The Hertz Foundation mourns the passing of Hertz Fellow Elise Cawley, a valued member of our Board of Directors and a devoted supporter of the Foundation for many years.
Cawley joined the Hertz Foundation Board in 2018, bringing with her a combination of mathematical rigor, institutional wisdom and genuine enthusiasm for the Hertz community. A 1986 Hertz Fellow, Cawley exemplified the values of the Hertz Foundation throughout her career—intellectual excellence, service to the next generation of scientific leaders and a deep commitment to mathematics education.
Cawley completed her Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, as a Hertz Fellow, researching at the intersection of dynamical systems and geometry, and went on to hold research positions at the CUNY Graduate Center, IHES in France, Stony Brook University, and the University of Chicago. Her scholarship on smooth Markov partitions and toral automorphisms remains cited in mathematics research today.
“Elise brought important perspectives to our board discussions: as a Hertz Fellow, a parent of college age children and mathematician. She will be sorely missed by everyone who had the opportunity to work with her,”
Cawley’s curiosity extended well beyond the Foundation. She served as a founding member of the community advisory board for Stanford Online High School, and she was deeply engaged in the history of innovation in education at every level. She also gave her time informally to school innovators and start-up initiatives, and coached a Mathcounts team.
Those who wish to honor Cawley’s memory may make a gift to the Hertz Fund in her name. Every contribution helps give the nation’s most exceptional innovators the freedom to pursue their boldest ideas—a cause Elise championed wholeheartedly throughout her many years as a devoted volunteer of the Hertz Foundation.
“Elise was an important and impassioned voice on our Board, pairing her skill as a mathematician with a heartfelt love for the Hertz community in every aspect of her service. The depth of insight she brought will continue to shape how this Board supports our fellows long into the future,”
Wendy Connors
Cawley will be remembered not only for her contributions as a mathematician and board member, but for the intellectual rigor and genuine curiosity she brought to everything she touched — from her research, to her board service, to her lifelong commitment to mathematics education.
Elise is survived by her husband, Stephen Wolfram, and their four children, Alexander, Catherine, Christopher, and Elizabeth. Wolfram has written a personal remembrance of their life together, available here.
About the Hertz Foundation
The Hertz Foundation is the nation’s preeminent nonprofit organization committed to advancing American scientific and technological leadership. For more than 60 years, it has stood as an unwavering pillar of independent support through the renowned Hertz Fellowship, cultivating a multidisciplinary network of innovators whose work has positively impacted millions of lives. Learn more at hertzfoundation.org.
