Karen Uhlenbeck was awarded the prestigious Abel Prize for Mathematics in 2019 as a result of her outstanding work in pioneering geometrical analysis, and so, found a completely new area of mathematics. Her advances in this field have influenced many other mathematicians and physicists, branching into multiple different areas. This can only show how important her work was tofunction as a foundation for new discoveries.

Interviewing her has allowed for a stronger sense of her love for this field. The hurdles she has overcome, her story, and her sense of self are all incredibly inspiring attributes of what has built her strength of character. Uhlenbeck explains that when she does Mathematics, "the rest of the world fades away and I am entirely absorbed in it. I go into a trance and do not have to worry about anything else. It is a wonderful escape!".

Describe yourself in 3 words.

"I am intellectual, intense and enthusiastic."

What is your most valuable memory career-wise?

“My best memory career-wise was when I took freshman honors calculus and discovered the wonderful world of geometric constructions in calculus.”

What is a common misconception people have of you?

“I am afraid I do not know (or care very much) what other people think of me. The world is too large to worry about that.”

What were your biggest motivators going into Mathematics?

“My biggest motivation for going into mathematics was that I loved it, I was good at it, and I could make a living doing it.”

What is your story? Tell me a bit about yourself!

“I grew up in New Jersey. Some of my earliest memories are of building things with blocks, Lincoln logs and models from kits. I read a lot both as a kid and throughout my life, but I also like to garden, hike and bicycle. I have been married twice, but have no children, only a stepdaughter. My choice in music is classical music, Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.”

How did it feel to be the first woman to receive the Abel prize? Did it have long-term effects on your life?

“I was very surprised to get the Abel prize, and I am afraid I found it quite difficult to do all the things that I was and am expected to do as a consequence (answering your questions is one of the easier things). I get many more invitations but do not accept many of them, so it has not really changed my life that much.”

How does it feel to be in a male-heavy sector?

“Well, I always liked men, so did not mind being around men, especially when I was younger. It just came with the territory. Many men were and are encouraging to women, and I avoid those who are not. At this stage in my life, I am a bit tired of it. Most of my friends are women mathematicians, mostly younger than I because there are just not so many older women mathematicians. I do have a friend who is a philosopher who is almost my age. Women philosophers have it tougher than women mathematicians. And what about symphony conductors?”

What is your advice for aspiring mathematicians- especially little girls who may feel intimidated in an all-male class?

“I do not know how to advise girls who are intimidated by boys in a math class. When I was a little girl, other girls intimidated me! They could be really mean. For me, it was an escape to just learn physics, or Latin, or English (I did not discover math until college) and not have to worry about the other kids. It is hard to get anywhere in life if you are worrying about other people all the time.”

If you could sit down for a meal with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

“Virginia Woolf. Every once in a while I go back and read “A Room of One’s Own”. We, women, have it much easier today, but it is still worth reading. She also had a wry sense of humor and told good stories to her nieces and nephews.”

What is the greatest hardship you have faced?

“The hardest thing for me to overcome is pain and ill health. The rest is relatively easy.”

What got you interested in looking into what we now call “bubbling” and how does it feel to be at the forefront of modern geometric analysis?

“To me, “bubbling” was an obvious feature of what is called scale invariance. This means that the math can’t tell the difference between a tiny little circle and a big one. You understand what happens in the big circle (say a large ball sits in it), so all you do is take the tiny circle and make it big and lo there is a big ball sitting in it! It happens in any problem where the scale on the problem doesn’t matter. It seemed like a bubble to me.

I have lots of company at the forefront of modern geometric analysis. I didn’t get here alone, and I have lots of mathematicians to talk to here.”

How did it feel to be the second woman to give a plenary address at the International Congress of Mathematicians?

“My experience of being the second woman to give a plenary address at the International Congress (in 1990, after Emmy Noether, who was the first in 1932) was a bit frightening. I just wondered where all the women were and wondered how I had done it. It is now comforting to know that many, many women have now given plenary addresses, and I am no longer an anomaly. It’s nice to see so many successful women mathematicians coming after me.”

I will leave you with this...

To end this amazing narrative, Uhlenbeck says, "I will just add my favorite quote, attributed to a black minister and civil rights activist Howard Thurman from about the time I was starting out. “Don’t ask what the world needs from you. Ask what makes you come alive, for what the world needs is people who have come alive.”"

LIV IZ