Tanya L. Leise (died January 18, 2023)[1] was an American biomathematician specializing in the mathematical modeling of circadian rhythms[2] and related phenomena such as jet lag[3][4][5] and hibernation.[6] She was a professor of mathematics at Amherst College.[7]

Education and career

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Leise was a 1993 graduate of Stanford University. She went to Texas A&M University for graduate study, completing a Ph.D. there in 1998.[7][8] Her dissertation, An Analog to the Dirichlet-to-Nuemann Map and Its Application to Dynamic Elastic Fracture, was supervised by Jay R. Walton.[9]

After working as a visiting lecturer at Indiana University, she joined the faculty of the Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology in 1999. She moved to Amherst as a visiting assistant professor in 2004, obtained a regular-rank faculty position in 2007, and was promoted to full professor in 2018.[8]

She died of cancer on January 18, 2023.[1]

Service

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Leise was co-chair of the Joint Committee on Women in the Mathematical Sciences, sponsored by a group of seven major mathematical societies, from 2011 to 2014.[8]

She has also chaired the Amherst Ranked-Choice Voting Commission.[10]

Recognition

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Leise was a winner of the 2008 Lester R. Ford Award of the Mathematical Association of America for her paper with her husband, psychologist Andrew Cohen, "Nonlinear oscillators at our fingertips".[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gentin, Julia (February 8, 2023), "Students Mourn Loss of Professor Tanya Leise", The Amherst Student
  2. ^ "An Interview with Tanya Leise" (PDF), Girls' Angle Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 3ff, June–July 2019
  3. ^ Researcher's Model of Internal Clocks Reveals How Extreme Jet Lag Disrupts the System, University of Massachusetts Amherst, August 30, 2006, retrieved 2020-05-17
  4. ^ Sleep + Extra Darkness = Math Prof's Formula for Combating Jet Lag, Amherst College, December 19, 2011, retrieved 2020-05-17
  5. ^ "The biology of jet lag", Inside Higher Education, March 16, 2012
  6. ^ Whittemore, Katherine (May 12, 2017), "Grizzly Math: Professor Tanya Leise analyzed the internal clocks in "hibernating" bears; Researchers equipped captive bears with monitors (think: big Fitbits) that measured their movement", Amherst Magazine, Amherst College
  7. ^ a b "Tanya L. Leise", Faculty & Staff, Amherst College, retrieved 2020-05-17
  8. ^ a b c Curriculum vitae (PDF), January 2019, retrieved 2020-05-17
  9. ^ Tanya Leise at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  10. ^ Goudreau, Chris (December 18, 2019), "Ranked-choice voting gaining speed in Massachusetts", Valley Advocate
  11. ^ Nonlinear Oscillators at Our Fingertips, Mathematical Association of America, retrieved 2020-05-17
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