Iris Runge - A Life at the Crossroads of Mathematics, Science, and Industry

This book concerns the origins of mathematical problem solving at the internationally active Osram and Telefunken Corporations during the golden years of broadcasting and electron tube research. The woman scientist Iris Runge, who received an interdisciplinary education at the University of Göttingen, was long employed as the sole mathematical authority at these companies in Berlin. It will be shown how mathematical connections were made between statistics and quality control, and between physical-chemical models and the actual problems of mass production. The organization of industrial laboratories, the relationship between theoretical and experimental work, and the role of mathematicians in these settings will also be explained. By investigating the social, economic, and political conditions that unfolded from the time of the German Empire until the end of the Second World War, the book hopes to build a bridge between specialized fields - mathematics and engineering - and the generalculture of a particular era. It hopes, furthermore, to build a bridge between the history of science and industry, on the one hand, and the fields of Gender and Women's Studies on the other. Finally, by examining the life and work of numerous industrial researchers, insight will be offered into the conditions that enabled a woman to achieve a prominent professional position during a time when women were typically excluded from the scientific workforce.

List of contents

Foreword.- Author's Preface.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Formative Groups.- 3 Mathematics at The Osram and Telefunken Corporations.- 4 Interactions Between Science, Politics, And Society.- 5 Post-War Developments And Concluding Remarks.- Appendix.- Bibliography.- Index of Names.

About the author

Renate Tobies, geb. 1947 in Horburg, studierte Mathematik, Physik, Chemie, Pädagogik und Psychologie und ist für Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften habilitiert. Ihre Forschungsgebiete sind die Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, mathematische Berufslaufbahnforschung sowie Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung in Mathematik, Naturwissenschaften und Technik; zahlreiche Gastprofessuren, aktuell an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena.

Renate Tobies, geb. 1947 in Horburg, studierte Mathematik, Physik, Chemie, Pädagogik und Psychologie und ist für Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften habilitiert. Ihre Forschungsgebiete sind die Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, mathematische Berufslaufbahnforschung sowie Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung in Mathematik, Naturwissenschaften und Technik; zahlreiche Gastprofessuren, aktuell an der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena.

Summary

This book concerns the origins of mathematical problem solving at the internationally active Osram and Telefunken Corporations during the golden years of broadcasting and electron tube research. The woman scientist Iris Runge, who received an interdisciplinary education at the University of Göttingen, was long employed as the sole mathematical authority at these companies in Berlin. It will be shown how mathematical connections were made between statistics and quality control, and between physical-chemical models and the actual problems of mass production. The organization of industrial laboratories, the relationship between theoretical and experimental work, and the role of mathematicians in these settings will also be explained. By investigating the social, economic, and political conditions that unfolded from the time of the German Empire until the end of the Second World War, the book hopes to build a bridge between specialized fields – mathematics and engineering – and the generalculture of a particular era. It hopes, furthermore, to build a bridge between the history of science and industry, on the one hand, and the fields of Gender and Women’s Studies on the other. Finally, by examining the life and work of numerous industrial researchers, insight will be offered into the conditions that enabled a woman to achieve a prominent professional position during a time when women were typically excluded from the scientific workforce.

Additional text

“The book is a very thoroughly researched book. … There are many notes in the book and luckily they are at the bottom of each page. They refer to a very long bibliography. … I can highly recommend this book. Iris Runge is an accomplished, interesting and sympathetic woman to get to know.” (Else Høyrup, AWM Newsletter, Vol. 46 (3), May-June, 2016)
“This book deals with the life of Iris Runge … whose name is attached to the well-known Runga-Kutta [sic] technique for solving differential equations. … This book will definitely be of interest to mathematical historians as well as researchers of gender studies.” (Michael De Villiers, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 98 (541), March, 2014)
“This book is devoted to a description of Iris Runge’s career as an industrial mathematician, which was pioneering in several respects. … In this scholarly work, with its rich collection of footnotes, photographs and references, the author has taken great pains to document the various aspects of Iris Runge’s life and career.” (Martin Muldoon, Bulletin of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics, Issue 50, May, 2012)
“This is the English version of the biography of Iris Runge (1888-1966), the daughter of the Göttingen pioneer of applied mathematics Carl Runge (1856-1927), published originally in German … . The book is thoroughly researched and contains an extensive bibliography of over 30 pages. It covers with an interesting biographical case study the hitherto almost unexplored topic of the history of industrial mathematics and can be highly recommended.” (Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1236, 2012)

Report

"The book is a very thoroughly researched book. ... There are many notes in the book and luckily they are at the bottom of each page. They refer to a very long bibliography. ... I can highly recommend this book. Iris Runge is an accomplished, interesting and sympathetic woman to get to know." (Else Høyrup, AWM Newsletter, Vol. 46 (3), May-June, 2016)
"This book deals with the life of Iris Runge ... whose name is attached to the well-known Runga-Kutta [sic] technique for solving differential equations. ... This book will definitely be of interest to mathematical historians as well as researchers of gender studies." (Michael De Villiers, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 98 (541), March, 2014)
"This book is devoted to a description of Iris Runge's career as an industrial mathematician, which was pioneering in several respects. ... In this scholarly work, with its rich collection of footnotes, photographs and references, the author has taken great pains to document the various aspects of Iris Runge's life and career." (Martin Muldoon, Bulletin of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics, Issue 50, May, 2012)
"This is the English version of the biography of Iris Runge (1888-1966), the daughter of the Göttingen pioneer of applied mathematics Carl Runge (1856-1927), published originally in German ... . The book is thoroughly researched and contains an extensive bibliography of over 30 pages. It covers with an interesting biographical case study the hitherto almost unexplored topic of the history of industrial mathematics and can be highly recommended." (Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1236, 2012)

Product details

• Authors: Renate Tobies
• Assisted by: Helmut Neunzert (Foreword)
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Original title: "Morgen möchte ich wieder 100 herrliche Sachen ausrechnenn". Iris Runge bei Osram und Telefunken
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 24.01.2012
• EAN: 9783034802291
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3480229-1
• No. of pages: 442
• Weight: 926 g
• Illustrations: XXII, 442 p. 40 illus., 34 illus. in color.
• Series: Science Networks. Historical Studies; Science Networks. Historical Studies
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Mathematics > General, dictionaries; B, History, Mathematics, History of Science, Mathematics and Statistics, History of Mathematical Sciences, Iris Runge;Osram;economic mathematics;technical mathematics