Profile – Leah Ratliff

Leah Ratliff graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Mathematics degree. In 2000 she was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Research Scholarship to do a PhD in pure mathematics at the University of Sydney.

When Leah enrolled at University of Newcastle for her bachelors degree she decided to study engineering and computer science because both of these subjects have very good career prospects. However, she soon found that what she really liked was the mathematics behind the engineering, so she switched to a Bachelor of Mathematics degree because she "realised that I should be doing something I love rather than something designed just to get me a job."

After being awarded first class honours at the University of Newcastle, Leah wanted to do research in mathematics. She decided to come to the University of Sydney for her PhD partly because she wanted a change, and partly because the School of Mathematics and Statistics has one of Australia’s strongest research group in algebra, which is Leah’s field of interest. Leah loves nutting out problems and she says that she finds research in mathematics to be a fantastic challenge. However, it is not all fun because research is very hard work and there is a lot of pressure to get things done in time. In addition to research, Leah also really enjoys teaching so she is hoping to be an academic after she finishes her PhD.

When she’s not doing mathematics, Leah sings in a band called "Lady Jane". She says that playing, singing and writing songs are what she likes to do most. She also loves to read, watch television and movies and says that she has just discovered how fantastic swing dancing is.

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