Angela Tabiri, from Ghana: The math queen with a quantum mission to mentor girls

Known in Ghana as the queen of mathematics, Angela Tabiri is the first African to win The Big Internet Math Off competition – quite an achievement for someone who has almost never done mathematics.

This 35-year-old Ghanaian “finds pleasure in solving mathematical puzzles and questions” and hopes that her victory in 2024 will open the world of mathematics to other African women, traditionally discouraged by this discipline.

Sixteen mathematicians were invited to compete for the ironic title of “most interesting mathematician in the world” – a public vote launched in 2018 by the blog The Aperiodical.

The first winner is Dr Nira Chamberlain, the first black mathematician to be included in the British reference book Who’s Who and vice-president of the professional body, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.

During the event, they all compete against each other – two per match – then move on to the quarter-finals and semi-finals until the big match which will decide who explained their chosen mathematical concept in the most enlightening way .

Dr Tabiri is passionate about quantum, or non-commutative, algebra, on which she conducts research at the Ghanaian branch of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Aims).

Aims began in South Africa and later expanded to Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon and Rwanda, to offer postgraduate training and research in the fields of science, technology , engineering and mathematics.

Dr. Tabiri is also the academic lead for the Girls in Mathematical Sciences program, a mentoring and support program for high school and college students in Ghana.

This program was established by Aims-Ghana in 2020 to “ensure that we have a pipeline of young girls who will be at the forefront of research and innovation in the field of mathematical sciences, both in academia as well as industry.

According to Dr Tabiri, the number of girls and boys studying mathematics in high school is approximately equal, but then declines at the university level.

Part of the reason for this is that female students assume that if they do math, the only job they can do is as a teacher, because math is still seen as a “boy’s subject” – and it there are very few female role models.

This is what Dr. Tabiri is working to change.

But his journey into mathematics was not easy.

She grew up in Ashaiman, one of the poorest and most densely populated neighborhoods of Tema, an industrial and port center an hour’s drive east of the capital Accra.

The family home was happy but noisy – she has four sisters – and Dr Tabiri often sought the peace and quiet of the local youth community center so she could study.

She wanted to follow in her two sisters’ footsteps and study business administration at university.

But her grades, although high, were not high enough, and so she was accepted into mathematics and economics.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” says Dr. Tabiri. “Numbers and puzzles fascinated me, but I never thought a career in mathematics was for me.”

In 2015, Ms Tabiri was awarded a scholarship to complete her doctorate at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. It was hard work, she says, and it was there that she had a breakthrough moment.

She went to see Hidden Figures, the film about black American mathematicians who worked at NASA, the American space agency, in the 1950s, during the era of segregation in the United States.

“It was incredible to see the stories of these black women told on this world stage,” she recalls. “I got goosebumps.”

She was particularly inspired by Katherine Johnson, whose extraordinary math skills and calculations played a crucial role in the success of American spaceflight.

“Katherine Johnson worked so hard, and her work remained hidden for a long time. She made me understand that I had to continue working.”

“If your work is not recognized today, it will be one day or another. It was a real turning point for me.”

Ghana achieved a historic milestone in 2024 when Dr. Gloria Botchway became the first woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Ghana.

Her journey has been strewn with pitfalls, notably when she sold water and yams on the side of the road when she was only six years old.

Ms Tabiri strives to help other African girls and women from less privileged backgrounds achieve their mathematical dreams through her non-profit organization FemAfricMaths.

Along with other volunteers, she teaches lessons to younger high school students in person and online.

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

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

She is proud that Ghana, supported by Mexico, has spearheaded proposals to make 2025 the United Nations International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of quantum modern quantum mechanics.

Quantum mechanics arose from studies aimed at discovering how tiny particles – the most fundamental elements of matter, energy and light – interact with each other to form the world.

It led to the development of the internet, solar cells and global navigation satellite systems.

Researchers and major technology companies around the world, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa, are now racing to develop quantum technologies, including quantum computers and ultra-precise measurement and detection devices.

The hope is to solve complex problems at lightning speed and bring enormous innovations to fields such as medicine, environmental science, food production and cybersecurity.

“There is a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of this technology, and the jobs it will create,” says Dr. Tabiri.

Africa’s rapidly growing population, already the world’s youngest, will constitute the world’s largest workforce by 2040, according to the United Nations.

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

She hopes to organize a “quantum science road show,” a first step in introducing schoolchildren to quantum science much earlier than has been the case.

“We want young people to start being interested in quantum science and acquire all the necessary skills during their basic education,” she explains.

The roadshow will build on a quantum computing class she recently organized for high school girls who are taking classes in Aims-Ghana while on vacation.

This course focused on building a quantum computer, its current fragilities, and the challenges that quantum computing poses to current systems, such as cryptography.

In collaboration with UNESCO, Mr. Tabiri will also organize a week-long “quantum hackathon” in July aims-Ghana for around forty postgraduate students from different African countries.

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

“It is very urgent to prepare our young people for this next great revolution.”