CHERYL E PRAEGER AC
Cheryl E Praeger AC is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Western Australia and was foundation Director of UWA’s Centre for Mathematics of Symmetry and Computation.
She works on the mathematics of symmetry, exploiting deep theory about the finite simple groups to solve group theoretic, combinatorial, geometric, and computational problems.
Educated in Brisbane, Australia, she completed her doctorate at St Anne’s College, Oxford. She is a passionate supporter and mentor of students and young scientists, especially women, having been a pioneer for women in mathematics, including as the first female president of the Australian Mathematical Society and only the second female mathematics professorial appointment in Australia.
She is the first mathematician to be inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame, and in 2019 she became the first Western Australian and first pure mathematician to receive the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.