Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You've Never Heard Of by Helaine Becker

Emmy Noether is a little known mathematician "who solved the mystery of why some laws of physics, such as the law of gravity, never change." 

Emmy was born in Erlangen, Germany in 1882. In the late 1800's, girls were encouraged to be quiet and demure and to prepare for marriage and having a family. However, Emmy was different; she was interested in mathematics and puzzles and excelled at both.

When she turned eighteen-years-old, Emmy's father, a university professor, arranged for her to sit on some lectures. It soon became evident that Emmy was very intelligent; she often helped students with their work.

Three years later, the university allowed women to enroll as students and Emmy earned her degree. Emmy found a way to teach at university, something women were also not allowed to do at this time. 

When Albert Einstein presented his general theory of relativity, he was unable to explain how calculations (used to try to prove the theory) appeared to suggest that energy was being lost in the universe. This violated the principle of the conservation of energy. In a (closed) system, the amount of energy must be conserved; it can change form and move from one spot to another. Many scientists tried unsuccessfully to solve this puzzle.

Emmy Noether was asked to consider this problem. She took a unique approach, looking for larger patterns. When Emmy looked at a larger area of space she found that energy was being conserved, proving a part of the relativity theorem no one else was able to. Emmy's contributions to physics did not end there. She also discovered that mathematical laws of symmetry and the physical laws of conservation are connected, with each symmetry law paired with a conservation law. This became known as Noether's Theorem.Emmy made many more contributions to science, all of which where recognized by scientists but never acclaimed by the scientific world dominated by men. When war came to Germany in the 1930's, Emmy who was Jewish, was forced to flee to America. Sadly, became ill shortly afterwards and died. But her contributions to science continue to be used today.

Discussion

Helaine Becker has written an informative and engaging picture book on a woman scientist who made significant contributions to our understanding of the laws that govern the natural world. That scientist was mathematician Amalie Emmy Noether, born March 23, 1882 in Erlangen, Germany. Since girls were not allowed to attend college preparatory school, Emmy attended a finishing school to prepare her to teach English and French. Instead of teaching, she managed to audit classes at the University of Erlangen and in 1903 audited classes at the University of Gottingen. In 1904, the University of Erlangen began to allow women students so Emmy returned to their to study, earning her Ph.D in Mathematics in 1907. 

After working without pay at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen from 1908 to 1915, Emmy joined the Mathematical Institute in Gottingen in 1915. There she began working with fellow mathematicians, Felix Klein and David Hilbert on Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. It was during this time that Emmy made her contributions to the general relativity theory and developed her Neother's Theorem.

Because she was a woman, her contributions were largely unrecognized and it wasn't until 1922 that she began to receive a small salary and become an associate professor at Gottingen University. Her political views, and ethnicity (Emmy was Jewish) also led to discrimination.

However, Emmy's contributions were not just limited to helping prove part of Einstein's general relativity theory. Her work was ground-breaking in many areas of mathematics. It wasn't until 1932 that Emmy received recognition with the awarding of the Ackermann-Tuebner Memorial Prize in mathematics. 

The rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1930's meant Emmy had to flee Germany for America. Unlike her countryman and fellow scientist, Albert Einstein who was offered a teaching job at Princeton University, Emmy was refused a position because she was a woman. Sadly Emmy died at the age of 53 from post-operative complications.

Becker offers her readers an accurate portrayal of Emmy Noether's life, highlighting Emmy's resiliency, intelligence, determination and perseverance. This book is a reminder to young girls of the obstacles women experienced in the last century simply because they were women, even when they demonstrated remarkable intelligence and ability. Emmy Noether was one of many women scientists and researchers who made substantial discoveries and contributions in many fields, only for their efforts to go unrecognized. 

Each page of Emmy Noether offers short, detailed paragraphs of text accompanied by the artwork of Canadian artist, Kari Rust. The illustrations were drawn by hand and then coloured digitally. Becker has included a very detailed biography of Emmy Noether in an Author's Note in the back matter. Also included are more book suggestions in a Further Reading section. 

To learn more about Emmy Noether, check out the Perimeter Institute's lecture

You can read more about the principle of the conservation of energy from Khan Academy.

Emmy Noether image:  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/emmy-noether-should-be-your-hero-180962591/

Book Details:

Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You've Never Heard Of by Helaine Becker
Toronto: Kids Can Press     2020
40 pp.