and completed her Ph.D. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1964. Her dissertation, supervised by

David Widder David Vernon Widder (25 March 1898 – 8 July 1990) was an American mathematician. He earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1924 under George Birkhoff and went on to join the faculty there. He was a co-founder of the ''Duke Mathematical Jour ...

with additional unofficial mentorship from

Isidore Isaac Hirschman Jr. Isidore Isaac Hirschman Jr. (1922–1990) was an American mathematician, and professor at Washington University in St. Louis working on analysis. Life Hirschman earned his Ph.D. in 1947 from Harvard under David Widder. After writing ten papers ...

of Washington University, was ''Integral Equations Associated With Hankel Convolutions''. On completing her doctorate, she was promoted to a regular-rank faculty member at Southern Illinois. She moved to the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a Public university, public research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Established in 1963, it is the newest of the four universities in the University of Missouri System. Located ...

in 1968, soon becoming department chair there. She served as MAA president for 1991–1992, becoming the third female president of the MAA after Dorothy Lewis Bernstein and Lida Barrett. During her term as president, she created a teaching award, reorganized the MAA's committee structure, and worked to promote women in mathematics. She retired in 1992 and moved to

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, where she took an appointment as a visiting scholar at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. In 1993 she established the

Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics are awards given by the Mathematical Association of America to recognize college or university teachers "who have been widely recognized as ...

, named after her and her husband Franklin Haimo.. See in particula
pp. 136–137
where founding this award is called Haimo's "most lasting accomplishment".

Death

She died on May 17, 2007.

Awards and honors

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

gave Haimo an honorary doctorate in 1991. She was named a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

in 1996. Haimo was given the Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished Service to the MAA in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haimo, Deborah Tepper 1921 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians Radcliffe College alumni Lake Erie College faculty Northeastern University faculty Washington University in St. Louis mathematicians Southern Illinois University faculty University of Missouri–St. Louis faculty Presidents of the Mathematical Association of America Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Emigrants from Mandatory Palestine to the United States Boston Latin Academy alumni 20th-century American women mathematicians