Ellen Elizabeth Kirkman is a professor of mathematics at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. Her research interests include

noncommutative algebra In mathematics, a noncommutative ring is a ring whose multiplication is not commutative; that is, there exist ''a'' and ''b'' in the ring such that ''ab'' and ''ba'' are different. Equivalently, a ''noncommutative ring'' is a ring that is not a ...

representation theory Representation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebra, abstract algebraic structures by ''representing'' their element (set theory), elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies Module (mathematics), ...

, and

homological algebra Homological algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies homology (mathematics), homology in a general algebraic setting. It is a relatively young discipline, whose origins can be traced to investigations in combinatorial topology (a precurs ...

Education

She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics and M.A. in Statistics from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1975. Her doctoral dissertation, ''On the Characterization of Inertial Coefficient Rings'', was supervised by Edward C. Ingraham.

Professional activities

Kirkman is on the board of directors of Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE), a program to help women pursuing studies in the mathematical sciences. From 2012 to 2020, she served as treasurer of the

Association for Women in Mathematics The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) is a professional society whose mission is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity for and the equal treatment o ...

(AWM). Kirkman's professional activities include serving on the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

(AMS) Nominating Committee 2009–11, as a

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) Governor 2006–8, on the Joint Data Committee of AMS-ASA-MAA-IMS-SIAM (2000– 2007 and 2009–present) and directing the CBMS 2010 survey of undergraduate mathematical sciences programs. She is an associate editor of Communications in Algebra. Kirkman served as treasurer and was on the Executive Committee of the

from 2012 to 2020.

Recognition

In 2012, Kirkman became a fellow of the

. She is part of the 2019 class of fellows of the

. She has also received service awards from Wake Forest University and the Southeastern Section of the MAA. She received the 2022

AWM Service Award The AWM Service Award is an annual award given by the Association for Women in Mathematics. The AWM depends largely on the work of volunteers. In order to recognize individuals for helping to promote and support women in mathematics through exce ...

"for her eight years of service (2012 – 2020) as AWM Treasurer and Chair of the Financial Oversight and Investment Committee, for her service on the Membership Portfolio Committee, and for her role as an organizer and a research leader in the WINART (Women in Noncommutative Algebra and Representation Theory) Research Network."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkman, Ellen Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Michigan State University alumni Wake Forest University faculty Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics American algebraists 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians Year of birth missing (living people)