Shabazz, Abdulalim A.
1927-2014 · Contribution: 1950s-2014
Mathematical analysis (distribution of eigenvalues) and, above all, transformative mathematics education and mentorship at historically Black colleges
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
One of the most influential mentors in American mathematics: by 1992 roughly 100 African American holders of math doctorates could trace their academic lineage to him or his students. Chaired mathematics at Atlanta University (supervising 78 master's theses, 1957-63); received the AAAS Mentor Award (1992) and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (2000).
Life & background
African-American mathematician born Lonnie Cross on May 22, 1927 in Bessemer, AL. BA, Lincoln University (PA); MS, MIT (1951); PhD in mathematics, Cornell (1955, under Mark Kac). Adopted his name after joining the Nation of Islam (1961). Taught at Tuskegee, Atlanta University/Clark Atlanta, Lincoln, and Grambling State. Died June 25, 2014.
Sources
- MacTutor (St Andrews); Journal of Blacks in Higher Education; Mathematicians of the African Diaspora
More in Mathematics
Bell, Charles B. Jr.
1928-2010
Statistics and probability; nonparametric (distribution-free) statistics, stochastic processes, and measure theory
Bharucha-Reid, Albert Turner
1927-1985
Pioneering research in probability theory, Markov chain processes, and random/stochastic integral equations, with applications spanning mathematical biology, physics, and economics
Bozeman, Sylvia Trimble
1947-
Co-founded the EDGE program in 1998, supporting women transitioning into graduate study in the mathematical sciences; first African American Section Governor in the Mathematical Association of America's history
Browne, Marjorie Lee
1914-1979
One of the first three African American women to earn a PhD in mathematics; established one of the first electronic digital computer centers at any historically Black college in 1960