Lorraine L. Foster | |
---|---|
Dr. Foster in 1964. (Photo from the Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, UCLA Library Digital Collections)
|
|
Born |
Culver City, California |
December 25, 1938
Citizenship | American |
Education | B.A. 1960, Occidental College; Ph.D. 1964, California Institute of Technology |
Occupation | Mathematician |
Employer | California State University, Northridge |
Lorraine Lois Foster (December 25, 1938, Culver City, California) is an American mathematician. In 1964 she became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics from California Institute of Technology. Her thesis advisor at Caltech was Olga Taussky-Todd.
Born Lorraine Lois Turnbull, she attended Occidental College where she majored in physics. She was admitted to Caltech after receiving a Woodrow Wilson Foundation fellowship. In 1964 she joined the faculty of California State University, Northridge. She works in number theory and the theory of mathematical symmetry.