Known in Ghana as the Queen of Mathematics, Dr Angela Tabiri is the first African to win The Big Internet Math Off competition – quite an achievement for someone who has barely done any maths.
The 35-year-old Ghanaian “finds joy in solving mathematical puzzles and problems” and hopes her win in 2024 will open up the world of mathematics to other African women – who have traditionally been discouraged from doing it ' taking the subject.
Sixteen mathematicians were invited to compete for the tongue-in-cheek title of “world's most interesting mathematician” – a public voting event started in 2018 by the blog Aperiodical .
The first winner was Dr Nira Chamberlain, the first black mathematician to be included in Britain's Who's Who and vice-president of the professional body, the Institute of Applied Mathematics his
During the event they all compete against each other – so two in each match – and then it's off to the quarter-finals and semi-finals until the big match comes to decide who explained their chosen mathematical concept in the clearest way.
Dr. Tabiri's passion is quantum algebra, or transient algebra, which she studies at the Ghana branch of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIM).
Goals began in South Africa and then expanded to Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Rwanda – to provide postgraduate training and research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr Tabiri is also the academic manager for the Girls in Mathematical Sciences Programme, a mentoring and support scheme for secondary or high school girls in Ghana.
It was established by Ams-Ghana in 2020 to “ensure that we have a pipeline of young girls who will be at the forefront of research and innovation in the mathematical sciences – in academia and also business”.
Dr Angela Tabiri breaks the stereotype that maths is a “boy's subject” (Angela Tabiri)
Dr Tabiri says that the numbers of girls and boys who study maths in high school are roughly the same but they then drop at university level.
This is partly because, she says, female students assume that if they do maths, the only job they can do is teach, because maths is still seen as ” boy subject” – and there are very few female role models.
This is something that Dr. Tabiri is trying to change.
But her journey to mathematics was not easy.
She grew up in Ashaiman, one of the poorest and densely populated areas of Tema, an industrial center and port an hour's drive east of the capital, Accra.
Her family home was happy but noisy – she has four siblings – and Dr Tabiri would often seek the peace and quiet of the local youth community center to study.
She wanted to follow in the footsteps of two sisters and study business administration at university.
“Numbers and puzzles fascinated me – but I never thought a career in mathematics was for me””, Source: Dr Angela Tabiri , Source description: Mathematics, Image: Dr Angela Tabiri a ' laughing as she holds a prize
But her grades, although high, were not high enough – so she was accepted for maths and economics.
“It was a blessing in disguise,” Dr. Tabiri says. “Numbers and puzzles fascinated me – but I never thought that a career in mathematics was for me.
In 2015, Dr. Tabiri received a scholarship to do his PhD at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. It was hard work, she says – and it was there that she experienced a special moment.
She went to see Hidden Figures, the film about black American women mathematicians who worked at the US space agency, NASA, in the 1950s, during segregation in the US.
“It was amazing to see the story of these black women told on that global stage,” she recalls. “I had a lot of goose bumps watching it.”
She was particularly inspired by Katherine Johnson, whose incredible mathematical skills and calculations were so critical to the success of US spaceflight.
“Katherine Johnson worked so hard – and for a long time her work was hidden. She made me realize that all I have to do is keep going.
“If your work is not even recognized now, it will be recognized sometime in the future. It was a real turning point for me.”
Ghana reached a historic milestone in 2024 when Dr. Gloria Botchway became the first woman to graduate from the University of Ghana with a PhD in mathematics.
It was a journey full of hardships – including selling water and yams by the side of the road as a six-year-old child.
Dr Tabiri seeks to support other African girls and women from less privileged backgrounds to pursue their mathematical dreams through her non-profit organization FemAfricMaths.
Along with other volunteers, she gives lessons to the youngest high school students in person and online.
She also posts on social media interviews she conducts with leading female mathematicians from around the world.
Dr Tabiri is also passionate about the potential of quantum science and technology – for which mathematics is essential.
She is proud that Ghana, with the support of Mexico, spearheaded proposals for 2025 to be named the UN's International Year of Quantum Science and Technology – the 100th anniversary of the discovery of modern quantum mechanics .
Quantum mechanics emerged from studies to discover how very small particles – the most fundamental components of matter, energy and light – interact with each other to make up the world.
It led to the development of the Internet, solar cells, and global navigation satellite systems.
Researchers and major tech companies from around the world – including China, the US, the UK, Australia and South Africa – are now racing to develop quantum technologies, the introduction of quantum computers and highly precise measuring and sensing devices.
The hope is that complex problems will be solved at lightning speeds – and that there will be big innovations in fields such as medicine, environmental sciences, food production and cyber security.
“There are a lot of discussions now – the pros and cons – the jobs that will be created,” said Dr Tabiri.
Dr Angela Tabiri wants children to aim high (Angela Tabiri)
Africa's rapidly growing population, already the world's youngest, will be the world's largest workforce by 2040, according to the UN.
“But that doesn't mean we get the jobs,” says Dr. Tabiri.
She hopes to organize a “quantum roadshow” as the first step in introducing school children to quantum science at a much earlier age than she was.
“We want young people to start taking an interest in it and pick up all the relevant skills during their basic education,” she said.
The road show will be based on a quantum computing course he recently held for high school girls who attend classes at Ams-Ghana during their holidays.
The course discussed what it takes to build a quantum computer, its current fragility – and the challenges that quantum computing presents to current systems, such as cryptography.
Working with Unesco, Dr. Tabiri will also host a week-long “Quantum Hackathon” in July at Ams-Ghana for about 40 postgraduate students from various African countries.
“We want them to use their quantum skills to solve some of the biggest challenges we face, real problems,” says Dr Tabiri.
“It is very urgent to position our youth for this next great revolution.”
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(Getty Images/BBC)
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