Karen Uhlenbeck, a University of Texas at Austin professor emeritus, recently was named the first woman to win the highest prize in mathematics—the Abel Prize.

Who was her role model? “Looking back now, I realize that I was very lucky. I was in the forefront of a generation of women who actually could get real jobs in academia….Like many people in my generation, my role model was Julia Child,” Uhlenbeck told The New York Times.