A pure maths passion

In fact, when she was at BGGS in the 1960s she didn’t even realise her obsession with formulas and proofs could lead to a job. She just loved solving problems.

After graduation, Cheryl approached a Queensland Government Vocational Guidance Officer and was told: `Well, you don’t want to do mathematics. Girls don’t pass.’

Ignoring this advice, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland, doing honours physics and maths subjects in her first year, before pursuing pure maths in her second year. After completing her degree, Cheryl won a coveted scholarship to complete her PhD at Oxford.

Her outstanding career has largely been spent at the University of Western Australia, where she has the rare honour of being an Emeritus Professor—a lifetime title granted only to those who have been exemplary professors during their tenure.

In 2019, Cheryl became the first pure mathematician to win the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science and currently sits on the National Science and Technology Council, which to advises the government on matters of science. She was also the first pure mathematician to be named WA Scientist of the Year (2009) and the first to be inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame (2015).

See Cheryl's interview below.