Ina Kersten (born 1946) is a German mathematician and former president of the

German Mathematical Society The German Mathematical Society (german: Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung, DMV) is the main professional society of German mathematicians and represents German mathematics within the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and the International Mathe ...

. Her research concerns

abstract algebra In mathematics, more specifically algebra, abstract algebra or modern algebra is the study of algebraic structures. Algebraic structures include groups, rings, fields, modules, vector spaces, lattices, and algebras over a field. The te ...

including the theory of

field extension In mathematics, particularly in algebra, a field extension is a pair of fields E\subseteq F, such that the operations of ''E'' are those of ''F'' restricted to ''E''. In this case, ''F'' is an extension field of ''E'' and ''E'' is a subfield of ...

s and

algebraic group In mathematics, an algebraic group is an algebraic variety endowed with a group structure which is compatible with its structure as an algebraic variety. Thus the study of algebraic groups belongs both to algebraic geometry and group theory. ...

s. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded i ...

. Kersten was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, and earned her Ph.D. at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

in 1977. Her dissertation, ''p-Algebren über semilokalen Ringen'', was supervised by

Ernst Witt Ernst Witt (26 June 1911 – 3 July 1991) was a German mathematician, one of the leading algebraists of his time. Biography Witt was born on the island of Alsen, then a part of the German Empire. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved the ...

. She completed a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on ...

in 1983. Kersten was president of the German Mathematical Society from 1995 to 1997, which meant she was the first woman to head the society. Under her leadership, the society founded the journal ''Documenta Mathematica''.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kersten, Ina 1946 births Living people 20th-century German mathematicians Women mathematicians Algebraists University of Hamburg alumni University of Göttingen faculty Presidents of the German Mathematical Society