On Monday, 25 March the Hanna Neumann building was officially opened, in a ceremony attended by the Australian National University’s (ANU) Vice Chancellor as well as the College Deans of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) and Science.
Since the first occupants moved in, the building has generated much enthusiasm and excitement as a collaborative teaching and research space.
The official opening coincided with the unveiling of the building name, in honour of Johanna (Hanna) Neumann, who held several prominent academic positions at ANU and overseas. These included Head of the Department of Pure Mathematics, the first female chair at the ANU, and first female Professor of Mathematics in Australia.
Many of Professor Neumann’s surviving family members were in attendance, including her granddaughter and great-granddaughter Rachel and Rowena Neumann.
Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt spoke at the ceremony, and described Professor Neumann as “an inspirational mathematics professor who made abstract ideas accessible through the use of concrete examples”.
The building is a shared space between the Research School of Computer Science within CECS and the Mathematical Sciences Institute within the College of Science. The five story building was built by architect Clark Keller and interior designer DWP, with construction company Hindmarsh, and is equipped with state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities.