Emmy Noether

Emmy Noether (1882-1935) was a Jewish, German mathematician born in Erlangen, Germany and was praised greatly for her influence in and contributions to mathematics in the last century. Growing up, she was expected to learn housework and the piano; she didn’t have a passion for such things but instead enjoyed languages and solving brain teasers.

Noether initially prepared to go into the teaching field after receiving her certification in languages, however, she developed a deep interest for mathematics and studied it in university despite society’s opposition to educated women. She attended the University of Erlangen where she was one of two women auditing classes among 1000 men, and became an official student in 1904 when women were allowed to officially enroll. She received her doctorate in 1907 and graduated summa cum laude—the highest academic honor awarded by universities!

Noether concentrated on abstract algebra, ring theory, and ideals, where she came up with theorems that changed the way algebraic problems were looked at. She also established a theorem— ‘Noether’s theorem’ which proved that the symmetry (something changing in a certain way without affecting the laws of physics) of physical systems corresponds to a conserved quantity (energy, momentum, angular momentum).

Emmy Noether faced many challenges in her career because of her gender and Jewish background. Even after earning her Ph.D. she worked without pay for seven years. She later fled Germany due to the rise of the Nazi regime but continues to live on through her groundbreaking contributions.