Tatiana Shubin is a Soviet and American mathematician known for her work developing

math circle A math circle is a learning space where participants engage in the depths and intricacies of mathematical thinking, propagate the culture of doing mathematics, and create knowledge. To reach these goals, participants partake in Problem solving, pro ...

s, social structures for the mathematical enrichment of secondary-school students, especially among the Navajo and other

Native American people Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...

. She is a professor of mathematics at

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

in California.

Education and career

Shubin is originally from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, the daughter of a criminologist and a lawyer; she is of Jewish descent on her father's side. When she was ten, her family moved to Almaty in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, where her father had taken a university teaching position. After competing in the All Siberian Mathematics Competition she was invited to a special science boarding school in

Akademgorodok Akademgorodok ( rus, Академгородок, p=ɐkəˌdʲemɡərɐˈdok, "Academic Town") is a part of the Sovetsky District of the city of Novosibirsk, Russia, located south of the city center and about west of Koltsovo. It is the edu ...

, but after spending 8th grade there her parents brought her back to Almaty where she finished high school at age 16. She studied for five years at

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, earning a bachelor's degree there, but was expelled for non-participation in political activities and instead earned a master's degree at

Kazakh State University Al-Farabi Kazakh National University ( kz, Әл-Фараби атындағы Қазақ ұлттық университеті, Äl-Farabi atyndağy Qazaq Ūlttyq Universitetı), also called KazGU or KazNU, is a university in Almaty, Kazakhstan ...

in Almaty. After obtaining a letter of invitation from an Israeli, she was allowed to leave the Soviet Union, spent nine months in Austria, and then emigrated to the US in 1978, with support from the

Tolstoy Foundation The Tolstoy Foundation is a non-profit charitable and philanthropic organization. It was established on April 26, 1939, by Alexandra Tolstaya, the youngest daughter of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and her friend Tatiana Schaufuss. Its headquarter ...

. She completed a Ph.D. at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

in 1983, and joined the San José State University faculty as a lecturer in 1985.

Math circles

Shubin founded the San José Math Circles. She co-founded the first math teachers' circle in 2006, and is a leader of the Math Teachers’ Circle Network that developed out of this circle. She was a co-founder of the Navajo Nation Math Circles project in 2012, and is a director of the Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles.

Publications

Shubin is the coeditor of several books on mathematics: *''Mathematical Adventures for Students and Amateurs'' (edited with David F. Hayes, Mathematical Association of America, 2004) *''Expeditions in Mathematics'' (edited with

Gerald L. Alexanderson Gerald Lee Alexanderson (1933–2020) was an American mathematician. He was the Michael & Elizabeth Valeriote Professor of Science at Santa Clara University, and in 1997–1998 was president of the Mathematical Association of America. He was also ...

and David F. Hayes, Mathematical Association of America, 2011) *''Inspiring Mathematics: Lessons from the Navajo Nation Math Circles'' (edited with Dave Auckly, Bob Klein, and Amanda Serenevy, MSRI Mathematical Circles Library 24, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and American Mathematical Society, 2019) Her work developing math circles among the Navajo was featured in the documentary film ''Navajo Math Circles'' (2016), broadcast on the

Public Broadcasting System The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Recognition

Shubin was the 2006 winner of the Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics of the Golden Section (Northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii) of the Mathematical Association of America. She was the 2017 winner of the

Mary P. Dolciani Award The Mary P. Dolciani Award is an award established in 2012 by the Mathematical Association of America. The award recognizes a pure or applied mathematician with a record of distinguished contributions to K-16 mathematics education in the United S ...

of the Mathematical Association of America. She has been named a Sequoyah Fellow by the

American Indian Science and Engineering Society The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional association with the goal of substantially increasing American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, First Nation and other ...

. The Navajo Todích’íí’nii (Bitter Water) clan have adopted her as a member.

References

External links

Home page at SJSU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shubin, Tatiana Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians Soviet mathematicians Soviet women mathematicians Soviet people of Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to the United States Mathematics educators Moscow State University alumni Al-Farabi Kazakh National University alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni San Jose State University faculty 21st-century American women