At a time when the traditional career avenue for women with mathematics degrees was teaching, Ruth Gonzalez charted her own course. Gonzalez was interested in the application of mathematics to real-world problems. After earning her BA and MA in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin, she worked on modeling problems in underwater acoustics at the University’s Applied Research Laboratories. These could be used, for example, to position submarines to avoid detection. While working at Exxon, she earned her doctorate from Rice University in 1986. Combining her mathematical skills with a growing knowledge of geophysics, Gonzalez developed mathematical algorithms to produce geological images of underground oil and gas reservoirs.
