Dr. Diane M. Dowling

The late Dr. Diane Mary Dowling was born to parents Evelyn and George Johnson in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her early days of education were spent in classrooms at Balmoral Hall School and United College. Following secondary education, she was admitted to the University of Manitoba where she eventually earned her Bachelors of Science and by 1956, a Masters of Science in Mathematics, subsequently earning her PhD in Mathematics from the University of Toronto. In 1958 she returned to Winnipeg and accepted a professorship in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Manitoba. She spent years at the U of M teaching students and conducting her own research in the field of combinatorics and graph theory. As a teacher, she meticulously prepared and delivered lectures to her students. By 1980, she joined St. Pauls College and dedicated countless hours planning social activities. She received the Father Cecil Ryan Award from St. Pauls College in recognition for her dedication to the College. After an accomplished 47 years at the University of Manitoba, she retired and was appointed as Senior Scholar.

Dr Dowling’s long and successful was not only spent in the classroom or researching mathematical topics, she was a strong advocate for mathematical education in the community and province wide. She was a member of the Executive of the Manitoba Association of Mathematics Teachers, Chair of the Manitoba Mathematical Contest Committee, multiple curriculum committees in the Faculty of Education, University Women’s Club, Alpha Delta Pi, St. David’s Society of Winnipeg, and the Irish Association of Manitoba.

A scholarship in her honour was set up in 2006 by her husband, Professor Roy Dowling. More information can be found here.

Adapted from: https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-95887/DOWLING_DIANE

Dissertation:
The collineation group of a Veblen-Wedderburn non-desarguesian projective geometry
Thesis available at the Elizabeth Dafoe Library upon request (Thesis J6313).