Scholarships, Awards & Prizes

The Dowling Scholarship was established to recognize and encourage mathematics majors who have demonstrated promise in their academic work.

The Irma L. Newman Fund was established December 31, 1976 through a bequest of Irma L. Newman. Irma Newman received a BA (1926) in mathematics and MA (1936) in Education and Speech from UW-Madison and had a career teaching high school mathematics. The Fund supports research and programs of the Department of Mathematics. The fund is used for scholarships for graduating math majors who are a targeted minority.

David and Janet Kirkbride established the *_David and Janet Kirkbride Scholarship in Mathematics Fund_*. David received his BS in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin in 1963. The purpose of this fund was to support bright and talented female students in Mathematics. The fund was later renamed as the *_Mary Ellen Rudin Mathematics Fund_*. Awards are given to a graduating female math major. Preference is given to students planning for graduate study.

Mary Ellen Rudin was one of the leading topologists of our time. Besides solving a number of well-known outstanding open problems, she was a pioneer in the use of set-theoretic tools. She was one of the first to apply the independence methods of Cohen and others to produce independence results in topology.

Mary Ellen Rudin received her PhD in 1949 at the University of Texas-Austin under the supervision of R.L. Moore.

The Violet Higgitt Frank Scholarship was established by a bequest from Violet Frank. This fund provides annual scholarship assistance to one or more students in the College of Letters & Science with special preference to be given to a student or students majoring in mathematics.

The R. Creighton Buck Prize was established with a gift from Ellen F. Buck in November 1996 to honor her husband, R. Creighton Buck and to reward undergraduate students who demonstrate outstanding creativity in mathematics. The prize is awarded to a graduating math major who has completed the best capstone experience as determined by the awards committee.

Conditions of Award

Annual awards will be made to outstanding graduating undergraduate students pursuing a major in Mathematics who complete the best “capstone” experience. A committee appointed by the Chair of the Department of Mathematics reviews and evaluates the applications based on these criteria. The number of awards may vary. Recipients are generally notified in late spring. The Math Department’s Awards Ceremony is always held at the end of the spring semester. Recipients must attend this ceremony and write a thank you letter to the donor.

Donor Information

The R. Creighton Buck Fund was established with a Memorandum of Agreement and gift from Ellen F. Buck in November 1996 to honor her husband, R. Creighton Buck. Neither Ellen nor R. Creighton Buck is a University of Wisconsin graduate.

The Frank D. Cady Scholarship is a needs-based annual scholarship for outstanding students majoring in mathematics and whose life work will be closely connected with mathematics. The recipients must be a junior or senior. Multiple awards may be granted in any one year.

The fund was established September 25, 1986 with a gift from Vernon Lawrence. Mark Ingraham received his MA in 1922 in the College of Letters and Science. His spouse, Katherine, received her BS in 1922, also in L&S. The fund benefits undergraduate students who have completed their freshman year and demonstrated an unusual aptitude for math. If two people are of like ability, the donor requests that need be the determining factor for who receives the award.

The David L. Young Scholarship was established in memory of David L. Young through donations from friends and family. The scholarship is awarded to a graduating math major whose primary interest is mathematics education.