Jennifer McLoud-Mann is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

mathematician known for her 2015 discovery, with

Casey Mann Casey Mann is an American mathematician, specializing in discrete and computational geometry, in particular tessellation and knot theory. He is Professor of Mathematics at University of Washington Bothell, and received the PhD at the University ...

and undergraduate student David Von Derau, of the 15th and last class of

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope ...

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

s to tile the plane. She is a professor of mathematics at the

University of Washington Bothell The University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell) is a branch campus of University of Washington in Bothell, Washington. It was founded in 1989 and is located just northwest of the junction of Interstate 405 and State Route 522, and it shares ...

, where she is currently the Vice Dean of Curriculum & Instruction of the School of STEM. Beyond tiling, her research interests include

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 ...

and

combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many appl ...

Education

McLoud-Mann is a 1997 graduate of

East Central University East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

with a B.S. degree in Mathematics. She then completed a M.S. in Mathematics at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in 1998. McLoud-Mann completed her Ph.D. in 2002 from the

. Her dissertation in

commutative algebra Commutative algebra, first known as ideal theory, is the branch of algebra that studies commutative rings, their ideals, and modules over such rings. Both algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory build on commutative algebra. Prominent ...

, supervised by Mark Ray Johnson, was titled ''On a Certain Family of Determinantal-Like Ideals''.

Career

Upon completing her doctorate, McLoud-Mann joined the

University of Texas at Tyler The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) is a public research university in Tyler, Texas. Founded in 1971, it is a part of the University of Texas System. UT Tyler consists of five professional colleges and one traditional college of arts and ...

faculty. In addition, she was associate dean of arts and sciences from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, she moved to the

where she chaired the School of STEM's Engineering & Mathematics division for three years. In September 2020, she became the Associate Dean of Curriculum & Instruction for the School of STEM. After two years of research, McLoud-Mann and research co-director

found the 15th kind of pentagon that can tile a plane. This discovery was facilitated by undergraduate researcher David Von Derau, who automated an algorithm developed by McLoud-Mann and Mann. It was the first tile discovery in 30 years.

Awards

McLoud-Mann won the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member 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 ...

in 2008. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Distinguished Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity award, which recognizes scholarly or creative achievement exemplifying the research-intensive education environment of the

Personal life

Mcloud-Mann is

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

. She was the first in her family to obtain a college degree.

References

External links

Home page
*'' Convex pentagons that admit i-block transitive tilings'' *
Pent Up: Using Pentagons to Tile a Plane
' {{DEFAULTSORT:McLoud-Mann, Jennifer Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Native Americans American people of Cherokee descent East Central University alumni Native American scientists Native American women academics American women academics Native American academics University of Arkansas alumni University of Texas at Tyler faculty University of Washington Bothell faculty 21st-century Native American women Native American women scientists