Minerva Cordero Braña is a Puerto Rican mathematician and a professor of mathematics at the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

. She is also the university's Senior Associate Dean for the College of Science, where she is responsible for the advancement of the research mission of the college. President Biden awarded her the

Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by the United States White House in 1995. The program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on ...

(PAESMEM) on February 8, 2022.

Early life and education

Cordero was born in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

. Her mother, whose schooling stopped after the fifth grade, made education a top priority in the family home. She told her children "the best thing I can give you is an education." Cordero and her siblings would do their homework together and discussed what they learned in school each day. Cordero said, "We learned each other's subjects." Wanting to go to college, Cordero bought herself a college exam preparation book in high school and studied for the college-entrance exam. She states that her exam scores were the highest scores for her high school, Miguel Melendez Munoz High School. Cordero attended the Universidad de Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras and received her B.S. in Mathematics in 1981. She was granted a National Science Foundation Minority Graduate Fellowship which she used to attend the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

to obtain her masters in mathematics in 1983. She continued her studies at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, and obtained her Ph.D. in mathematics in 1989 under Norman Johnson.

Career and research

Cordero's research is in the area of finite semifields (

non-associative algebras A non-associative algebra (or distributive algebra) is an algebra over a field where the binary multiplication operation is not assumed to be associative. That is, an algebraic structure ''A'' is a non-associative algebra over a field ''K'' if ...

) and their associated planes (viewed affinely or projectively) in the general area of

finite geometry A finite geometry is any geometry, geometric system that has only a finite set, finite number of point (geometry), points. The familiar Euclidean geometry is not finite, because a Euclidean line contains infinitely many points. A geometry based ...

. After earning her Ph.D., Cordero worked as an associate and an assistant professor at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

until 2001, when she joined the faculty at the

. Cordero served as 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 ...

's Governor-at-Large for Minority Interests from 2008 to 2011. Cordero's most-cited work is ''A survey of finite

semifield In mathematics, a semifield is an algebraic structure with two binary operations, addition and multiplication, which is similar to a field, but with some axioms relaxed. Overview The term semifield has two conflicting meanings, both of which inc ...

s''. She was the Principal Investigator for a

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

grant of $2.85 million awarded to the

in 2009 for a project that placed mathematics graduate students in

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

public schools to enhance teaching and learning in the classrooms and to inspire students to pursue careers in

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

Awards and honors

*New Faculty Award, Texas Tech University, 1994 *Professor of the Year, student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America at Texas Tech University, 1995 *President's Excellence in Teaching Award, Texas Tech University, 1999 *Outstanding Hispanic Women of the South Plains, South Plains Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2000 *Featured Biography, Mathematical Association of America Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement (SUMMA) Program, 2001 *University of Texas Board of Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award, 2009 *Featured Biography, SACNAS Biography Project, 2011 *Certificate of Meritorious Service,

, 2012 *Ford Legendary Women (Mujeres Legendarias de Ford), 2016 *Great Minds in STEM 2016 HENAAC Award Education Distinction, 2016 *

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 ...

IF/THEN Ambassador, 2019 *Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM), 2022 *Fellow 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 ...

in the Class of 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Minerva Geometers Women mathematicians 21st-century Puerto Rican scientists University of Puerto Rico alumni UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni University of Iowa alumni University of Texas at Arlington faculty Living people People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Texas Tech University faculty Year of birth missing (living people)