Minerva Cordero

Minerva Cordero
Born Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Alma mater B.S., Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1981
M.S., University of California, Berkeley, 1983
PhD, University of Iowa, 1989
Known for finite geometries
Scientific career
Fields Mathematics
Institutions Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Arlington
Thesis On p-primitive Planes

Minerva Cordero is a Puerto Rican mathematician, and a professor of mathematics at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is also the university's associate dean of academic affairs.[1]

Early life and education

Cordero was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Her mother, whose schooling stopped after the fifth grade, made education a top priority in the family home. She told her children "the best thing I can give you is an education." Cordero and her siblings would do their homework together and discussed what they learned in school each day. Cordero said, "We learned each other's subjects". Wanting to go to college, Cordero bought herself an SAT preparation book in high school and studied for the exam. Her SAT exam scores are the highest scores for her high school, Miguel Melendez Munoz High School.[2]

Cordero attended the Universidad de Puerto Rico and received her B.S. degree in 1981. She applied for and was granted a National Science Foundation Minority Graduate Fellowship. She applied to graduate schools in the United States and was accepted by the University of California Berkeley. Cordero graduated from Berkeley in 1983 with a M.S. in Mathematics. She continued her studies at the University of Iowa, and obtained her PhD in 1989.[2]

Professional career

After earning her PhD, she worked as an Associate and Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University until 2011, when she joined the faculty at Arlington.[1] She studies finite geometry.[3] Cordero served as the Mathematical Association of America's Governor-at-Large for Minority Interests from 2008 to 2011.[4][5] Her most cited work is A survey of finite semifields.[6] She was the Principal Investigator for a $2.85 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to the University of Texas Arlington in 2009 for a project that places graduate students in Arlington public schools to improve math teaching. [7]

Awards

In 1994, Cordero received the New Faculty Award at Texas Tech University.[2] In 1995, she was awarded Professor of the Year by the student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America at Texas Tech University.[2] In 2009 she was among nine faculty members to receive the Board of Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards at the University of Texas Arlington.[8] Dr. Cordero was recognized as Ford’s 2016 Legendary Woman[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "College of Science". www.uta.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hill, Vicki. "Minerva-Cordero Epperson". MAA. Mathematical Association of America. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "SACNAS Biography Project". bio.sacnas.org. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  4. ↑ "Minerva Cordero, University of Texas at Arlington – AWM Association for Women in Mathematics". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  5. ↑ "January 2012 Prizes and Awards" (PDF). American Mathematical Society. January 5, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ Cordero, M.; Wene, G.P. (1999). "A survey of finite semifields". Discrete Mathematics. 208-209 (28 October 1999): 125–137. doi:10.1016/S0012-365X(99)00068-0.
  7. ↑ Stevens, Sue. "UT Arlington math department wins $2.85 million NSF grant; project places graduate students in Arlington public schools to improve math teaching". University of Texas Arlington. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Nine UT Arlington faculty members recognized for teaching excellence". University of Texas Arlington. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Unamo, Liz. "Minerva Cordero of Texas University at Arlington acknowledged as Ford's Legendary Woman". PRODU. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
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