Mary McCammon explained

Mary Lister McCammon
Birth Name:	Mary Lister
Alma Mater:	University of London (BSc, MSc) Imperial College London (PhD)
Workplaces:	Pennsylvania State University Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Fields:	Mathematics
Doctoral Advisor:	D. N. de G. Allen
Thesis Title:	The relaxation method applied to the solution of problems of viscous flow
Thesis Url:	https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.587179
Thesis Year:	1953

Mary Lister McCammon (23 August 1927 – 11 April 2008)^[1] was a British mathematician and professor at Pennsylvania State University. She was the first woman to complete a doctoral degree in mathematics at Imperial College London, which she did in 1953.

Early life and education

McCammon studied mathematics at the University of London, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a master's in 1950.^[2] She was the first woman to earn a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London^[3] gaining her doctorate in 1953^[4] for her work on mathematical models of viscous flow supervised by D. N. de G. Allen.^[4]

Career and research

She joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology for postdoctoral research. McCammon joined Pennsylvania State University in 1954. She introduced classes in numerical analysis, calculus and computer programming.^[5] She served as director for undergraduate studies twice, first between 1963 and 1975, and again from 1988 to 1998. McCammon was promoted to Professor in 1992. She created the first mathematics placement test, which were given to all freshmen.^{[6] [7]}

Awards and honours

• 1982 Christian Mary Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching^[8]
• 1984 Teresa Cohen Service Award^[9]
• 1991 Eberly College of Science Distinguished Service Award^[10]
• 1998 C.I. Knoll Award for Excellence in Teaching^[11]

In 2000, Pennsylvania State University announced the Mary Lister McCammon Award, a scholarship for undergraduate studies, as well as the McCammon Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching named in her honour.^{[12] [13]} In 2019, Imperial College London announced the Mary Lister McCammon Summer Research Fellowship for undergraduate women mathematicians.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Faculty and Staff News of Record: Obituaries May 8, 2008. Pennsylvania State University. 2019-10-13.
2. Web site: Mathematics Professor is Recognized by the Mathematical Association of America . https://web.archive.org/web/20181103061321/http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/1999-news/mccammon3-1999.htm. 2018-11-03. S H K. 1999. Eberly College of Science. science.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.
3. Web site: The Mary Lister McCammon Summer Research Fellowship: for women in mathematics and statistics. https://web.archive.org/web/20190310224850/http://www.imperial.ac.uk/mathematics/postgraduate/the-mary-lister-mccammon-summer-research-fellowship/. 2019-03-10. Anon. 2019. imperial.ac.uk. Imperial College London. en-GB. 2019-03-09.
4. Mary. Lister. The relaxation method applied to the solution of problems of viscous flow. PhD. 1953. Imperial College London. . 10044/1/12362. imperial.ac.uk. 1006072068.
5. Web site: NSF Award Search: Award#8813779 - Revitalization of Calculus. nsf.gov. 2019-03-09.
6. Web site: McCammon Receives C.I. Noll Award for Teaching . Eberly College of Science. science.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.
7. Web site: Newsletter of the MAA. 1989. maa.org. Mathematical Association of America. 2019-03-09.
8. Web site: Milton S. Eisenhower Award (Lindback Award from 1958 to 1991). Schreyer Institute. 2020-06-01.
9. Web site: Teresa Cohen Mathematical Service Award . Department of Mathematics. math.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.
10. Web site: Eberly College of Science Distinguished Service Award. Eberly College of Science. 2020-06-01.
11. Web site: Former Winners of the C. I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching — Eberly College of Science. science.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.
12. Web site: Mary Lister McCammon Award . Department of Mathematics. math.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.
13. Web site: Personal Photos - James A. Sellers. personal.psu.edu. 2019-03-09.