Raegan J. Higgins | |
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Born | Baton Rouge, LA |
Known for | Work with the EDGE program |
Scientific career | |
Doctoral advisor | Allan Clemens Peterson and Lynn Erbe |
Raegan J. Higgins is an American mathematician and co-director of the EDGE program for Women. She is also one of the co-founders of the website Mathematically Gifted & Black, which highlights the accomplishments of Black mathematicians. [1]
Higgins studies time scales and its application to mathematical biology. [2]
Higgins went to Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana. [3] She attended University of Nebraska-Lincoln for her graduate studies studying under the advisement of Lynn Erbe and Allan Clemens Peterson. [4] She graduated in 2008 and was one of the first two African-American women to earn a doctoral degree in Mathematics from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. [3] Higgins's doctoral dissertation is Oscillation theory of dynamic equations on time scales. [5]
Higgins, along with Ami Radunskaya, is co-director of the EDGE program which supports women who are pursuing graduate degrees and ultimately careers in the mathematical sciences. She participated in the EDGE program in 2002 as a graduate student. She was also a workshop facilitator from 2014 to 2017. [6] Professor Higgins became Co-Director of the program in 2017. [7]
In 2008, Higgins joined the faculty at Texas Tech University in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics. [8] She earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor, becoming the first African American to receive Tenure and Promotion in the Mathematics & Statistics Department at Texas Tech. [3]
Higgins's published work reflects her research on time scales [9] and the biological application of that research. [10]
In 2020, Higgins received the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) service award. [11] She has won several National Science Foundation grants for various programs in mathematical education. [12] [13] [14] [15] She also earned the 2021 AWM Gweneth Humphreys Award. [16] She co-delivered an invited plenary address at the 2021 National Math Festival. [17]
Higgins' accomplishments earned her recognition by Mathematically Gifted & Black as a Black History Month 2018 Honoree. [18]