Ruth Haas is an American

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 ...

and professor at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa 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 ...

. Previously she was the Achilles Professor of Mathematics at Smith College. She received the

M. Gweneth Humphreys Award The M. Gweneth Humphreys Award or Humphreys Award is a mathematics award established by the Association for Women in Mathematics in recognition of mathematics educators who have exhibited outstanding mentorship. The award is named for Mabel Gweneth ...

from 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 ...

(AWM) in 2015 for her mentorship of women in mathematics. Haas was named an inaugural AWM Fellow in 2017. In 2017 she was elected President of the AWM and on February 1, 2019 she assumed that position.

Education

Haas received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, her

Master of Science 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 medici ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, and 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 ...

from

in 1987. Prior to becoming a professor at the University of Hawaii, Haas was Achilles Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Career

Ruth Haas taught at Smith College for many years. She was instrumental in establishing the Center for Women in Mathematics and the post-baccalaureate program at Smith. She has developed and supported several other initiatives, including an undergraduate research course, the annual Women In Mathematics In the Northeast (WIMIN) conference, a program for junior visitors, a high school outreach program, and weekly seminars. The AWM honored Ruth Haas’s outstanding achievements in inspiring undergraduate women to discover and pursue their passion for mathematics and eventually becoming mathematicians by awarding her the 2015 M. Gweneth Humphreys Award.

References

External links

* Cornell University alumni 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Living people University of Hawaiʻi faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Smith College faculty Mathematicians from Hawaii Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics Swarthmore College alumni 20th-century American women mathematicians 21st-century American women mathematicians {{US-mathematician-stub