Purvine’s career highlighted by Mathematical Association of America
Emilie Purvine is a mathematician and data scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (Image by Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Working on puzzles with her grandpa helped instill Emilie Purvine’s interest in math from an early age. That interest later turned to being co-captain for her high school math team, a degree in mathematics, and eventually a career at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
The Mathematical Association of America recently spotlighted Purvine’s career journey from her early days to becoming a mathematician and data scientist at PNNL, and all the steps she took in between.
Highlighted at the heart of the feature is Purvine’s passion to mentor others in the field of mathematics.
Reflecting on her journey from mentee to mentor, Purvine told Mathematical Association of America, “The mentors I have had over the years inspire me to provide that same level of mentorship to others—to bring up and empower the next generation of mathematicians and help them grow into what I know they can be, even if they can’t see it themselves yet.”
At PNNL, Purvine focuses on using advanced mathematical techniques like computational topology and graph theory to understand the shape and structure of data. This data can be used in many applications, from discovering important genes in a biological system to uncovering patterns of activity in a cyber network.
Published: March 7, 2022