Strength in Numbers
| September 14, 2016
THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE “Those who only know math as a series of mysterious formulae have no concept of what a dynamic creative expanding science mathematics is the language in which all other sciences are couched.”
Name: Professor Malka Schaps│Profession: Mathematics Professor University Dean│Location: Bnei Brak
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ot everyone knows Malka Schaps of Bnei Brak is the person behind the pen name Rachel Pomerantz author of a series of best-selling novels. These days Malka Schaps is famous in her own name.
As a math professor Schaps has authored over 50 academic papers. But her biggest claim to fame is her appointment as dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences atBar-IlanUniversity — the first chareidi woman inIsraelto hold such a position.
The Lure of Logarithms
Professor Schaps was drawn to mathematics in school — an unusual interest for a girl. “I was lucky to have had excellent math teachers” she explains. “But I was also very good at math. Children start learning math at an early age. Those who stay in the field are those who are both good enough at it and enjoy it enough not to drop out.”
Professor Schaps’s journey from an enthusiastic high school math student to faculty dean has been far from easy and the main reason for that she believes is her gender. As a young math student Professor Schaps recalls “I would look up at the professors in the field and wonder — at what point are the girls stopped? Look at me — I was the only girl in my advanced math class….”
Professor Schaps was no stranger to discrimination toward female students. She gives a shocking example in her book A Time to Rend A Time to Sew. A high school girl attending a math summer camp came out top in the final examination. Incredibly because it was so unacceptable that a girl should beat all the boys the exam markers searched out mistakes in her exam and upgraded the top boys’ marks to preserve the old order and allow a boy to win. “I didn’t invent those scenarios in my books ” Professor Schaps says. “They really happened!”
Another obstacle for Professor Schaps was the infamous “old boy network” which she explains works against women. “It’s all about connections and who knows who. And since most of the people at the top are men those connections are used to get their students into good positions and so the old boy network perpetuates itself for yet another generation.” That meant Professor Schaps had to work twice as hard to progress in her career. “Sometimes I felt like I was waging a double battle. My promotions were always harder to get and took longer than the men’s.”
Was the struggle worthwhile? “Definitely. Those who only know math as a series of mysterious formulae have no concept of what a dynamic creative expanding science mathematics is the language in which all other sciences are couched. Computers the space program and medical advances all sit on foundations of solid mathematics ” she asserts.
Professor Schaps also enjoys teaching particularly helping her research students mostly women complete their doctorates. “My first student eventually became chief scientist of the Ministry of Science but she did that on her own. I’m prouder of those I coaxed into learning to make conjectures and prove theorems who now teach in colleges.”
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