The Queen of Mathematics with the quantum mission of guiding girls

Known in Ghana as the Queen of Mathematics, Dr. Angela Tabiri is the first African to win The Big Internet Math Off competition, quite an achievement for someone who barely even did mathematics.

The 35-year-old Ghanaian “enjoys solving mathematical puzzles and questions” and hopes her victory in 2024 will open up the world of mathematics to other African women, who have traditionally been discouraged from taking the subject.

Sixteen mathematicians were invited to compete for the tongue-in-cheek title of “the most interesting mathematician in the world,” a public voting event initiated in 2018 by the blog The Aperiodical.

The first winner was Dr Nira Chamberlain, the first black mathematician included in the British reference book Who’s Who and vice-president of the professional body, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

During the event, everyone competes against each other, i.e. two in each match, and then proceeds to quarter-finals and semi-finals until the big match to decide who has explained the chosen mathematical concept in the most enlightening way.

Dr Tabiri’s passion is quantum or non-commutative algebra, which she researches at the Ghana branch of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Aims).

The objectives began in South Africa and later expanded to Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Rwanda, to provide postgraduate training and research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Dr. Tabiri is also the academic director of the Girls in Mathematical Sciences Programme, a mentoring and support scheme for middle and high school girls in Ghana.

It was created by Aims-Ghana in 2020 to “ensure that we have a pipeline of young people who will lead research and innovation in the mathematical sciences, both in academia and industry.”

Dr. Tabiri says the number of girls and boys studying mathematics in high school is about equal, but then declines at the university level.

This is partly because, she says, female students assume that if they do math, the only job they can do is teach, because math is still considered a “boy’s subject” and there are very few female role models.

This is something Dr. Tabiri is trying to change.

But his journey into mathematics was not easy.

He grew up in Ashaiman, one of the poorest and most densely populated neighborhoods in Tema, an industrial center and port about an hour’s drive east of the capital, Accra.

Her family home was happy but noisy (she has four sisters) and Dr. Tabiri often sought the peace and quiet of the local youth community center so she could study.

She wanted to follow in the footsteps of two sisters and study business administration at university.

But her grades, although high, were not high enough, so she was accepted into mathematics and economics.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” says Dr. Tabiri. “I was fascinated by numbers and puzzles, but I never thought a career in mathematics was for me.”

In 2015, Dr. Tabiri was awarded a scholarship to pursue her PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was hard work, he says, and it was there that he experienced a pivotal moment.

She went to see Hidden Figures, the film about black American mathematicians who worked at the US space agency, NASA, in the 1950s, during the era of segregation in the United States.

“It was amazing to see the story of these black women told on that global stage,” she recalls. “I got goosebumps watching it.”

She was particularly inspired by Katherine Johnson, whose extraordinary mathematical skills and calculations were crucial to the success of American space flight.

“Katherine Johnson worked very hard and for a long time her work was hidden. She made me realize that I have to move forward.

“If his work is not recognized even now, it will be in the future. It was a real turning point for me.”

Ghana reached a historic milestone in 2024 when Dr. Gloria Botchway became the first woman to graduate from the University of Ghana with a PhD in mathematics.

It was a journey full of hardships, including selling water and yams on the road when he was six years old.

Dr. Tabiri is trying to help other African girls and women from less privileged backgrounds follow their mathematical dreams through her non-profit organization FemAfricMaths.

Together with other volunteers, he teaches classes to younger secondary school students in person and online.

He also publishes interviews he conducts with prominent mathematicians from around the world on social media.

Dr. Tabiri is also passionate about the potential of quantum science and technology, for which mathematics is essential.

She is proud that Ghana, with the support of Mexico, led proposals for 2025 to be declared the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, marking the centenary of the discovery of modern quantum mechanics.

Quantum mechanics emerged from studies to discover how ultra-tiny particles – the most fundamental fragments of matter, energy and light – interact with each other to form the world.

It led to the development of the Internet, solar cells, and global satellite navigation systems.

Researchers and large technology companies around the world – including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa – are now racing to develop quantum technologies, including quantum computers and ultra-precision measuring devices and sensors.

The hope is that complex problems will be solved at lightning speed and that there will be enormous innovations in areas such as medicine, environmental sciences, food production and cybersecurity.

“There is a lot of discussion now about the pros and cons and the jobs that will be created,” says Dr. Tabiri.

Africa’s rapidly growing population, already the world’s youngest, will be the world’s largest workforce by 2040, according to the UN.

“But that doesn’t mean we will get the jobs,” says Dr. Tabiri.

She hopes to organize a “quantum road show” as a first step in introducing schoolchildren to quantum science at a much younger age than herself.

“We want young people to start developing an interest and developing all the relevant skills during their basic education,” he says.

The tour will build on a recent quantum computing course she taught for high school girls attending classes in Aims-Ghana during their holidays.

The course discussed what it takes to build a quantum computer, its current fragilities, and the challenges that quantum computing poses to current systems, such as cryptography.

In collaboration with Unesco, Dr. Tabiri will also organize a week-long “Quantum Hackathon” in Aims-Ghana in July for about 40 postgraduate students from different African countries.

“We want them to use their quantum abilities to solve some of the biggest challenges we face, real-life problems,” says Dr. Tabiri.

“It is very urgent that we position our youth for this next great revolution.”