Jennifer J. Quinn is an American mathematician specializing in

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many ...

, and professor of mathematics at the University of Washington Tacoma. She sits on the board of governors 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 ...

, and is serving as its president for the years 2021 and 2022. From 2004 to 2008 she was co-editor of

Math Horizons ''Math Horizons'' is a magazine aimed at undergraduates interested in mathematics, published by the Mathematical Association of America. It publishes expository articles about "beautiful mathematics" as well as articles about the culture of mathem ...

Education and career

Quinn went to

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

as an undergraduate, graduating in 1985. She earned a master's degree from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

in 1987, and completed her doctorate at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1993. Her dissertation, ''Colorings and Cycle Packings in Graphs and Digraphs'', was supervised by Richard A. Brualdi. She taught at Occidental College until 2005, when she gave up her position as full professor and department chair to move with her husband, biologist Mark Martin, to Washington. She became a part-time lecturer, and executive director of the Association for Women in Mathematics, until earning a faculty position at Tacoma in 2007.

Recognition

Quinn won a Distinguished Teaching Award from the

in 2001, and the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics of the association in 2007. Quinn's book with Arthur T. Benjamin, '' Proofs that Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof'' (2003) won the CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Title of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

and the Beckenbach Book Prize of the Mathematical Association of America. In 2018, Quinn was elected an officer-at-large member of the board of directors of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). In 2020, Quinn joined the board of directors of the MAA as president-elect. Her term as president began in 2021. In 2022 she will become a fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics, "For her outstanding achievements as a teacher, mentor, leader, expositor, and editor; for her pioneering service as AWM executive director; and for continued service as AWM volunteer and supporter."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Jennifer Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Combinatorialists Williams College alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Occidental College faculty University of Washington faculty 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians