Ruth Elke Lawrence-Neimark ( he, רות אלקה לורנס-נאימרק, born 2 August 1971) is a British–Israeli
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
and an associate professor of mathematics at the
Einstein Institute of Mathematics
The Einstein Institute of Mathematics () is a centre for scientific research in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1925 with the opening of the university. A leading research institute, the institute's faculty has in ...
,
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, and a researcher in
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
algebraic topology
Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariant (mathematics), invariants that classification theorem, classify topological spaces up t ...
. Outside academia, she is best known for having been a
child prodigy
A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...
in
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 ...
.
Early life
Ruth Lawrence was born in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, England. Her parents, Harry Lawrence and Sylvia Greybourne, were both computer consultants. When Lawrence was five, her father gave up his job so that he could
educate her at home.
Education
At the age of nine, Lawrence gained an
O-level
The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...
in mathematics, setting a new age record (later surpassed in 2001 when
Arran Fernandez successfully sat
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
mathematics aged five). Also at the age of nine she achieved a Grade A at
A-level
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
pure mathematics
Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...
.
[
In 1981 Lawrence passed the ]Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
entrance examination in mathematics, joining St Hugh's College
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...
in 1983 at the age of 12.
At Oxford, her father continued to be actively involved in her education, accompanying her to all lectures and some tutorials. Lawrence completed her bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in two years, instead of the normal three, and graduated in 1985 at the age of 13 with a starred first and special commendation. Attracting considerable press interest, she became the youngest British person to gain a first-class degree, and the youngest to graduate from the University of Oxford in modern times.[
Lawrence followed her first degree with a bachelor's degree in physics in 1986 and a ]Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
(DPhil) degree in mathematics at Oxford in June 1989, at the age of 17. Her doctoral thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
title was ''Homology representations of braid groups'' and her thesis adviser was Sir Michael Atiyah
Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (; 22 April 1929 – 11 January 2019) was a British-Lebanese mathematician specialising in geometry. His contributions include the Atiyah–Singer index theorem and co-founding topological K-theory. He was awarded th ...
.
Academic career
Lawrence and her father moved to America for Lawrence's first academic post, which was at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where she became a junior fellow in 1990 at the age of 19. In 1993, she moved to the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where she became an associate professor with tenure in 1997.
In 1998, Lawrence married Ariyeh Neimark, a mathematician at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, and adopted the name Ruth Lawrence-Neimark. The following year, she moved to Israel with him and took up the post of associate professor of mathematics at the Einstein Institute of Mathematics
The Einstein Institute of Mathematics () is a centre for scientific research in mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1925 with the opening of the university. A leading research institute, the institute's faculty has in ...
, a part of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[
]
Research
Lawrence's 1990 paper, "Homological representations of the Hecke algebra
In mathematics, the Hecke algebra is the algebra generated by Hecke operators.
Properties
The algebra is a commutative ring.
In the classical elliptic modular form theory, the Hecke operators ''T'n'' with ''n'' coprime to the level acting on ...
", in ''Communications in Mathematical Physics
''Communications in Mathematical Physics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Springer. The journal publishes papers in all fields of mathematical physics, but focuses particularly in analysis related to condensed matter physics, sta ...
'', introduced, among other things, certain novel linear representations of the braid group — known as Lawrence–Krammer representation In mathematics the Lawrence–Krammer representation is a representation of the braid groups. It fits into a family of representations called the Lawrence representations. The first Lawrence representation is the Burau representation and the se ...
s. In papers published in 2000 and 2001, Daan Krammer and Stephen Bigelow established the faithfulness of Lawrence's representation. This result goes by the phrase "braid group
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
s are linear."
Awards and honors
In 2012 she became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...
.List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
retrieved 2013-01-27.
Selected publications
*Lawrence, R.J
An explicit symmetric DGLA model of a triangle, joint with Itay Griniasty (2018)
*Lawrence, R.J
A formula for topology/deformations and its significance,joint with Dennis Sullivan Fundamenta Mathematica 225 (2014) 229-242.
*Lawrence, R.J.
Homological representations of the Hecke algebra
Communications in Mathematical Physics, V 135, N 1, pp 141–191 (1990).
*Lawrence, R. and Zagier, D.
Modular forms and quantum invariants of 3-manifolds
Asian Journal of Mathematics, V 3, N 1, pp 93–108 (1999).
*Lawrence, R. and Rozansky, L.
Witten–Reshetikhin–Turaev Invariants of Seifert Manifolds
Communications in Mathematical Physics, V. 205, N 2, pp. 287–314 (1999).
References
External links
Ruth Lawrence's home page
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Ruth
1971 births
20th-century British mathematicians
21st-century British mathematicians
Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford
English mathematicians
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Harvard Fellows
Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty
Israeli mathematicians
Living people
Topologists
University of Michigan faculty
British women mathematicians
20th-century women mathematicians
21st-century women mathematicians