Puzzle of Firsts – Solution

Congratulations to Bret S. of California for winning the Puzzle of Firsts crossword raffle in celebration of Women’s History Month! Like our Puzzle of Fortune! raffle winner, Bret will receive chocolate from L. A. Burdick.

Many thanks to all who participated!

If you haven’t solved the crossword, but would like to try, don’t read any further because there are spoilers.

The Puzzle of Firsts crossword contains many references to math, math culture, and women mathematicians. The theme answers are the 3 mathematicians who were the first women tenured in the mathematics departments at MIT, Princeton, and Harvard.

First at MIT: Michele Vergne. She received tenure at MIT in 1978.

First at Princeton: Ingrid Daubechies. She received tenure at Princeton in 1993. You can learn more about her in the Girls’ Angle Bulletin. See Volume 1, Number 6 through Volume 2, Number 4 for a 5-part interview with Dr. Daubechies.

First at Harvard: Sophie Morel. She received tenure at Harvard in December of 2009. There’s also an interview with Dr. Morel in Volume 5, Numbers 1 and 2 of the Girls’ Angle Bulletin.