Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan were three prominent members of NASA's mathematical unit who played crucial roles in helping astronauts reach space.
In 2022, two teenagers from New Orleans continued the legacy of these mathematicians.
The achievements of Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson garnered significant attention.
The prestigious Association for Women Mathematicians, which encourages women and girls to pursue careers in the mathematical sciences, shared their story on Facebook.
On Twitter, the American Mathematical Society urged the two teens to submit their work for examination by a peer-reviewed journal.
Writing for The Guardian, Ramon Antonio Vargas reported that Calcea and Ne'Kiya, both high school students, presented their findings at an American Mathematical Society meeting, typically attended by university math researchers.
According to the conference's webpage, the American Mathematical Society Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Mathematics featured the two teens presenting "An Impossible Proof of Pythagoras" during a special session on undergraduate mathematics and statistics research.
This session attracted an audience of 800 mathematicians gathered at the Georgia Tech campus for a weekend filled with theorems, sessions, and lectures.
The abstract of their presentation stated: "In the 2000 years since the discovery of trigonometry, it has always been assumed that any alleged proof of Pythagoras's Theorem based on trigonometry must be circular. In our lecture, we present a new proof of Pythagoras's Theorem, which is based on a fundamental result in trigonometry—the Law of Sines. We show that this proof is independent of the Pythagorean trigonometric identity \(\sin^2 x + \cos^2 x = 1\)."
Nicole M. Joseph, an assistant professor of mathematics education with the Virginia Council of Mathematics Education, highlighted that "Black girls' experiences in mathematics remain invisible and largely untheorized, leading to a lack of awareness among most mathematics teachers. As a result, there are few, if any, program and learning design efforts focused on this issue."
Catherine Roberts, the executive director of the American Mathematical Society, expressed that members celebrated early-career mathematicians for their contributions to the broader mathematics community.
However, she urged them to publish their findings so that "community members can examine their results to determine whether their proofs contribute meaningfully to the mathematics literature."
Roberts also expressed hope that these mathematicians would continue their studies and build promising careers in the field, saying, "We encourage them to continue their studies in mathematics."
On October 27, 2024, Jackson and Johnson's paper, titled "Five or Ten New Proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem," was published online in The American Mathematical Monthly.
In the introduction, they noted, "Perhaps no subject in mathematics generates more confusion and anxiety for high school students than trigonometry."
The budding researchers also shared their remarkable journey, explaining that their project was sparked by a bonus question from a high school math contest, which asked participants to create a new proof of the Pythagorean theorem.
Motivated by a $500 prize, they worked on the task independently and each completed their proof in about a month.
Mr. Rich, a math volunteer at their high school, believed their proofs were innovative enough to be presented at a mathematics conference.
They were later approved to present at the American Mathematical Society's Southeastern Sectional Conference in March 2023.
"Being the youngest people in the room and the youngest presenters was terrifying, but knowing this was the culmination of all our previous efforts gave us the confidence to present," they wrote.
Following the conference, they were encouraged by the AMS to submit their findings to an academic journal.
In her Editor's Note, Della Dumbaugh, editor of The American Mathematical Monthly, mentioned that shortly after the authors presented their results at the AMS Sectional meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2023, she hoped they would submit their work to the journal.
"These young authors responded to referee reports with the finesse of established professionals in the field. I am honored that they trusted the Monthly with their important results and deeply gratified by the behind-the-scenes work of the Editorial Board of the journal," Dumbaugh wrote.
Hidden no more: Two Black teens set to continue legacy of pioneering mathematicians
"To have a paper published at such a young age—it’s really mind-blowing."
— Taylor&Francis News (@tandfnewsroom) October 28, 2024
Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson were high school students who found new proofs of Pythagoras' Theorem using trigonometry 📐
Now, they're published authors in new @maanow study 📝https://t.co/Mq8bforenc pic.twitter.com/9U2d8PXfew
Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson, who were featured on 60 Minutes last spring for their solutions to a 2,000-year-old puzzle, wowed the math world again on Monday by publishing several new ways to prove the Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry.https://t.co/qszlToxsTg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 30, 2024
Ne’Kiya Jackson and Calcea Johnson have published 10 trigonometric proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, a feat thought impossible for 2,000 years. https://t.co/9kkHY7Eyeb
— Science News (@ScienceNews) October 28, 2024
