Erica Voolich congratulates Anmol Maini on winning the Charlotte and Dr. Irving Fradkin scholarship from the Somerville Mathematics Fund.

By Rebecca Danvers

The Somerville Mathematics Fund recently announced the winners of their renewable mathematics scholarships for 2017. The Math Fund was founded to celebrate and encourage math achievement and these students deserve to be celebrated for their work in math and science while in high school. Thanks to the generosity of many individuals and a few organizations, this year they were able to award a record 8 scholarships, totaling $32,000 over four years.

Manogya Acharya will attend Boston College; Camille Chan, Tufts University; Lily Chau and Jiahui Zhao, U Mass Amherst; Alice Egar, Princeton University; Christina Keating, U Mass Lowell; Anmol Maini, MIT; and David Matthews, the University of Vermont.

Their scholarships of $1000 are renewable for up to a total of four years as long as they maintain a B average and take mathematics or courses that use mathematics.

One of the scholarships was given in the memory of an outstanding woman mathematician, the Dr. Alice T Schafer scholarship and another scholarship in honor of the founders of a local scholarship organization that grew into a national scholarship charity.

Erica Voolich congratulates Jiahui Zhao, David Matthews, Christina Keating, Lily Chau, Camille Chan, Manogya Acharya, Alice Egar and Anmol Maini on winning Somerville Math Fund renewable scholarships for outstanding work in math and science.

Alice Egar won the Alice T Schafer Scholarship. She is planning to study biology, and eventually earning a PhD. Dr. Schafer (1915 – 1909) was orphaned as an infant and raised by two aunts. When she went to college at the University of Richmond of Virginia, women students were not allowed in the library and she was discouraged from majoring in mathematics. She won prizes, earned a PhD, taught at colleges (including Wellesley) and among the things she is known for is helping start the Association for Women in Mathematics (1971).

Less known about Dr. Schafer was her helping to start the Somerville Mathematics Fund in 2000, attending all of the planning meetings and contributing to their work as long as she was able. She is remembered for her passion and work to insure mathematical opportunities for women. Since Dr. Schafer was committed to the education and supporting women in mathematics, Alice Egar’s interest in doing original research is a wonderful way to honor Dr. Alice Schafer’s memory.

Anmol Maini received the Charlotte and Dr. Irving Fradkin Scholarship. You can read the story of Dr. Fradkin’s (and his dear wife Charlotte who worked behind the scenes to help make his dream possible) at https://scholarshipamerica.org/fradkin/.

Dr. Fradkin was the founder of Dollars for Scholars, and in April 2013 retired from Scholarship America the parent organization after 50 years, and recently died in 2016. Anmol vision of the role of mathematics in all areas of science make him a perfect recipient of this award.

The Somerville Mathematics Fund was chartered in 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. In May 2011, it was recognized as the outstanding Dollars for Scholars Chapter in New England.

Since its founding, it has awarded $292,000 in mathematics scholarships to outstanding Somerville students. Next fall, The Somerville Mathematics Fund will be seeking applications from teachers who teach in the city of Somerville who would like funding for classroom mathematics activities. In October, the Math Fund will also be seeking high school students to compete in the annual Scrapheap Showdown.

For more information, to volunteer, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Erica Voolich (617-666-0666 or mathfund@gmail.com) or go to www.somervillemathematicsfund.org.