Suzanne L. Weekes is the Executive Director of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. She is also Professor of

Mathematical Sciences The mathematical sciences are a group of areas of study that includes, in addition to mathematics, those academic disciplines that are primarily mathematical in nature but may not be universally considered subfields of mathematics proper. Statist ...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...

(WPI). She is a co-founder of the

Mathematical Sciences Research Institute The Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath), formerly the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), is an independent nonprofit mathematical research institution on the University of California campus in Berkeley, Califo ...

Undergraduate Program.

Education

Weekes is Caribbean-American, and was born and raised in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. She graduated in 1989 from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

with a major in mathematics and a minor in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

. She went on to get an MS in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

in 1990 and a PhD in Mathematics and Scientific Computing in 1995 at 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 ...

Career

Weekes is the co-director of the Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematical Sciences, which helps faculty in the U.S. engage their students with Industrial math research. She is a professor of mathematical sciences at Worcester Polytechnic Institute as well as a cofounder of MSRI-UP, a research experience for undergraduates that aims to increase under represented groups in math programs by providing them with research opportunities. In July 2019, she became Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at WPI. In December 2019, she was elected to the executive committee of 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 ...

as an at large member.

Awards and recognition

In 2015, Weekes received the Denise Nicoletti Trustees' Award for Service to Community. Weekes was recognized by

Mathematically Gifted & Black Mathematically Gifted & Black (MGB) is a website that features the accomplishments of black scholars in mathematical sciences. In addition to highlighting the work and lives of established mathematicians in the African Diaspora, the platform aims ...

as a Black History Month 2017 Honoree. She received the 2019 M. Gweneth Humphreys Award for mentorship from the Association for Women in Mathematics. She won the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America in 2020. She was honored as the 2022 AWM-MAA Etta Zuber Falconer Lecturer.

References

Trinidad and Tobago scientists Trinidad and Tobago women scientists American women mathematicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American mathematicians 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians 20th-century women mathematicians 21st-century women mathematicians University of Michigan alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people {{US-mathematician-stub