Whao! It was great meeting this
Texan Professor of Mathematics, at the Nigeria Women in Mathematics Conference.
I requested an interview with him, which he obliged. It was an opportunity to
pick his brain on issues ranging from gender, lucrativity, colour and many
other issues as it pertain to the field of mathematics. This is what he had to
say….Sit back and enjoy the conversation.
Me: Hello Frank! I am Sam, its great seeing you at the conference.
Frank: Hi Sam, Yeah…great here also…what is happening at the conference
is great.
Me: I represent COLLOQ; a
mathematics focused NGO. I will love to pick your brain on certain issues
(laugh).
Frank: (laugh) Okay
Me: What do you think about mathematics as being interesting and
creative? So many kids think it is a drudgery plug for them and are really not
interested in the field.
Frank: Okay…What a lot of people think about mathematics is that
all mathematics happened a long time and there is nothing new. This is an
impression you can have on any subject. Fairly, in Physics and Medicine, modern
discovery can be made more understandable. Mathematics has fundamental advances
but because of its nature it is much more abstract, and so more than other
subjects, students can get a mistaken impression that it all happened a long time
ago. One other reason is that the mathematics needed to advance into science
and technology, the way we teach it has been the same way for 200 years. So
there are difficulties on how we present mathematics to students in an
interesting way. It is such a deep subject that requires so much background.
Me: But that was not the case with you, I looked up your profile
and it reflected excellent math skills in High school. What was different for
you?
Frank: Yeah… in high school I was a good student and was very
interested in mathematics. What happen was that I wanted to study mathematics
in college and everybody; my parent, my high school counselor told me “you
crazy…and you have to study engineering” and I followed them and took Physics
as a compromise. When I got to college, I did not listen to them anymore; I
studied both Physics and Mathematics. I studied what I wanted to do…So you
think about your life, you have only one life as far as I understand and you
have to live it in a way that keeps you interesting and excited. So you should
choose to study what you want to study. Study what you are best at, for me it
was Physics and Mathematics. I studied in the Physics lab at Berkley during the
summer and one thing I understand was I never wanted to be a Physicist. I
learnt I wanted to be in mathematics.
Me: So for you it was about
interest and what you were good at
Frank: Yeah
Me: Beyond interest, many are concerned with lucrativity. How
lucrative is mathematics?
Frank: Oh lucrative….I think what is lucrative in Nigeria is to be
close to the government… (LAUGHTER). I am sorry, that was a joke. But, really
Nigeria is developing and mostly in areas like construction, extraction and
food processing. Well, many people do not know mathematicians, they know famous
movie stars, rock stars etc. There are good jobs in Nigeria that requires
tactical and mathematical training, but are not flashy. In America, you should
look this up, the US Bureau conducts a survey for the best jobs and last year
the top jobs are professionals in mathematics, actuary and statistics working
for companies.
Me: What is the view of the international community about African
mathematicians as it concerns productivity?
Frank: Okay…there are some notable African mathematicians; many of
them have gone to work abroad. So many accomplishments of mathematician are not
recognized because they emigrated. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for people to
go abroad, but I think they should be welcome back. So your country looses the
possibility of improving herself scientifically because these people have a
hard time coming back. There are successful things going on in Africa now,
there are initiatives on mathematical exchange between Africa and other part of
the world…European exchange, scientific exchange etc. I do not know much about
the United State because we are far from Africa, but Europe has a more intimate
history with Africa. I think in recent time, during colonization, there was
more scientific exchange than it is now and I am more curious about that. I don’t
know the reason for that, but on one hand that might be due to the development
of universities. But, I do think scientific exchange is remarkable and more
remarkable for them to come back.
Me: Okay…COLLOQ will be organizing her 4th Mathematics
Colloquium strictly for female students. What is your message for the
participant?
Frank: Okay…special for female students….Em….Okay, lemme think
about it, I am not a woman (laughter). First of all even though the number of
women in tactical subject is small than we would like, there are many examples
of very successful women who has made it in science and technology. ..Because
the numbers are close to non-existence, it is hard to look for role model but
you have to look for them. I don’t know the situation here, but in United State
there is a strong feeling of encouraging women in mathematics. The
encouragement is that people should be able to do what they want; chase their
dreams and achieve their potential and that is true for women as it is true for
men there is no difference. There is no different talent, there is no different
intelligence. There are cultural differences and differences in opportunities.
But people should persevere and look to other people for role model. An example
is my wife; she is a Professor of mathematics. The problem they have is true
for everybody. So look for senior models who are sympathetic enough to be
helpful and if somebody is not sympathetic, don’t listen to them, listen to
somebody else, because people should believe in themselves and do what they
want to do and search out people who will help you.
Me: Whao! Thanks for the message and thank you for your time.
Frank: You welcome Sam. Interestingly, my Father and Son is Samuel.
Me: Interesting, that’s great…say me hi to them when you travel
back.
Frank: I will Thank you
