The queen of mathematics with a quantitative mission to educate girls

Dr Angela Tabiri, known in Ghana as the Queen of Maths, is the first African to win the Big Internet Math Off competition – a major achievement for someone who has barely mastered mathematics.

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

Sixteen mathematicians have been invited to compete for the title of “The World’s Most Interesting Mathematician” – a public voting event started in 2018 by The Aperiodical blog.

The first winner was Dr Neera Chamberlain, the first black mathematician to be listed in the British reference book Who's Who and Vice-Chair of the professional body, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

During the event, they all compete against each other – two in each match – and then move on to the quarter-finals and semi-finals until the big match to determine who best explained their chosen sports concept.

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

AIMS began in South Africa and has expanded to Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Rwanda – providing postgraduate training and research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Dr. Tabiri also serves as the Academic Director of the Girls in Mathematical Sciences Programme, a mentoring and support program for secondary or secondary school girls in Ghana.

It was founded by Aims-Ghana in 2020 “to ensure that we have a pipeline of young girls who will lead research and innovation in mathematical sciences – in academia as well as industry.”

Dr Tabiri says the numbers of girls and boys studying mathematics in secondary school are about equal, but then decline at university level.

This is partly because, she says, female students assume that if they are studying mathematics, the only job they can do is teaching, because mathematics is still considered a “boys’ subject” – and there are very few female role models.

This is something Dr. Tabiri is trying to change.

But her journey into mathematics was not easy.

I grew up in Ashaiman, a slum and densely populated neighborhood in Tema, an industrial and port center located an hour's drive east of the capital, Accra.

Her family home was happy but noisy – she had four sisters – and Dr Tabiri would often seek peace and quiet at 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 instead for 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 a PhD at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. She says: The work was hard, and there she lived a touching moment.

And I went to see Hidden Figures, a film about black American female mathematicians who worked at NASA in the 1950s, during the era of racial segregation in the United States.

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

I was particularly inspired by Katherine Johnson, whose extraordinary mathematical skills and calculations were so crucial to the success of American spaceflight.

“Katherine Johnson worked so hard — and her work remained hidden for so long. She made me realize that I just had to keep going.

“If your work isn't recognized now, it will be recognized at some point in the future. It was a real turning point for me.”

Ghana will reach a historic milestone in 2024 when Dr. Gloria Botchway becomes 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 potatoes on the side of the road as a six-year-old child.

Dr. Tabiri tries to support other African girls and women from less fortunate backgrounds to achieve their dreams in mathematics through her non-profit organization FemAfricMaths.

She, along with other volunteers, teaches lessons to the youngest high school students in person and online.

She also posts on social media interviews with leading female mathematicians from around the world.

Dr. Tabiri is also very passionate about the possibilities of quantum science and technology – for which mathematics is essential.

It is proud that Ghana, with Mexico's support, has led proposals to declare 2025 the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology – the centenary of the discovery of modern quantum mechanics.

Quantum mechanics emerged from studies to reveal how very small particles—the fundamental parts of matter, energy, and light—interact with each other to make up the world.

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

Researchers and major technology companies from around the world – including China, the US, the UK, Australia and South Africa – are now racing to develop quantum technologies, including quantum computers and ultra-precision measuring and sensing devices.

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

“There are a lot of conversations now — the advantages and disadvantages — the jobs that will be created,” says Dr. Tabiri.

According to the United Nations, Africa's rapidly growing population, already the youngest in the world, will be the world's largest labor force by 2040.

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

She hopes to organize a “quantum road show” as a first step in introducing school children to quantum science at a very young age.

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

The promotion will be based on a quantum computing course she recently held for high school girls who attend classes in Ames-Ghana during their vacations.

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

Working with UNESCO, Dr. Tabiri will also host a week-long “Quantum Hackathon” in July in Ames-Ghana for about 40 graduate students from various African countries.

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

“It is extremely urgent that we prepare our youth for this next big revolution.”