Person: Berdichevsky, Cecilia
Cecilia Berdichevsky was a mathematician who played a major role in developing work with the first computer to be installed in Argentina in 1961. This work ended in 1966 with the coup which caused many academics to leave Argentina. She remained in the country taking on numerous accounting and IT roles.
Mathematical Profile (Excerpt):
- Cecilia attended school in Avellaneda and it was at the High School she attended that she became friendly with a fellow pupil Rebeca Cherep.
- Cecilia and Rebeca both loved mathematics and excelled at the topic at the High School.
- Cecilia felt that there were two ways in which she could pursue a career in mathematics, either by doing an accounting degree or by studying for a B.Sc. in mathematics.
- In 1955 Cecilia accompanied Mario who was spending a year working in Paris, France and while there she decided to take a course studying statistics.
- Rebeca had studied mathematics with Manuel Sadosky and had continued to encourage Cecilia to study pure mathematics.
- Sadosky taught analysis at the University of Buenos Aires and Cecilia's friend Rebeca Guber was working as his assistant.
- When Cecilia Berdichevsky returned to Argentina after spending the year in Paris, she enrolled to study mathematics at the University of Buenos Aires.
- Berdichevsky was fifteen years older than Cora Sadosky which must have made her student years quite challenging.
- This may explain why Manuel Sadosky spoke of Berdichevsky as being "a very shy young woman" when all who knew her later in life said she was extraordinarily outgoing.
- Pilar Suter said Berdichevsky was a hard-working student who was one of the best students in every course she took.
- While working for her B.Sc., Berdichevsky had been aware of the ongoing work to found a Computational Institute at the University of Buenos Aires and purchase a computer.
- A small team began work with the new computer including Manuel Sadosky, Rebeca Guber, whom Berdichevsky describes as "a mathematician and excellent organiser" and Berdichevsky herself.
- Berdichevsky received one of the fellowships and the second was never filled as nobody else had the necessary qualifications.
- During her six months in England, Berdichevsky also found time to visit other computing centres such as the one at the University of Manchester and the one at the University of Cambridge.
- While in France, Berdichevsky again attended lecture courses.
- Back in Argentina, Berdichevsky continued to work at the Computational Institute.
- When Manuel Sadosky was indisposed and could not give the theoretical lectures, Berdichevsky took over.
- Cecilia, in addition to being a teacher, worked with Clementina at the Computational Institute.
- Over time, the three students also joined the Computational Institute, and became colleagues and friends of Berdichevsky.
- At the end of the day, the three of them and Cecilia would go to some pub chosen by Juan Carlos, the expert on the subject.
- "Take a good look at her," he told everyone, who had never seen him so angry, "because today is Cecilia's last day at the Institute.
- She is finished, you will never see her around here again." The next day Cecilia reappeared punctually, as she did every day, to continue working hard on the Census issue.
- From 1966 to 1970, Berdichevsky was a director of ACT and one of their consultants.
- In all the references quoted below, we learn something of Berdichevsky's character.
- "Cecilia is very enterprising," says Marcelo Larramendy, "once she gets something in her head, she doesn't stop.
- For Ruti, her niece, Cecilia was ahead of her time.
- "Cecilia is my aunt," says Julieta Burzomi, as if that phrase said it all.
Born 30 March 1925, Vilnius, Poland (now Lithuania). Died 28 February 2010, Avellaneda, Argentina.
View full biography at MacTutor
Tags relevant for this person:
Origin Poland, Women
Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0! 
- Github:
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- non-Github:
- @J-J-O'Connor
- @E-F-Robertson
References
Adapted from other CC BY-SA 4.0 Sources:
- O’Connor, John J; Robertson, Edmund F: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
