MOTW - Jesse Wilkins

Mathematician of the Day is Jesse Ernest Wilkins (1923-2011)

Mr Wilkins was a world-class American mathematician, mechanical engineer, and nuclear scientist. He attended the University of Chicago at the age of 13, becoming its youngest ever student. He earned five science degrees during his life.

Wilkins worked as a contributor to the Manhattan Project during World War II. He wrote almost 100 scientific papers (over 55 in mathematics). He was the second African American elected to the National Academy of Engineering (1965). In 1970, Wilkins served Howard University as its distinguished professor of Applied Mathematical Physics and founded the university’s new PhD program in mathematics.