It all adds up: Mathematician honoured for early career research

A mathematician from The University of Western Australia with a life-long interest in solving problems has been recognised with an award from the Australian Academy of Science.

Professor Serena Dipierro, from UWA’s School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, received the Christopher Heyde Medal for early career research in pure mathematics, applied, computational and financial mathematics.

The Italian-born researcher said she was excited to see her work recognised by the community and to know it was appreciated.

Image: Professor Serena Dipierro.

“My field is partial differential equations which can be used as a tool to describe, for instance, physical or biological phenomena,” Professor Dipierro said.

“I’ve done work in population dynamics to try and understand animal behaviour, for example if you have two species of animals co-existing in an area how they interact, move around and split the territory.

“You can create a mathematical model to try and understand many things we experience in our everyday life. Mathematics is in a sense very honest and provides a clear and objective outcome.”

Professor Dipierro said the award would allow her to meet with collaborators at Columbia University in New York and solve a few more challenging maths problems.

She also plans to continue teaching, a passion she developed later in her career after an initial focus on research.

“It’s important to interact with young people not only in terms of teaching them maths but also to show them the approach a mathematician takes to solving a problem,” Professor Dipierro said.

The Australian Academy of Science Honorific Awards celebrate the achievements of scientists from around Australia, from early-career recipients to those who have made career-long advancements in their fields.

The Christopher Heyde Medal honours the contributions to maths by the late Professor Christopher Charles Heyde AM, DSc, Hon DSc (Syd), FAA, FASSA, the Foundation Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at the Australian National University, and Professor Emeritus of Statistics at Columbia University, New York.