Dr Brigitte Stenhouse

I am a historian of mathematics who is curious about how mathematicians build communities and gatekeep knowledge. I am especially interested in ways that women have forged careers as mathematicians, focusing mainly on Mary Somerville (1780-1872). 

I am currently working on a project on collaborative couples in mathematics, looking at the mutual influence of mathematical careers and marriage (publications forthcoming). This project opens up the mathematical work that takes place in domestic spaces, and illuminates the many different forms of collaboration necessary to produce new knowledge.

My next project will investigate the circulation of mathematics within and between scientific households in 19th-century Britain. This book-length project will focus on how mathematics complemented studies of the physical sciences, and how mathematical ideas were creatively translated, adapted, or indeed removed depending on each individual’s mathematical aptitude.

I am interested in supervising PhD projects on history of mathematics c.1700-1950. Feel free to reach out via email, and find out more about PhDs in the School of Mathematics & Statistics at this link. 

Committee Membership:

• Meetings Co-ordinator for the British Society for the History of Mathematics