Born: 20 February 1936, Suriname
Died: 11 May 2020
Country most active: Netherlands
Also known as: Aïda Beatrijs Paalman-de Miranda
Aïda Beatrijs (Ietje) Paalman-de Miranda was a Dutch mathematician born in Suriname. She became the first female professor of mathematics at the University of Amsterdam. Paalman was born in the city district of Uitvlugt in Paramaribo. At the age of 17, she moved to the Netherlands to study mathematics at the University of Amsterdam. At that time, it was very unusual, and she was the only woman in the faculty. She graduated cum laude on November 23, 1960. She pursued her doctorate under the guidance of Johannes de Groot, completing it in 1964, also cum laude, with De Groot as her supervisor. Her dissertation was titled Topological Semigroups” (with Hugo Brandt Corstius and her husband as her paranymphs). After becoming a lecturer in 1966, she was appointed as a professor of pure mathematics in 1980, becoming the first female mathematics professor in the Netherlands alongside Ruth F. Curtain from Groningen. Her unique story connected the mathematical and Surinamese communities.
Ietje de Miranda was married to the pharmacist Dolf Paalman, and they had two children and three grandchildren.
Paalman was particularly active in topology and set theory, supervising three doctoral students who all completed their doctorates with her and Jan van Mill. She authored a book (“Topological Semigroups – Mathematical Centre Tracts, 1964, Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam) and eleven articles on W-groups, topological representations of semigroups, and compact groups. Additionally, she wrote course materials for her teaching at the Korteweg-de Vries Institute of the University of Amsterdam. She emphasized the importance of quality education at the university and secondary school levels, expressing concern about the discontinuation of the university MO program, as it would lead to a loss of mathematical knowledge among (future) teachers in secondary education.