Representing a nearly three-year journey from idea to concept to event, and thanks to the tireless efforts and energy of Evelyn ‘Evie’ Jones Rich ‘54, Qinna Shen, Professor of German at Bryn Mawr College and Helen Thurston ‘74, our own Club President, the Bryn Mawr the Bryn Mawr Club of New York City is thrilled to sponsor Diving into Math with Emmy Noether by the portraittheater Vienna in co-operation with Freie Universität Berlin. One of the most influential mathematicians of the last century, Noether was welcomed to Bryn Mawr College when escaping the Nazi regime. Her works and teachings, including the crucial Noether’s Theorem, have left a lasting mark on modern algebra and physics.

With the outreach from Germany of Michigan born David Rowe, mathematician and author of Proving It Her Way - Emmy Noether, a Life in Mathematics, along with actress Anita Zieher and director Sandra Schüddekopf Diving into Math with Emmy Noether, is a unique opportunity to experience a truly collaborative effort encompassing intellectual achievement, women’s fight for equal access as well as global understanding. On stage and in videos, Emmy Noether’s fascinating personality comes alive in her reflections and conversations with other leading mathematicians of her day.

Known as the “Mother of Algebra” Emmy Noether persevered as a mathematician in Germany in the early twentieth century, when women were not encouraged to study nor could they become professors. Noether brilliantly dove into a central challenge of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and advanced the study of algebra in ways that are central to mathematics today. When Adolph Hitler came to power, Emmy Noether’s career and life might have abruptly ended in the Holocaust had she not been brought to America by the efforts of Einstein himself and Marion Edwards Parks, President of Bryn Mawr College. Beloved on campus, Noether died suddenly after an operation. Her ashes are buried in the Cloisters at Bryn Mawr but her brilliance lives on through her influence in the field of mathematics and on the education of women and as a Holocaust Survivor. It is her story that has inspired Evie Rich to champion her transformative journey for freedom, women’s rights, multi-cultural acceptance and collaboration through this remarkable production.

Diving into Math with Emmy Noether at Hunter College’s Lang Auditorium is the culminating performance of a nine-city tour and this closing night represents international efforts by David Rowe, portraittheater Vienna in co-operation with Freie Universität Berlin, the Bryn Mawr Club of New York City, Hunter College, Math for America, NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study,Grand Prix Simone et Cino del Duca de l' Académie des Sciences; équipe "Formes Automorphes", Institut Mathématiques de Jussieu, Emmy Noether’s relatives, and many other supporters. portraittheater, established in Vienna in 2006, produces works about extraordinary people, including Marie Curie, Lise Meitner, Hedy Lamarr, Hannah Arendt and Simone de Beauvoir.

We hope you will join us to celebrate the life and inspiration of the remarkable mathematician, Emmy Noether, and join us after the hour long play for a reception to continue the conversation.

WHAT: Diving into Math with Emmy Noether – a portraittheater Vienna in co-operation with Freie Universität Berlin -- a play performed at Hunter College.

WHEN: Saturday, September 24th at 5:00 PM. The play lasts about an hour and will be followed by a reception.

WHERE: Hunter College’s Ida K. Lang Recital Hall, Hunter North Room 424N; entrance on East 69th St between Park and Lexington Avenues. COVID PROTOCOLS IN PLACE

HOW MUCH: Tickets at $25; membership dues and club donations would be greatly appreciated.

Diving into Math with Emmy Noether Play at Hunter College