Susanna Samuels Epp (born 1943) is an
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
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
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
. Her interests include
discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that can be considered "discrete" (in a way analogous to discrete variables, having a bijection with the set of natural numbers) rather than "continuous" (analogously to continuous f ...
,
mathematical logic
Mathematical logic is the study of logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory. Research in mathematical logic commonly addresses the mathematical properties of for ...
,
cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which ...
, and
mathematics education, and she has written numerous articles, publications, and textbooks. She is currently professor emerita at
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...
, where she chaired the Department of Mathematical Sciences and was Vincent de Paul Professor in Mathematics.
Education and career
Epp holds degrees in mathematics from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, where she completed her doctorate in 1968 under the supervision of
Irving Kaplansky. She taught at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and at the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...
before becoming a professor at DePaul University.
Contributions
Initially researching
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 ...
, Epp became interested by cognitive psychology, especially in education of Mathematics,
Logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
,
Proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a con ...
, and the
Language of mathematics
The language of mathematics or mathematical language is an extension of the natural language (for example English) that is used in mathematics and in science for expressing results (scientific laws, theorems, proofs, logical deductions, etc) with ...
. She wrote several articles about teaching logic and proof in ''
American Mathematical Monthly
''The American Mathematical Monthly'' is a mathematical journal founded by Benjamin Finkel in 1894. It is published ten times each year by Taylor & Francis for the Mathematical Association of America.
The ''American Mathematical Monthly'' is an e ...
'', and the ''Mathematics Teacher'', a Journal by the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...
.
She is the author of several books including ''Discrete Mathematics with Applications'' (4th ed., Brooks/Cole, 2011), the third edition of which earned a Textbook Excellence Award from the
Textbook and Academic Authors Association.
"By combining discussion of theory and practice, I have tried to show that mathematics has engaging and important applications as well as being interesting and beautiful in its own right" - Susanna S. Epp wrote in the Preface of the 4th Edition of ''Discrete Mathematics.''
Recognition
In 2005, she received the
Louise Hay Award from 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 ...
in recognition for her contributions to mathematics education.
Selected publications
*
*
* Epp, S.S., Variables in Mathematics Education. In Tools for Teaching Logic. Blackburn, P., van Ditmarsch, H., et al., eds. Springer Publishing, 2011. (Reprinted in Best Writing on Mathematics 2012, M. Pitici, Ed. Princeton Univ. Press, Nov. 2012.)
* Epp, S.S., V. Durand-Guerrier, et al. Argumentation and proof in the mathematics classroom. In Proof and Proving in Mathematics Education,
G. Hanna & M. de Villiers Eds. Springer Publishing. (co-authors: V. Durand-Guerrier, P. Boero, N. Douek, D. Tanguay), 2012.
* Epp, S.S., V. Durand-Guerrier, et al. Examining the role of logic in teaching proof. In Proof and Proving in Mathematics Education,
G. Hanna & M. de Villiers Eds. Springer Publishing, 2012.
* Epp, S.S., Proof Issues with Existential Quantification. In Proof and Proving in Mathematics Education: ICMI Study 19 Conference Proceedings, F. L. Lin et al. eds., National Taiwan Normal University, 2009.
* Epp, S.S., The Use of Logic in Teaching Proof. In Resources for Teaching Discrete Mathematics. B. Hopkins, ed. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 2009, pp. 313–322.
* Epp, S.S., The Role of Logic in Teaching Proof, American Mathematical Monthly (110)10, Dec. 2003, 886-899
* Epp, S.S., The Language of Quantification in Mathematics Instruction. In Developing Mathematical Reasoning in Grades K-12. Lee V. Stiff, Ed. Reston, VA: NCTM Publications, 1999, 188-197.
* Epp, S.S., The Role of Proof in Problem Solving. In Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving. Alan H. Schoenfeld, Ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers, 1994, 257-269.
References
External links
Susanna Epp's webpage at De Paul contains a brief biography of Susanna S. Epp.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Susanna
1943 births
20th-century American mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
American women mathematicians
Living people
DePaul University faculty
Mathematical logicians
Women logicians
21st-century American women mathematicians
20th-century American women mathematicians