Queen of math with quantum mission to mentor girls

Dr. Angela Tabiri, known as the Maths Queen in Ghana, is the first African to win The Big Internet Math Off competition – quite an achievement for someone who did not initially plan to study mathematics.

The 35-year-old Ghanaian “finds joy in solving puzzles and mathematical questions” and hopes her 2024 win will open up the world of mathematics to other African women – who have traditionally been discouraged from taking up the subject.

Sixteen mathematicians were invited to compete for the title of “World’s Most Interesting Mathematicians” – a public vote program launched in 2018 by The Aperiodical Blog.

The first winner was Dr. Nira Chamberlain, the first black mathematician to be included in the British reference book Who’s Who and vice-president of the professional body, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

During the event they all compete against each other – so two in each match – and then it goes on to quarter-finals and semi-finals until the big match to decide who demonstrated their chosen mathematical concept the most brilliantly. Well explained.

Dr. Tabiri’s passion is quantum, or non-commutative, algebra, which she researches at the Ghana branch of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIIMS).

The goal 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 high or secondary school girls in Ghana.

It was established by AIIMS-Ghana in 2020 to “ensure that we have a pipeline of young girls who will be leaders in research and innovation in the mathematical sciences – across academia and industry”.

Dr. Tabiri says the number of girls and boys studying mathematics in high school is almost equal but then decreases at the university level.

This is partly because, she says, female students assume that if they do maths, the only thing they can do is teach, because maths is still seen as a “boys’ subject”. goes – and there are very few female role models.

This is something Dr. Tabiri is trying to change.

But his journey in mathematics was not straightforward.

She grew up in Ashaiman, one of the poorer, 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 sisters – and Dr Tabiri often sought peace and quiet at the local youth community center so she could study.

She wanted to follow the footsteps of her two sisters and study Business Administration at university.

But his grades, although high, were not high enough – and so he was accepted into mathematics and economics instead.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” says Dr. Tabiri. “Numbers and puzzles fascinated me – but I never thought a career in mathematics was for me.”

In 2015, Dr. Tabiri received a scholarship to pursue a PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was hard work, she says – and it was here that she experienced a pivotal moment.

She went to see the film Hidden Figures, about black American female mathematicians who worked at NASA, the US space agency, during the era of segregation in America in the 1950s.

She recalls, “It was amazing to see the story of these black women told on that global stage.” “It gave me goosebumps when I saw it.”

She was particularly inspired by Katherine Johnson, whose extraordinary mathematical skills and calculations were so important to the success of American space flights.

“Katherine Johnson worked very hard – and for a long time her work was hidden. She made me realize I just had to keep going.

“If your work isn’t recognized yet, it will be recognized sometime in the future. That 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.

The journey was full of hardships – including selling water and yams on the roadside at the age of six.

Dr. Tabiri is trying to help other African girls and women from less privileged backgrounds achieve their mathematics dreams through her FemAfrikaMaths non-profit organization.

Along with other volunteers, she teaches the youngest high school students in person and online.

She also posts interviews with leading female mathematicians from around the world on social media.

Dr. Tabiri is also extremely passionate about the potential of quantum science and technology – which requires mathematics.

He is proud that Ghana, supported by Mexico, led the proposal to declare 2025 the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the 100th anniversary of the discovery of modern quantum mechanics.

Quantum mechanics comes from studies of how ultra-small particles – the most basic pieces of matter, energy and light – interact with each other to create the world.

This led to the development of the Internet, solar cells, and global navigation satellite systems.

Researchers and big tech companies around the world, including China, the US, the UK, Australia and South Africa, are now racing to develop quantum technologies, including quantum computers and ultra-precise measurement and sensor devices.

The hope is that complex problems will be solved at lightning speed – and there will be major innovations in fields such as medicine, environmental science, food production and cyber-security.

“There are a lot of conversations happening now – the pros and cons – about the jobs that will be created,” says Dr. Tabiri.

According to the United Nations, Africa’s rapidly growing population, already the youngest in the world, will have the world’s largest workforce by 2040.

“But that doesn’t mean we will get jobs,” says Dr. Tabiri.

She hopes to organize a “quantum road show” as a first step in introducing quantum science to schoolchildren much younger than their age.

“We want young people to develop interest in and build all the relevant skills throughout their basic schooling,” she says.

The roadshow will be based on a recent quantum computing course they organized for secondary school girls who attend classes at AIIMS-Ghana during their vacations.

The course discussed what it takes to build a quantum computer, its current weaknesses – and what challenges quantum computing poses to current systems, such as cryptography.

Working with UNESCO, Dr. Tabiri will also host a week-long “Quantum Hackathon” in AIIMS-Ghana in July for approximately 40 postgraduate students from different African countries.

“We want them to use their quantum skills to solve some of the biggest challenges we face, real-life problems,” says Dr. Tabiri.

“It is vital that we prepare our youth for this next great revolution.”