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Zvezdelina Stankova

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Zvezdelina Entcheva Stankova
Born
Ruse, Bulgaria
NationalityBulgarian
Alma materBryn Mawr College
Harvard University
Known forStudying permutations with forbidden subsequences
Establishing math circles
AwardsAlice Schafer Prize (1992)
Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award (2011)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsMills College
University of California, Berkeley
Doctoral advisorJoe Harris
Websitewww.mills.edu/academics/faculty/math/stankova/stankova.php

Zvezdelina Entcheva Stankova (Bulgarian: Звезделина Станкова) is a professor of mathematics at Mills College in Oakland, California, the founder of the Berkeley Math Circle, and an expert in the combinatorial enumeration of permutations with forbidden patterns.

Biography

Stankova was born in Ruse, Bulgaria.[1] She began attending the Ruse math circle as a fifth grader in Bulgaria, the same year she learned to solve the Rubik's Cube[2] and began winning regional mathematics competitions.[3] She later wrote of this experience that "if I was not a member of Ruse SMC I would not be able to make such profound achievements in mathematics".[4] She became a student at an elite English-language high school, and competed on the Bulgarian team in the International Mathematical Olympiads in 1987 and 1988, earning silver medals both times.[1][5] She entered Sofia University but in 1989, as the Iron Curtain was falling, became one of 15 Bulgarian students selected to travel to the US to complete their studies.[1]

Stankova studied at Bryn Mawr College, completing bachelor's and master's degrees there in 1992,[6] with Rhonda Hughes as a faculty mentor.[7] While an undergraduate, she participated in a summer research program with Joseph Gallian at the University of Minnesota Duluth, which began her interest in permutation patterns.[8] Next, she went to Harvard University for her doctoral studies, and earned a Ph.D. there in 1997; her dissertation, entitled Moduli of Trigonal Curves, was supervised by Joe Harris.[9]

She worked at the University of California, Berkeley as Morrey Assistant Professor of Mathematics[10] before joining the Mills College faculty in 1999,[6] and continues to teach one course per year as a visiting professor at Berkeley.[11][12] She also serves on the advisory board of the Proof School in San Francisco.[3]

Contributions

In the theory of permutation patterns, Stankova is known for proving that the permutations with the forbidden pattern 1342 are equinumerous with the permutations with forbidden pattern 2413, an important step in the enumeration of permutations with a length-4 forbidden pattern.[8][13]

In 1998 she became the founder and director of the Berkeley Math Circle, an after-school mathematics enrichment program that Stankova modeled after her early experiences learning mathematics in Bulgaria.[2][14][7][15] The Berkeley circle was only the second math circle in the US (after one in Boston); following its success, over 100 other circles have been created,[2] and Stankova has assisted in the formation of many of them.[11] With Tom Rike, she is co-editor of two books about her work with the Berkeley Math Circle, A Decade of the Berkeley Math Circle: The American Experience (Vol. I, 2008, Vol. II, 2014).[16]

Also in 1998, she founded the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad.[10] For six years, she served as a coach of the US International Mathematical Olympiad team.[7][17]

Awards and honors

In 1992, Stankova won the Alice Schafer Prize of the Association for Women in Mathematics for her undergraduate research in permutation patterns.[8][11] In 2011 Stankova won the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching, given by the Mathematical Association of America, "for her outstanding work in teaching, mentoring, and inspiring students at all levels, and in leading the development of Math Circles, and promoting participation in mathematics competitions".[11][7][17] From 2009 to 2012 she was the Frederick A. Rice Professor of Mathematics at Mills.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Vigoda, Ralph (October 23, 1991), "Bulgarian Math Whiz Wows 'Em: Zvezdelina Stankova Already Is Joining The Ranks Of Top Mathematicians. "She's A Genius," Says Bryn Mawr's Head Of Math", The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. ^ a b c Weld, Sarah (April 2014), "Proving Their Passion: The Berkeley Math Circle gives math kids a place to find solutions—together", The East Bay Monthly
  3. ^ a b "Zvezdelina Stankova", Mathematical Sciences Advisory Board, Proof School, retrieved 2016-02-02.
  4. ^ Ruse Students Mathematical Circle (PDF), Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, retrieved 2016-02-02.
  5. ^ Participant record: Zvezdelina Stankova, International Mathematical Olympiad, retrieved 2016-02-02.
  6. ^ a b "Zvezdelina Stankova", Mathematics Faculty and Staff, Mills College, retrieved 2016-02-01.
  7. ^ a b c d Bakke, Katherine (April 6, 2011), "Zvezdelina Stankova '92 Carries on a Bryn Mawr Tradition: Excellent Teaching in Mathematics", Meaningful Contributions, Bryn Mawr College.
  8. ^ a b c Third Annual Alice T. Schafer Prize, Association for Women in Mathematics, July 1992, retrieved 2016-02-02.
  9. ^ Zvezdelina Stankova at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  10. ^ a b Keith, Tamara (February 10, 1999), UC Berkeley mathematicians feed the minds of young local math whizzes, University of California, Berkeley.
  11. ^ a b c d "Haimo Award Citation: Zvezdelina Stankova" (PDF), January 2011 Prizes and Awards, American Mathematical Society, p. 4, January 7, 2011.
  12. ^ Stankova's home page at Berkeley, retrieved 2016-02-02.
  13. ^ Bona, Miklos (2012), Combinatorics of Permutations, Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications (2nd ed.), CRC Press, pp. 154–155, ISBN 9781439850527.
  14. ^ Vandervelde, Sam (2009), Circle in a Box, MSRI mathematical circles library, vol. 2, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and American Mathematical Society, pp. 4, 34, ISBN 9780821847527.
  15. ^ Bloom, Melanie (October 21, 2013), Moms Everyday: Making Math Fun, 10/11.
  16. ^ MSRI Mathematical Circles Library, National Association of Math Circles, retrieved 2016-02-01.
  17. ^ a b Melendez, Lyanne (February 25, 2011), Mills College professor wins highest math award, ABC7 News.
  18. ^ Curriculum vitae: Zvezdelina Stankova (PDF), retrieved 2016-02-01.
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