Astrid Beckmann ( Rautenberg, born 20 December 1957) is a German physicist, a professor of

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although rese ...

, and was a long-serving university president. Beckmann served as president of the Pädagogische Hochschule Schwäbisch Gmünd from 2010 to 2018. She also taught at the

University of Ulm Ulm University (german: Universität Ulm) is a public university in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer sci ...

Life and career

Beckmann was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. While at school, she recorded one first-place finish and one second-place finish in the national German math competition Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik. Upon finishing her school studies in 1976, she read mathematics and physics at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. Beckmann then wrote her physics thesis, which dealt with resistance measurements on metallic compounds, at the Helmholtz Center for Materials and Energy (HZB). Having successfully completed her teacher training in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, she took up a position as a physicist in the Institute of Physics at

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

. During her time in Frankfurt’s "crystal lab". Beckmann tackled issues relating to materials research with a focus on rare earth compounds. In 1989, Beckmann obtained a doctorate in mathematics at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

with a thesis on teaching geometry proofs to 12- to 15-year-old students (supervised by Heinz Schwartze and Günter Pickert). She then continued her work in the field of mathematics education, initially with the help of a scholarship from the Hessen State Ministry for Higher Education, Research and the Arts. From 1994 to 2003, she taught mathematics and physics in Lemgo and at Leibniz University Hanover. She completed her postdoctorate at this latter institution in 2003 in mathematics education. Beckmann’s thesis addressed the development of a model concept for interdisciplinary teaching, with a focus on mathematics in connection to physics, language and computer science. Following a brief period as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

at Leibniz University Hannover, Beckmann was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education at the University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd in 2003.Department of Mathematics and Informatics
of University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd She headed the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science from 2003 to 2005 and was vice-president for Research, Development, and International Relations between 2005 and 2008. Beckmann was unanimously elected president of the University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd in 2009 and occupied this post from 2010 to 2018. Beckmann was deputy chair of the State Rectors’ Conference for Universities of Education (LRK) from 2011 to 2015, subsequently taking over as chair between April 2015 and 2017. As a member of the LRK board, she also represented the Universities of Education in the Senate of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckmann, Astrid 21st-century German physicists Living people Scientists from Berlin Free University of Berlin alumni University of Giessen alumni Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt Academic staff of the University of Ulm German women physicists 20th-century German mathematicians German women mathematicians Mathematics educators 21st-century German mathematicians 1957 births 20th-century German women scientists 21st-century German women scientists 20th-century German physicists