Amalie Emmy Noether (1882 – 1935) was a genius German mathematician, whose discoveries revolutionized several fields of mathematics and physics.
A brilliant child
Amalie Emmy Noether was born on March 23, 1882 in Erlangen, Bavaria (Germany). She is the eldest of four children of Ida Amalia Kaufman and mathematician specializing in algebraic geometry Max Noether. Named Amalie like her mother and grandmother, she was quickly referred to by her middle name, Emmy.
From childhood, Emmy demonstrated intelligence and a logical mind. Like the girls of her time, alongside her school activities, she was taught dancing, piano, and housework. Gifted in French and English, Emmy successfully passed an exam to become a teacher in these subjects and obtained it with high honors. While she has the opportunity to teach in a school for young girls, she decides to pursue scientific studies at the University of Erlangen.
His journey is not easy. Among the thousand students of the university, they are only two women; they must, at the time, ask permission from the teachers to be able to access their courses. After passing her exam in 1903, Emmy went on to the University of Göttingen where she studied astronomy and mathematics for a year before returning to Erlangen. Her decision was then made:she would devote herself solely to mathematics. In 1907, she passed her thesis. Until 1915, Emmy in turn taught at the Institute of Mathematics in Erlangen, but did so on a voluntary basis. At the same time, she completes the work of her thesis and publishes supplements.
Noether's theorem
Emmy Noether's meeting with the mathematician Ernst Sigismund Fischer, who introduced her to the work of David Hilbert, influenced her career by marking the beginning of her interest in abstract algebra. The two scientists get into the habit of discussing mathematics at length, including exchanging via postcards. In 1915, the University of Göttingen manages to recruit Emmy, despite the reluctance of professors who believe that a woman should not teach. During the first years, hosted and fed by her family, she taught without remuneration or official status. However, she quickly demonstrated her genius:in 1918, she demonstrated what would become "Noether's theorem", widely used today in theoretical physics and which Albert Einstein would say is a "monument of the mathematical thought".
The title of Privatdozent
At the end of the First World War and the German revolution that followed, certain rights became available to women. After twelve years of teaching on a voluntary basis, Emmy Noether finally passes her accreditation to give lessons and obtains the title of Privatdozent (Lecturer). This title finally recognizes her merits, but she only gets a salary by becoming an algebra assistant a year later. A passionate teacher, unconcerned about appearances and favoring casual discussions with her students over traditional and structured courses, she is not unanimous among her students. Those who appreciate her teaching methods, on the other hand, are very devoted to her, and Emmy pays them back. Altruistic and patient, she favors above all the work of her students and does not hesitate, during public holidays, to give lessons in cafés or even at home. Devoid of vanity, she even sometimes gives colleagues or students credit for her own ideas to help them develop their careers.
"The greatest mathematician of all time"
In the 1920s, Emmy Noether deepened her research in abstract algebra and published important papers on ideals (in mathematics, an ideal is a remarkable subset of a ring). Brilliant and noticed, his work and his publications earned him many praises from fellow mathematicians. Irving Kaplansky, in particular, describes his 1921 article, which gave rise to the term Noetherian ring , from “revolutionary” . Norbert Wiener considers Emmy to be "the greatest mathematician who ever lived, and the greatest living woman scientist in any field, and a scholar of at least the same level as Madame Curie" . Finally, when she died, Pavel Alexandrov also said of her that she was "the greatest mathematician of all time" , when Albert Einstein wrote to the New York Times:"Fräulein Noether was the most considerable creative mathematical genius produced since women had access to higher education until today. »
In 1928 – 1929, Emmy worked for some time at Moscow State University, where she continued her research and teaching work before returning to Germany. In 1932, she received, alongside Emil Artin, the Alfred Ackermann-Teubner Prize. Despite the recognition of her peers, she still does not obtain the rank of Ordentlicher Professor (full professor), nor a fair reward for his work. The recognition of his colleagues was expressed, however, in September of the same, when Emmy was asked for a plenary lecture at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich.
In 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor. In April, he promulgated a law dismissing Jewish officials from their position. Jewish, Emmy sees her teaching position at the University of Göttingen withdrawn » . In a deleterious climate, she accepts the situation and continues research and teaching despite everything, welcoming her students to her apartment. She and her laid-off Jewish colleagues seek employment abroad, and Bryn Mawr College (near Philadelphia) quickly offers her a job, which she accepts. In the United States, she began conference cycles and continued her research with mathematicians from the region.
In April 1935, doctors diagnosed Emmy Noether with a tumor. She died a few days later, on April 14, 1935, at the age of 53. During the following weeks, tributes bloom all over the world for the one who was one of the greatest mathematicians of her time.