Dr Paulina Rowińska
Paulina Rowińska, winner of the Austrian Science Book of the Year Award, is a Cambridge-based science writer with a PhD in mathematics. After years of creating interactive math and data science content for the educational platform Brilliant, she began a master’s in science journalism at MIT.
https://www.paulinarowinska.com/
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Biography
Paulina Rowińska, winner of the Austrian Science Book of the Year Award, is a Cambridge-based science writer with a PhD in mathematics. After years of creating interactive maths and data science content for the educational platform Brilliant, she began a master’s in science journalism at MIT. MAPMATICS is her first book.
Paula aims to continue exploring the role of mathematics in our daily lives while also covering topics like mental health and environmental issues.
When she is not writing, you’ll probably find her devouring a book from her ever-growing to-be-read pile, learning a new language, or enjoying a cheesy musical.
Books
MAPMATICS: How We Navigate the World Through Numbers was published in 2024 with Picador in the UK and Belknap Press in the US.
Mapmatics was also published in German with Aufbau and Audible Germany, and won the prestigious Austrian prize, Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres 2025, after selection by a jury of experts from science, research and journalism and a final vote by the public. An Italian edition was published with Oscar in 2024.
MAPMATICS:
A Chalkdust Magazine Book of the Year 2024
Winner of the Austrian Science Book Prize 2024
‘If you have ever wondered why an airliner bound from London to Los Angeles flies over Greenland, how we know what lies inside the Earth, or how computers correct errors, then this is for you’ – John Gribbin, author of Six Impossible Things
'A wonderfully readable adventure' – Edward Brooke-Hitching, author of The Phantom Atlas
‘Historical insights and human stories’ – Ian Stewart, author of What's the Use?
'This book blew my mind, again and again' – Roma Agrawal, author of Built
‘A delightful book!’ – Arthur Benjamin, author of The Magic of Math
‘I love maps. I love math. And gosh, do I love this book, which so beautifully and clearly sounds the depths of both.’ – Ben Orlin, author of Math with Bad Drawings
‘Guides you elegantly, like a beautifully drawn map, through the fascinating stories behind centuries of map-making . . . Highly entertaining.’ – Tim James, author of Fundamental
'An expansive journey through time and place' – The Observer
‘The historic meeting of geography and imagination sets the tone for the book, which moves briskly through time and space.’– Anna Aslanyan, Times Literary Supplement
'Entertaining, illuminating . . . An engaging look at a fascinating subject' – Sarah Hart, New Scientist
‘Engaging and original.’– Andrew Robinson, Nature
‘[This book] is for you, and for anyone in your life who would like to more deeply understand the connections between maths and the world around them.’ – Elinor Flavell, Aperiodical