Irena Swanson is an American mathematician specializing in

commutative algebra Commutative algebra, first known as ideal theory, is the branch of algebra that studies commutative rings, their ideal (ring theory), ideals, and module (mathematics), modules over such rings. Both algebraic geometry and algebraic number theo ...

. She is head of the

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Department of Mathematics since 2020. She was a professor of mathematics at

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

from 2005 to 2020.

Education and career

Swanson is originally from the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, in what is now

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, and was attracted to mathematics from a very young age. She came to the US as an exchange student in

Tooele, Utah Tooele ( ) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 35,742 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Tooele County. Located approximately 40 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, Tooele is known for Tooele Arm ...

in her last year of high school. There, she became interested in

, the alma mater of her host family's daughter, and applied only to Reed for her undergraduate studies. She is a 1987 graduate of Reed, with an undergraduate thesis on

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (for example, Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics ...

. She went to

for graduate study, completing her Ph.D. in mathematics in 1992. Her dissertation, ''Tight Closure, Joint Reductions, And Mixed Multiplicities'', was supervised by

Craig Huneke Craig Lee Huneke (born August 27, 1951) is an American mathematician specializing in commutative algebra. He is a professor at the University of Virginia. Huneke graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor's degree in 1973 and in 1978 earned ...

. She became assistant professor at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1992 and joined the faculty at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

in 1995, becoming full professor in 2005. In the same year she moved back to Reed. Swanson returned to Purdue in 2020 as Head of the Department of Mathematics. She is the first woman to hold the position.

Contributions

With her advisor, Craig Huneke, Swanson is the author of the book ''Integral Closure of Ideals, Rings, and Modules'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006). She is currently an Associate Editor for the

Journal of Commutative Algebra The ''Journal of Commutative Algebra'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of mathematical research that specializes in commutative algebra and closely related fields. It has been published by the Rocky Mountain Mathematics Consortium (RMMC) sinc ...

. Swanson is also a creator of mathematical

quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of padding, batting or w ...

s, and is the inventor of a quilting technique, "tube piecing", for making quilts more efficiently.

Recognition

Swanson was included in the 2019 class of fellows of 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, ...

"for contributions to commutative algebra, exposition, service to the profession and mentoring".

References

External links

Home pageTube piecing online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Irena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Yugoslav mathematicians Reed College alumni University of Michigan alumni Reed College faculty Fellows of the American Mathematical Society 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians