Black History Month

1. Arleen Trieu
Period 8

2. Born in 1933.
DeConge’s occupation
was a Mathematician.

3. • She was sixteen years old
when she joined the Sisters of
the Holy Family.
• Became a teacher and taught in
elementary schools in parochial
schools of the dioceses Baton Rouge
and Lafayette (1952-1955).

4. • Born in • Attended • Taught at
Wickliff, Graduate Holy Ghost
School at High School
Louisiana in
Louisiana
Opelousas, L
State ouisiana
College. from 1959-
1961.

5. Received a doctorate in Math Saint Louis
University 1968.
Was an assistant professor at Loyola
University in New Orleans 1968-1971.

6. She wrote Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science (USA).
Her publications were on Cauchy’s
Problem for Higher- Order Abstract
Parabolic Equations.
DeConge was the seventh child born out of
nine children.

7. Her Family was of Creole descent.
• Her family spoke French.
She went to segregated schools in Louisiana where
she was always a genius in math since
elementary school.
• In 1976, DeConge was diagnosed with Lupus, a
disease that destroys the immune system.

8. • Coauthored a University of
New Mexico Technical
support.
• She wrote two unpublished
books a geometry text
book, and a math book for
elementary school teachers.

9. • Directed Center for Minorities in Science,
Engineering, at Southern University and at the
1995 A&M College System.
• Retired being the professor of emeritus of
mathematics
1998
• She became the interim Vice Chancellor for
Academic affairs, teaching students once again.
2003

10. 2005, she
wrote about
She was very her family
Involved in life starting
Church from 1851.
activities.
Charter member of Southern
University Chapter Pi Mu Epsilon, a
national mathematics society.

11. Believed all
She had four
teachers should
step-children.
major in math.

12. At Southern University,
she received Teacher of the
year Award for three
years straight.
At St. Louis University
received Outstanding
Graduate of the
Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences, 1996.

13. Her father Her
was a family • Moved in
farmer and spoke very 1934 to
a jack-of- little Baton
all-trades. English. Rouge,
Louisiana.

14. She wrote a long essay
called 2-Normed Lattices
and 2-Metric Spaces for
her PhD.
Wrote the journal,
Journal of African
Civilizations.

15.  Became a nun in the Holy Sisters
of Saint Francis.
 Attended Secton Hill’s College in
Greensburg ,Pennsylvania.
 Received B.A. degree in
mathematics and science at Seton
Hill College.

16.  Deconge was the 15th African
American to receive a Ph.D in
Mathematics.
 Received Masters Degree in
mathematics (1962).
 Became an executive director of
the Center for Mathematics in
Science, Engineering, and
technology.

17. Taught at Delisle
Junior College in New
Orleans in 1962-1964.
Taught at Southern
University of Baton
Rouge in 1999.

18. Minored in French at St.
Louis University.
She wrote the Journal of
Mathematical Analytical
Applications.

19. Her mother Spent 29
was Adina
years at
Spent 37 Rodney
Southern
years on DeConge and
University
higher her father
Baton
education. was Alphonse
Frank Rouge, Lousi
Deconge. ana.

20.  Lovenia DeConge-Watson." Contemporary Black
Biography. Vol. 55. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Biography
In Context. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.
 Spangenburg, Ray, and Kit Moser. "Deconge, Sister
Mary Sylvester." African Americans in
Science, Math, and Invention, A to Z of African
Americans. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003.
African-American History Online. Facts On
File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE01&iPin=AASM0044&SingleRecord=True (
accessed February 23, 2012).

21.  "Mary Deconge - Mathematician of the
African Diaspora." Department of
Mathematics, University at Buffalo. Web. 23
Feb. 2012.
<http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/PEEPS/d
econge_sistermarys.html>.