Life On The Job

 

Professor Nalini Joshi (1950 -    ) Mathematician  AO

 

Nalini Joshi at board
(Source: USyd)

Nalini Joshi is a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow in mathematics and the Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney - she is the first woman in the School to hold this position.

She develops mathematical methods to study solutions of integrable systems which arise as universal models in physics, such as the Painleve equations.Her more general research interests lie in non-linear differential and difference equations, with a particular focus on asymptotic methods.

Currently, Nalini is particularly interested in creating a geometric framework to reveal properties of critical solutions of nonlinear models that reflect universal structures in physical models.

Specific research areas: Integrable systems, the Painlevé equations, geometric asymptotics, nonlinear dynamics, slow-fast systems, nonlinear waves, chaos, perturbation theory
(Source: The Conversation)

 

"I am a mathematician and Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney. I went to school in Sydney, after my family emigrated from Burma [Myanmar], and completed my BSc (Hons 1M) at the University of Sydney.

Having become obsessed with wanting to understand the universe, I decided to pursue further study in applied maths and got a Masters and PhD in computational and applied mathematics at Princeton University.
" (Source: Sydney University)

 

Introduction

The socio-political upheaval in Burma brought the Joshis to Australia back in the 1970s. Independent and free spirited, the world of numbers always fascinated the young Nalini.

“My father was in the Burmese army and I grew up near jungles with wild animals. I had the freedom to explore all day long so long as I went to school and that’s what I actually seek every time I look at mathematics; it’s an adventure, an exploration, forging new paths into territories nobody else has looked at before,” she explained.

As a young girl With her dad and brother
 With her Dad and brother

(Source: SBS News)



As a medical practitioner, Joshi’s father wanted her to follow his footsteps and so she did, enrolling in medicine briefly, only to transfer to pure sciences, much to his chagrin.

Browsing through her high school photographs recently, she realises that she was one of only two Asian faces.

“I was the only one who could be described as having a different skin colour to the others. Surprisingly, this never occurred to me as a point of difference, growing up in Australia as an immigrant. I knew I was different, but I thought that was because I was an avid reader, with my face in a book most of the time, and very interested in unusual things, particularly science and space travel,” she remembered, nostalgically.

At university, Joshi found her true passion. Completing a science degree with first class honours, Joshi went on to win the Sydney University medal in applied mathematics. She then moved to Princeton to complete her PhD.

After stints around Australia and overseas, she returned to the University of Sydney in 2002 as Chair of Applied Mathematics. Soon after she was appointed Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, once again becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Joshi was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and has held a number of positions with the Australian Mathematical Society, including its presidency. She was Chair of the National Committee for Mathematical Sciences and board member of the Australian Mathematics Trust.

“While it takes courage and determination to succeed in most things in life, I think it took more resilience to become a successful academic, while also happening to be a woman who had children,” she admitted. (Source: AMSI Higher Education)


Education

Undergraduate: B.Sc. (Hons) (1978 - 81) at the University of Sydney .
Postgraduate: Ph.D. (1982 - 86) (including M.A. (1984)) at Princeton University (New Jersey, USA), Advisor: Martin D. Kruskal.


Opportunities & Experiences

Current:

ARC Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow and Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney.

Visiting Positions: University of Colorado, Boulder, Princeton University, Rutgers University, University of Exeter, Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University, Research Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University, University of Turku, Finland, University of Paris VII, University of Manchester, University of Joensuu, Finland, University of Leeds.


Academic Positions:

  • Australian National University
    Postdoctoral Fellow (1987)
    Research Fellow and Lecturer (1988 - 90)

  • University of New South Wales
    Lecturer (1990 - 94)
    Senior Lecturer (1994 - 1997)

  • University of Adelaide
    Australian Research Council Senior Research Fellow (1997 - 2002)
    Associate Professor/Reader (1998 - 2002)

  • University of Sydney
    Chair of Applied Mathematics (2002 - )
    Director, Centre for Mathematical Biology (2006 - 2013)
    Head of School of Mathematics and Statistics (2007 - 2009)
    Associate Head (2010 - )

Other Positions:

  • Australian Academy of Science
    Elected Fellow (March 2008)
    Elected Member of Council (2012 - 2015)
    National Committee for Mathematical Sciences
    Chair (January 2011 - )
    Member (January 2010 - )

  • Australian Mathematical Society
    President (December 2008 - September 2010)
    Vice-President (September 2005 - September 2007)
    Incoming President (September 2007 - September 2008)
    Outgoing President (September 2010 - September 2011)
    Elected Member of Council (2011 - 2013, 2013 - )

  • International Mathematical Union (IMU) - Vice-President 2018

  • Australian Mathematics Trust
    Board Member (August 2010 - 2013) (Source: Nalini Joshi)


Links

bullet.gif (981 bytes) Nalini Joshi - Personal website

Personal website
bullet.gif (981 bytes)Introduction to Nalini Joshi - Uni Sydney

Introduction to Nalini
bullet.gif (981 bytes)AMSI - Professor Nalini Joshi

AMSI

bullet.gif (981 bytes)University of Sydney

University of Sydney Staff profile page

bullet.gif (981 bytes)Sydney Morning Herald 30 March 2016

SMH



bullet.gif (981 bytes)The Conversation 1 April 2016

The Conversation


bullet.gif (981 bytes)The Conversation 7 December 2015

The Conversation
bullet.gif (981 bytes)The Conversation 16 September 2015

The Conversation

bullet.gif (981 bytes)The Conversation 11 March 2014

The Conversation



bullet.gif (981 bytes)SBS News 24 January 2017

SBS

bullet.gif (981 bytes)ABC News 31 March 2016

ABC News
 

bullet.gif (981 bytes)YouTube: The Weekly: Nalini Joshi (2016)
https://youtu.be/I7-MAdUPGhQ




bullet.gif (981 bytes)YouTube: The ICM 2018: Nalini Joshi
https://youtu.be/DMxpCKvNJkc




bullet.gif (981 bytes)YouTube: An Australian maths first: Nalini Joshi
https://youtu.be/4b-hqNlPIsk




bullet.gif (981 bytes)YouTube: Q&A - Time Travel, Teaching and The Meaning of Life (2014) (1 hr duration)
https://youtu.be/Lt7nDzB4F0s



bullet.gif (981 bytes)YouTube: SAGE interviews - Professor Nalini Joshi
https://youtu.be/TgFTiGJg8Mg







Activities

bullet.gif (981 bytes)Fabulous Fibonacci

PrimaryPrimary TeacherTeacher

NumeracyAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Numeracy

LiteracyAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

 

1. There are 5 Lessons in the following Mensa for Kids. Select one or all of the lessons from the following PDF:

Learning Objectives

After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:
a. Introduction to Fibonacci Numbers: Explain Fibonacci numbers and their origin.
b. Finding Fibonacci: Identify Fibonacci numbers in nature and art.
c. Working with Fibonacci: Generate the next numbers in the Fibonacci sequence; Create a Fibonacci rectangle and spiral.
d. Play with Fibonacci: Create an original number sequence.
e. Write with Fibonacci: Write an acrostic Fibonacci poem.

  

Mensa for Kids

 

 

 

 

bullet.gif (981 bytes)Community of Inquiry: Labels and Assumptions of Women in STEM

MiddleMiddle High SchoolSecondary

CriticalAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability
Literacy
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

NumeracyAustralian Curriculum General Capability: Numeracy

Ethical Understanding Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

PhilosophyPhilosophy

Cooperative LearningCooperative Learning Activity

 

1. As a class, you are going to conduct a Community of Inquiry. Read over the structure and process of a CoI before commencing this activity.

Community of Inquiry

2. Your stimulus material is an article written by Prof. Nalini Joshi along with two other authors in The Conversation 1 April 2016. Reading

The Conversation

3. As a class group, read through the article above paragraph by paragraph.

4. In pairs, write up a question for each of the four quadrants below:

Question Quadrant

5. Put all the "Questions for Thinking" on a piece of butcher's paper or the whiteboard and collate those questions that seem to be asking the same thing. The question which is asked most, starts off the classroom discussion.

Discussion

 

 

 

 

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