Chikako Mese

Chikako Mese
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Dayton (BA)
Stanford University (PhD)
Scientific career
Fieldsdifferential geometry, geometric analysis
InstitutionsConnecticut College
Johns Hopkins University
Thesis Minimal Surfaces and Conformal Mappings Into Singular Spaces  (1996)
Doctoral advisorRichard Schoen

Chikako Mese is an American mathematician known for her work in differential geometry, geometric analysis and the theory of harmonic maps. She is a professor of mathematics at Johns Hopkins University.[1]

Education and career

Mese graduated from Elk Grove High School (Elk Grove Village, Illinois) in 1987.[2] As a softball player at Elk Grove, she broke the national record for the number of runs scored in a season, with 69 runs.[3][4] Although primarily a catcher, she played in seven different positions for her team, and also tied the state record for the most walks in a season, 35.[5][4]

She earned a bachelor's degree in 1991 from the honors program at the University of Dayton, majoring in mathematics,[6] and completed a Ph.D. in mathematics at Stanford University in 1996. Her dissertation, Minimal Surfaces and Conformal Mappings Into Singular Spaces, was supervised by Richard Schoen.[7]

Before joining the Johns Hopkins University faculty in 2004 as an associate professor,[8] she held assistant professorships at the University of Southern California and Connecticut College.[6] At Johns Hopkins, she became the first tenured female mathematician.[2] She was promoted to full professor in 2007, and chaired the mathematics department from 2008 to 2011.[8]

Recognition

In 2007, Elk Grove High School recognized Mese as a distinguished alumna.[2] She was named a Simons Fellow by the Simons Foundation in 2017.[8] She was elected as a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in the 2020 Class, for "contributions to the theory of harmonic maps and their applications, and for service to the mathematical community".[9]

References

  1. ^ "Chikako Mese", Directory, Johns Hopkins University Mathematics, 11 June 2015, retrieved 2019-11-03
  2. ^ a b c Ahern, Sheila (October 2, 2007), "District 214 to honor alumni", Daily Herald
  3. ^ "Elk Grove wins regional, record falls", Chicago Tribune, June 2, 1987
  4. ^ a b IHSA Girls Softball All-Time Records, Illinois High School Association, retrieved 2019-11-03
  5. ^ Young, Linda (June 15, 1987), "Morton star leads softball team", Chicago Tribune
  6. ^ a b "Chikako Mese, Class of 1991", Alumni: Experiences in higher education, Honors Ink: News and notes from the University of Dayton's Honors Program, p. 5, January 2011
  7. ^ Chikako Mese at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  8. ^ a b c Hirsch, Arthur (March 24, 2017), "Two Hopkins mathematicians among winners of Simons Fellowships", Hub, Johns Hopkins University, retrieved 2019-11-03
  9. ^ 2020 Class of the Fellows of the AMS, American Mathematical Society, retrieved 2019-11-03