Pamela Estephania Harris (born November 28, 1983) is a Mexican-American mathematician, educator and advocate for immigrants. She is currently a professor at the

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, was formerly an associate professor at

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 ...

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

and is co-founder of the online platform Lathisms. She is also an editor of the e-mentoring blog of the American Mathematical Society (AMS).

Early life and career

Harris first emigrated with her family from Mexico to the United States when she was 8 years old. They returned to Mexico, before eventually settling in Wisconsin when Harris was 12. Because she was undocumented, she could not attend university. Instead, she studied at the

Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical and community college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. MATC offers day, evening, weekend and online classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, O ...

, where she earned two associate degrees in two and a half years. After she married a US citizen and her immigration status changed, she transferred to

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in mathematics. She went on to complete her master's degree and in 2012 a PhD at the

. Her Ph.D. dissertation was advised by Jeb F. Willenbring. Harris was a Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) fellow in 2012. She was a Davies Research Fellow at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, and, in 2016, joined the faculty at Williams College where she was an associate professor. In 2022, she joined the faculty at the

as an associate professor. Harris studies

algebraic combinatorics Algebraic combinatorics is an area of mathematics that employs methods of abstract algebra, notably group theory and representation theory, in various combinatorial contexts and, conversely, applies combinatorial techniques to problems in algeb ...

, in particular the representation of

Lie algebras In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced ) is a vector space \mathfrak g together with an operation called the Lie bracket, an alternating bilinear map \mathfrak g \times \mathfrak g \rightarrow \mathfrak g, that satisfies the Jacobi identi ...

. In order to understand this representation she studies vector partition functions, in particular

Kostant's partition function In representation theory, a branch of mathematics, the Kostant partition function, introduced by , of a root system \Delta is the number of ways one can represent a vector (Weight (representation theory), weight) as a non-negative integer linear com ...

. She is also interested in

graph theory In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...

and

number theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

. In 2016 she co-founded an online platform called 'Lathisms' which aims to promote the contributions of Latinxs and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences. In 2020 she co-authored the book "Asked and Answered: Dialogues On Advocating For Students of Color in Mathematics". Harris, along with Aris Winger, run a podcast, Mathematically Uncensored, through th
Center for Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences
Starting in October 2020, they discussed current issues in mathematics that minorities encounter.

Recognition

In 2020, Harris was selected as part of the inaugural class of Karen EDGE Fellows. In 2019, Harris won 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 ...

Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member, for her mentorship towards undergraduate research and for being a "fierce advocate for a diverse and inclusive mathematics community." She further received the early career Faculty Mentor Award from the Council of Undergraduate Research in the Mathematics and Computer Sciences Division. She was a 2022 winner of the

Deborah and Franklin Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics are awards given by the Mathematical Association of America to recognize college or university teachers "who have been widely recognized as ...

. She gave one of the

Invited Addresses at the 2019

Joint Mathematics Meetings The Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) is a mathematics conference hosted annually in early January by the American Mathematical Society (AMS). Frequently, several other national mathematics organizations also participate. From 1998 to 2020, the JMM ...

. In 2019 she was a featured speaker at the national conference of the

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science The Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1973. It is the largest multicultural STEM diversity organization in the United States, with a mission to advance the success ...

(SACNAS). She was named a Fellow 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, ...

, in the 2022 class of fellows, "for contributions to algebraic combinatorics, for mentorship of undergraduate researchers, and for contributions to a more equitable and inclusive mathematical community". In 2022 she will become a 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 ...

, "For exceptional leadership in establishing programs and mentoring networks that support, encourage, and advance women and underrepresented minorities in the mathematical sciences; and for contributions through public speaking that create positive systemic change in the culture and climate of the mathematics profession." In 2018 Harris was featured in the book '' Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics''.

References

External links

Personal webpage

Curriculum vitaeMeet a Mathematician!Video interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Pamela E. 21st-century American women mathematicians 21st-century Mexican educators Mexican mathematicians Mexican women mathematicians Williams College faculty University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty 21st-century American mathematicians Combinatorialists 1983 births Living people Marquette University alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Mexican emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Mathematical Society 21st-century Mexican women educators Mexican scientists