University confers Honorary Doctorate on mathematician
A world-renowned expert in mathematics, statistics and probability has received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Melbourne.
Australian-born Ruth Williams is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Her current research involves developing mathematical models of congestion in networks subject to random ‘traffic’ fluctuations, including transport, computing, communications, manufacturing, and biological systems.
Professor Ruth Williams after the conferral of her Doctor of Science (honoris causa)
Professor Williams studied mathematics at the University of Melbourne, where she earned her Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Master of Science degrees. Her early research concerned mathematical models of evolving tactical situations – an aspect of game theory – with applications in defence, engineering, and economics.
She completed her PhD in Mathematics at Stanford University, studying reflected Brownian motion – the random movement of particles confined to a region – to develop mathematical models that can be applied to a range of systems including traffic queuing.
After postdoctoral research at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York, she became an Assistant Professor at UCSD, where she is now a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate Division, and of Mathematics Emerita.
Professor Williams is an Elected Member of many prestigious academies including the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2018, she became a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science. She has also been a strong international advocate of the Australian Mathematical Research Institute, MATRIX, a partnership between the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the Australian National University, and the University of Queensland.
In 2016, she was joint winner of the John von Neumann Theory Prize from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. In 2017, she received the 2017 Award for the Advancement of Women in Operations Research and the Management Sciences.
The University’s highest honour was conferred on Professor Williams at the Faculty of Science graduation ceremony on 11 December. Five other eminent scholars received honorary doctorates in various disciplines during graduation ceremonies over the past week.
University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell, congratulated the six recipients.
“These remarkable people have made enormous contributions to research and public life in their respective fields,” Professor Maskell said. “Their bold thinking, innovation and creativity has helped reshape our understanding of the world around us. We celebrate their achievements, and we are proud to honour them this way.”
Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Moira O’Bryan, also extended her congratulations to Professor Williams.
“Professor Williams has made awe-inspiring contributions to mathematical theory and helped alleviate many real-world problems, including Internet congestion, choked factory lines, customer service queues, crowded freeways, and even gene regulation,” Professor O’Bryan said. “She is an important role model for girls and women, organising networking, academic and social events.”
Read the University's media release about the six people honoured this week.