AIMS Graduation 2014
Estimating the heritability of disease traits such as TB & HIV, using DNA sequence data
Ms Angela Tabiri graduated from AIMS Ghana in 2014. “My time at AIMS Ghana increased my confidence in my ability to excel as a mathematician. Lecturers would sometimes continue helping us until almost midnight, explaining concepts and providing direction for assignments. The combination of foundational and specified courses at AIMS prepared me to enter a postgraduate diploma program at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.”
Since a young age, Angela has been motivated by her dream of becoming a teacher. Her primary and junior high schools in Ghana both lacked libraries, and with her family in a basic house there was no quiet space to study at home. Determined to reach university, Angela spent long evenings studying at her community youth centre. At the University of Ghana, lecturers encouraged Angela to major in mathematics, which led to her acceptance to AIMS Ghana.
“My research is helping me to build a solid knowledge foundation for teaching. After completing my PhD, I plan to return to the University of Ghana as a professor.”
From early in her studies, Angela has also dedicated time to teaching. Whilst at the University of Ghana, Angela worked as a teaching assistant through the Ghana National Service Scheme, on top of giving math lessons to primary and secondary school students on her own time. Angela was further inspired by the enthusiasm and approachability of her lecturers at AIMS Ghana. In recognition of her teaching and community engagement, she was awarded a Faculty of the Future fellowship by the Schlumberger Foundation to attend the University of Glasgow’s PhD program. The fellowship recognises exceptional students who have encouraged young women to pursue science.
At the University of Glasgow, Angela coauthored a paper titled, “The Nodal Cubic is a Quantum Homogeneous Space.” Slated for publish in late 2016, at the time of writing the paper had already received international attention from mathematicians working in quantum algebra, an emerging field of mathematics combining aspects of quantum theory with topology, which studies the stretching and bending of abstract space. Angela is continuing to do research on planar curves, such as the nodal cubic, to determine how they can be classified as quantum homogeneous spaces. The area of pure mathematics Angela researches is esoteric to those who have not studied maths at a high level, but Angela explains that her research is helping her build a solid knowledge foundation for teaching. After completing her PhD, Ms Tabiri plans to return to the University of Ghana as a professor.