Emma Castelnuovo
Emma Castelnuovo (12 December 1913 – 13 April 2014) was an Italian mathematician[1] of Jewish descent.[2]
Emma Castelnuovo | |
---|---|
Born | Emma Castelnuovo 12 December 1913 |
Died | 13 April 2014 100) | (aged
Nationality | Italy |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
In 2013, the year of her 100th birthday, the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction created an award named after Castelnuovo to recognize outstanding contributions to mathematics education.[3]
Education and career
Emma Castelnuovo was born in Rome on 12 December 1913 to Elbina and Guido Castelnuovo; her father and her uncle Federigo Enriques were both professors of mathematics.[4]
Castelnuovo graduated from the University of Rome in 1936 with a thesis on algebraic geometry. After this she worked as a librarian at the same university. She won a permanent position in 1938, but in the same year Italy passed new laws preventing Jews from holding state positions, preventing her from taking it. Instead, she became a secondary school teacher from 1945 until her retirement in 1979.[4]
Contributions
Castelnuovo wrote a textbook, Geometria intuitiva, per le scuole medie inferiori (Intuitive geometry for lower secondary schools), which was first published in 1948. It had multiple later editions and translations.[4]
She served on the executive committee of the ICMI from 1975 to 1978.[4]
References
- Orlando, Lucia (14 April 2014). "Emma Castelnuovo, la matematica per antonomasia" (in Italian). europaquotidiano. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- "Mathematics, imagination and reality. The legacy of Emma Castelnuovo". Research Italy. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
- "Emma Castelnuovo Award". International Commission on Mathematical Instruction.
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Emma Castelnuovo", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.