Elizabeth McHarg

Elizabeth Adam McHarg (22 April 1923 – 29 April 1999)[1] was a Scottish mathematician who, in 1965, became the first female president of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society.[2][3]

Education

McHarg studied at the Glasgow High School for Girls and then at the University of Glasgow, earning a master's degree with first-class honours in mathematics and natural philosophy in 1943. The university awarded her the Thomas Logan Medal and a George A. Clark scholarship, funding her as a researcher at Girton College, Cambridge.[1] At Girton, she studied nonlinear partial differential equations with Mary Cartwright and completed her Ph.D. in 1948.[1][4]

Career and contributions

McHarg returned to the University of Glasgow as a lecturer in 1948. There, she became an expert in special functions.[1] She also translated the text Differential Equations by Francesco Tricomi from Italian into English; her translation was published in 1961 by Hafner and republished in 2012 by Dover Publications.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Martin, Dan (7 May 1999), "Dr Elizabeth McHarg", The Herald (Glasgow). Reprinted as "Elizabeth A. McHarg", Glasgow Mathematical Journal, 42 (3): 487–488, September 2000, doi:10.1017/s0017089500030159
  2. ^ "Edinburgh Mathematical Society – Presidents", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, retrieved 2018-10-12
  3. ^ Hoyles, Celia (December 2017), "Female Presidents for Three Maths Societies", Mathematics Today, Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
  4. ^ "Mary Lucy Cartwright: Students", Celebratio Mathematica, Mathematical Sciences Publishers, retrieved 2018-10-12
  5. ^ Kazarinoff, N. D., "Review of Differential Equations", Mathematical Reviews, MR 0138812