Vivien Kirk is a New Zealand mathematician who studies

dynamical system In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a Function (mathematics), function describes the time dependence of a Point (geometry), point in an ambient space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a ...

s. She is a professor of mathematics at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, where she also serves as associate dean, and was president of the New Zealand Mathematical Society for 2017–2019.

Education and career

After earning bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Auckland, Kirk went to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

for doctoral studies. She completed her Ph.D. in 1990; her dissertation, ''Destruction of tori in dissipative flows'', was supervised by

Nigel Weiss Nigel Oscar Weiss FRS (16 December 1936 – 24 June 2020) was an astronomer and mathematician, and leader in the field of astrophysical and geophysical fluid dynamics. He was Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Astrophysics at the University ...

. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and at the California Institute of Technology. Kirk's notable students include

Alona Ben-Tal Alona Ben-Tal is an Israeli and New Zealand applied mathematician who works as an associate professor and deputy head of school in the School of Natural and Computational Sciences at Massey University. Her research concerns dynamical systems an ...

Books

Kirk is the co-author of the books ''Mathematical Analysis of Complex Cellular Activity'' (Springer, 2015) and ''Models of Calcium Signalling'' (Springer, 2016).

Recognition

In 2017, Kirk won the

Miriam Dell Dame Miriam Patricia Dell ( Matthews; 14 June 1924 – 22 March 2022) was a New Zealand women's advocate, botanist and schoolteacher. She was the president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand from 1970 to 1974 and the first New Zea ...

Excellence in Science Mentoring Award of New Zealand's Association for Women in the Sciences, in part for her efforts in founding and running a series of annual workshops for young women in mathematics and physics since 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Vivien Year of birth missing (living people) Living people New Zealand women mathematicians Academic staff of the University of Auckland 21st-century New Zealand mathematicians