Evelyn Merle Nelson (November 25, 1943 – August 1, 1987), born Evelyn Merle Roden, was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

. Nelson made contributions to the area of

universal algebra Universal algebra (sometimes called general algebra) is the field of mathematics that studies algebraic structures in general, not specific types of algebraic structures. For instance, rather than considering groups or rings as the object of stud ...

with applications to

theoretical computer science Theoretical computer science is a subfield of computer science and mathematics that focuses on the Abstraction, abstract and mathematical foundations of computation. It is difficult to circumscribe the theoretical areas precisely. The Associati ...

. She, along with

Cecilia Krieger Cypra Cecilia Krieger-Dunaij (9 April 1894 – 17 August 1974) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian (more specifically, Galicia (Central Europe), Galician)-born mathematician of Jewish ancestry who lived and worked in Canada. Krieger was the t ...

, is the namesake of the

Krieger–Nelson Prize The Krieger–Nelson Prize is presented by the Canadian Mathematical Society in recognition of an outstanding woman in mathematics. It was first awarded in 1995. The award is named after Cecilia Krieger and Evelyn Nelson, both known for their contr ...

, awarded by the

Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: ''Société mathématique du Canada'') is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to advancing mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. The Society se ...

for outstanding research by a female mathematician.Krieger-Nelson Prize

Early life

Nelson was born on November 25, 1943, in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada. Her parents were immigrants from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in the 1920s.. Nelson went to high school at

Westdale Secondary School Westdale Secondary School is a public high school founded in 1931 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is a school in the city of Hamilton and is located in Westdale Village, a suburb in the west-end of the city. It is administered by the Hamilton- ...

in Hamilton.

Education

After spending two years at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, Nelson returned to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

to study at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

. She received her B.Sc in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from McMaster in 1965, followed by an

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in mathematics from McMaster in 1967. She succeeded in having her thesis work published in the ''

Canadian Journal of Mathematics The ''Canadian Journal of Mathematics'' () is a bimonthly mathematics journal published by the Canadian Mathematical Society. It was established in 1949 by H. S. M. Coxeter and G. de B. Robinson. The current editors-in-chief of the journal ar ...

'', also in 1967; the article was entitled "Finiteness of semigroups of operators in universal algebra". Nelson completed her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1970. Her thesis was entitled "The lattice of equational classes of commutative semigroups", and the ideas also formed a journal paper published in the

Career

Following completion of her Ph.D., Nelson continued at McMaster. She first worked as a post-doctoral researcher, later as a "research associate", and in 1978 was appointed

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

. Serving as chair of the Unit of Computer Science at McMaster from 1982 until 1984, Nelson became a full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

in 1983.. Nelson's teaching record was, according to one colleague, "invariably of the highest order". However, before earning a faculty position at McMaster, prejudice against her led to doubts about her teaching ability. Nelson published over 40 papers during her 20-year career. She died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1987.

Recognition

Nelson is the namesake, along with

, of the

, which is awarded to a female mathematician in recognition of outstanding achievement. The Department of Mathematics at

has a lecture series, "The Evelyn Nelson Lectures", held since 1991.The Evelyn Nelson Lectures
.

Selected publications

* * * * * * *

References

External links

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a Private university, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergra ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Evelyn 1943 births 1987 deaths Academics from Hamilton, Ontario McMaster University alumni Academic staff of McMaster University 20th-century Canadian mathematicians 20th-century Canadian women mathematicians