Jacqueline Ann Jensen-Vallin is an American mathematician. She is an associate professor of mathematics at Lamar University, the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of '' MAA FOCUS'', the newsletter of 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, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

(MAA), and the governor of the Texas Section of the MAA. Her research interests include combinatorial group theory, low-dimensional topology, and

knot theory In the mathematical field of topology, knot theory is the study of knot (mathematics), mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are ...

; she is also known for her work in mathematics education and the history of

women in mathematics This is a timeline of women in mathematics. Timeline Early Common Era Before 350: Pandrosion, a Greek Alexandrine mathematician known for an approximate solution to doubling the cube and a simplified exact solution to the construction of the geo ...

Education and career

Jensen-Vallin did her undergraduate studies at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

, completing a double major in mathematics and psychology in 1995. She went to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

for her graduate studies, and completed her doctorate there in 2002. Her dissertation, ''Finding

\pi_2

-Generators for Exotic Homotopy Types of Two-Complexes'', concerned

algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...

and was supervised by Michael Dyer. After completing her doctorate, she joined the faculty at

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

in 2002. She moved to Lamar University in 2014.

Book

With Janet Beery, Sarah J. Greenwald, and Maura B. Mast, Jensen-Vallin is an editor of the book ''Women in Mathematics: Celebrating the Centennial of the Mathematical Association of America'' (Springer, 2017).

Awards and honors

Jensen-Vallin was one of the 2008 winners of the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member. 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 ...

gave her their Service Award in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen-Vallin, Jacqueline Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians University of Connecticut alumni University of Oregon alumni Sam Houston State University faculty Lamar University people 21st-century women mathematicians 21st-century American women