Mathematician talks leadership, art history

Ingrid Daubechies, a math professor at Duke University, visits campus this week for two WISEST lectures. — Photo: David von Becker

Prominent mathematician Ingrid Daubechies will speak at UIC Thursday and Friday.

“Applied aspects of her work go beyond mathematics,” said Emily Minor, associate professor of biological sciences. “She works with art historians, for example.”

Daubechies, the James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics at Duke University, is a leading authority on wavelet theory.

Daubechies will deliver a leadership lecture, “Taking Stock,” from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and a scientific lecture, “Mathematicians Helping Art Historians and Art Conservators,” from 3 to 4 p.m. Friday.

She will speak in the Cardinal Room of Student Center East.

“Both talks should be accessible to more general audiences,” Minor said.

Her visit is sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering System Transformation (WISEST) and the department of mathematics, statistics and computer science.

After research positions at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Bell Labs and Rutgers University, she became a professor of mathematics at Princeton University and president of the International Mathematical Union — the first woman to hold either of those positions.

Her work is central in image compression, video animations and the medical and biological sciences. It has been recognized with the highest scientific honors, including the Louis Empain Prize for Physics, the Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition and the Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics.