Proving It Her Way: Emmy Noether, a Life in Mathematics

The name Emmy Noether is one of the most celebrated in the history of mathematics. A brilliant algebraist and iconic figure for women in modern science, Noether exerted a strong influence on the younger mathematicians of her time and long thereafter; today, she is known worldwide as the mother of modern algebra. Drawing on original archival material and recent research, this book follows Emmy Noether’s career from her early years in Erlangen up until her tragic death in the United States. After solving a major outstanding problem in Einstein’s theory of relativity, she was finally able to join the Goettingen faculty in 1919. Proving It Her Way offers a new perspective on an extraordinary career, first, by focusing on important figures in Noether’s life and, second, by showing how she selflessly promoted the careers of several other talented individuals. By exploring her mathematical world, it aims to convey the personality and impact of a remarkable mathematician who literally changed the face of modern mathematics, despite the fact that, as a woman, she never held a regular professorship.

Written for a general audience, this study uncovers the human dimensions of Noether’s key relationships with a younger generation of mathematicians. Thematically, the authors took inspiration from their cooperation with the ensemble portraittheater Vienna in producing the play Diving into Math with Emmy Noether. Four of the young mathematicians portrayed in Proving It Her Way - B.L. van der Waerden, Pavel Alexandrov, Helmut Hasse, and Olga Taussky - also appear in Diving into Math.