Ulrica Wilson is a mathematician specializing in the theory of

noncommutative ring In mathematics, a noncommutative ring is a ring whose multiplication is not commutative; that is, there exist ''a'' and ''b'' in the ring such that ''ab'' and ''ba'' are different. Equivalently, a ''noncommutative ring'' is a ring that is not a ...

s and in the

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 ...

matrices Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

. She is an associate professor at

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, associate director of diversity and outreach at the

Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics The Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM), founded in 2011, is an American research institute in mathematics at Brown University, funded beginning in 2010 by a grant from the National Science Foundation. A ...

(ICERM), and a former vice president of the

National Association of Mathematicians The National Association of Mathematicians is a professional association for mathematicians in the US, especially African Americans and other minorities. It was founded in 1969.

Education and career

Wilson is

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, and originally from Massachusetts, but grew up in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. She is a 1992 graduate of

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

, and completed her Ph.D. at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 2004. Her dissertation, ''Cyclicity of Division Algebras over an Arithmetically Nice Field'', was supervised by Eric Brussel. Wilson has contributed to the advancement of black women, women of color, and women in general in the field of mathematical sciences through the program EDGE Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education, which is a program that helps minorities with support in order to achieve academic goals and obtain Doctoral Degrees. After two stints as a postdoctoral researcher, she joined the Morehouse College faculty in 2007, and became associate director at ICERM in 2013. She serves on the Education Advisory Board for ICERM. In collaboration with ICERM, Wilson is also co-director of the REUF program, The Research Experience for Undergraduate Faculty, this program was founded under the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) to provide undergraduate faculty a community of scholars that support exchange and expand research ideas and projects to engage in with undergraduate students.

The EDGE Program

In 2011, Wilson became Co-Director of the EDGE Program, a program to mentor, train, and support the academic development and research activities of women in mathematics. The program was designed to focus on training and creating jobs in mathematical sciences for women, especially those from underrepresented groups. The EDGE program helped increase the number of women, especially in minority groups, to take over in academia, industry and government roles. The EDGE program first began offering summer sessions to equip women in research providing annual conferences, mini-research, and collaborations with prestigious universities. The EDGE program has since expanded and its activities are centered on providing ongoing support for women toward the academic development and research productivity of women at several critical stages of their careers. EDGE focuses on women at 4 career stages--entering graduate students, advanced graduate students, postdoctoral students, and early career researchers. Since Wilson became Co-Director, over 50 women participated in various EDGE program activities and 18 EDGE participants received their PhDs. Numerous women have been granted sabbatical support and one woman was even able to use her mini-sabbatical to continue and build her research with a senior mathematician at Purdue University.

Recognition

In 2003, Wilson was awarded the Marshall Hall Award from Emory College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellent performance while teaching and outstanding research as a doctoral student. Wilson was the Morehouse College Vulcan Teaching Excellence Award winner for 2016–2017. She 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. In 2018, she won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. She is on the Board of directors of Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE), a program that helps women entering graduate studies in the mathematical sciences. She was included in the 2019 class of fellows 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 ...

" for her many years of supporting the professional development of women in their pursuit of graduate degrees in mathematics, most visibly through mentoring, teaching and program administration within the EDGE Program, and also as associate director of diversity and outreach at The

(ICERM)".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ulrica Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American mathematicians American women mathematicians African-American mathematicians Spelman College alumni Emory University alumni Morehouse College faculty Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics 21st-century women mathematicians 21st-century American women