Women in Mathematics Day 2025

To celebrate Women in Mathematics Day, five women from the School of Mathematics reflect on their experiences and discuss their work.

This day provides a global platform to celebrate women in mathematics with the goal to ‘inspire women everywhere to celebrate their achievements in mathematics, and to encourage an open, welcoming and inclusive work environment for everybody.’

In March 2024, we were proud to receive the Silver Athena Swan award, an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to gender equality.

In recognition of the valuable contributions women make to our community, we invited five colleagues to share their stories.

Ana Ros Camacho, Lecturer

My passion for mathematics was inspired from Islamic art! In my homeland the Al-Andalus period left an amazing architectonic footprint that fascinated me ever since I was a toddler. You can even see some of these patterns on the ground floor of Abacws!

I’m a Lecturer in mathematics in Cardiff since 2020, and before I did postdocs at the Mathematical Institute of Utrecht University (The Netherlands), the Institut de Mathématiques de Jussieu and the École Polytechnique (France) and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (Germany). I earned my PhD in November 2014, at the University of Hamburg (Germany).

Currently I serve as Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. As EDI lead in the School, I make sure that everyone feels safe, welcomed, included, inspired and supported to make their best mathematics with us. Under my directorate, we got the Athena SWAN Silver Award back in March 2024. Last year I also won the London Mathematical Society Anne Bennett Prize.

Research-wise, I focus on quantum algebra, category theory and representation theory. I really like algebraic structures that appear in theoretical physics, and I study, develop and apply them.

What I enjoy most about mathematics is creativity! This is usually attributed to the humanities, but it is a very important aspect of mathematics - and a very needed one to make progress in research.

My advice to any women considering studying maths is this: mathematics belongs to everyone! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Elizabeth Williams, Research Associate

I have always been drawn to the problem-solving nature of mathematics. During my undergraduate studies, I was fortunate to have inspiring lecturers and mentors who brought the subject to life and showed me how mathematical tools could be used to address real-world problems.

After completing my PhD, I spent two years in academia as a Research Associate for Cardiff University, a role that allowed me to collaborate closely with healthcare partners while developing my own research. This experience deepened my interest in applied operational research and strengthened my ability to work across disciplines.

More recently, I’ve transitioned into a dual role, working part-time as a Research Associate and part-time as a Principal Analyst in the NHS. This new phase of my career allows me to continue contributing to academic research while also applying those insights directly within the healthcare system to support data-driven decision-making.

My current focus is on using operational research techniques, such as optimisation, simulation and data analytics to improve healthcare systems. This includes projects related to resource allocation, patient flow management and service planning, all with the aim of enhancing efficiency and patient care.

What I enjoy most in mathematics is the ability to tackle complex, real-world problems in a structured and logical way. Mathematics offers a universal language for solving challenges and I find it incredibly rewarding to apply it to areas that directly impact people’s lives, such as healthcare.

To future women in mathematics: believe in your abilities and nurture your curiosity. This field is rich with opportunities to explore, create, and make a real impact. Seek out supportive communities - they’ll be key to your growth and confidence.

Maggie Chen, Professor of Financial Mathematics

I worked in multiple roles in industry in China before and my  journey of becoming an academic was not planned: I decided to do a MSc in Finance abroad (in the UK), deviating from my undergraduate study in computer science. After that, I felt I only had a glimpse of a fascinating world of finance and didn’t quite see enough of it. So, I decided to pursue a PhD but was not thinking of staying in academia at all. In my third year, I published a paper in a top journal and tried for a lecturer position and got it. Naturally, I took the job and hence, started my academic career!

One of my mentor professors once said to me that no other jobs will enable you to have such level of freedom to pursue novelty  and I totally agree. Being an academic, you can always take initiatives, explore new ideas, influence contribute to others’ life through education and research etc. - it’s never boring and I just love it.

My main research interests root in financial risk and mathematical modeling, and market microstructure. This expands to newly merged discipline of Fintech and AI in Finance. My team and I look into contemporary issues on lending and payment method, cryptocurrencies, financial behaviour intelligence, collective AI for financial decision making and financial market stability etc.  We are frequently seeking for solutions for real-data driven problems in this space.

The interdisciplinarity of my research is what I enjoy the most. Finance is a fascinating subject. It is very practical but also scientific. It is about common sense in making decisions but at the same time, it is founded in profound theories and principles such as Newton’s law of thermodynamics. I enjoy digging into the theory underpinned modelling work that makes sense for practical applications.

My main piece of advice for women considering mathematics is, first, hold your dreams. The academia requires great curiosity, and you really have to enjoy the fun of exploring new things. Second, perseverance. Often, we will need to deal with difficulties, hardship and setbacks. But the reward at the end is great, whether it is directly from the research or indirectly from the people we meet or problems we solve.

Naomi Wray, PHD student

I always enjoyed mathematics growing up, getting the answers to questions that bothered me. Why are there only 12 pentagons on a football? Why does the sound of an ambulance change as it goes past me?

I was inspired by a teacher in my early years who fuelled these questions and taught me the art of problem solving and logical thinking.

I graduated from a Bachelor’s in Maths and Physics, then a Master’s in Maths, and I am now completing my PhD in Mathematical Physics! I work in Quantum Field Theory, using operator algebraic techniques to model the excitations in quantum spin systems.

A big part of my maths journey and something I’m really proud of is being a part of the Women in Maths group at Cardiff. This group of girls in our field has brought so much joy and validation to my time in the Maths school!

What I enjoy most in mathematics is speaking the language. You don’t realise it as you’re using it but the dialogue is entirely different to anything you’ve spoken before. It’s a smooth and logical language full of adjectives and consequences.

Here’s my future advice to women considering mathematics: find your network! Studying maths can be a naturally lonely task but is also such a great experience to share with fellow maths-enthusiasts. Some of my best memories come from hashing out maths problem sheets or discussing fascinating maths problems with my friends!

Yasemin Sengul Tezel, Senior Lecturer

I have been enjoying mathematics ever since I met numbers. I was always the one who is the best at mathematics at home, at school and among my friends. To be honest, instead of inspiration it was the joy of being capable and gifted at mathematics which made me to pursue a career in it.

I believe, the most crucial milestone in my career was having a PhD in the University of Oxford. These four mighty years changed a lot in me and probably shaped who I am today as a mathematician.

My career has rather been untraditional. After I did my PhD, after a year long post-doc in Portugal, I went back to my home country, Turkey. I worked there for 10 years before moving to Cardiff about 4 years ago. I think the two big changes in my career have been these moves to Turkey and to the UK, and I am glad about both decisions.

Finally, I have just started a role as the co-Editor-in-Chief of an Elsevier journal. This is a very fresh chapter for me, and I am looking forward to making the most of this experience.

My research expertise is focused on applied analysis. I am interested in modelling and analysis of elastic materials resulting in highly nonlinear partial differential equations for which, in general, I seek existence, uniqueness and stability of solutions. My research can be seen to be somewhere between analysis, mechanics and materials science, and I think this also reflects very well my general approach to science.

The best part of mathematics for me is to be able to unearth and understand some phenomena that was not known before I find it. This gives me a lot of satisfaction and motivates me a lot about what I do.

My advice for future female mathematicians is - you must go for it! Never listen to anyone if they tell you that you cannot succeed in mathematics since you are a woman. Independent from pursuing an academic career, studying mathematics would make it possible for young women to develop loads of skills strongly useful in their daily life as well as careers. Study a lot and never give up learning! I personally guarantee you will be the coolest girl in town with your degree in mathematics.