Math in the News Archive

June 2008 Post Date Title
June 27 NIST Seeks Feedback on "Digital Library of Mathematical Functions" Preview
June 26 Math Exams in Britain Have Become Too Easy
June 25 A Pythagorean Approach to the Universe
June 24 Calculus Textbook Author Murray Protter Has Died at 90
June 23 A Density Limit for Randomly Packed Spheres
June 20 Pure Math Research Sheds Light on Gravitational Lensing
June 19 Mathematicians Urged to Confront Climate Change
June 18 Report Criticizes Reliance on Citation Statistics for Gauging Research Quality
June 17 Wolf Prize Recipient Gives His Award Money to Palestinians
June 16 Public Schools as Good as Private Schools in Raising Math Scores
June 14 Math Professor Awarded $3 Million to Study Information Synthesis
June 13 The Mathematical Sounds of Music from Ancient Times
June 12 Amazonian Native Culture Can Map Numbers onto Space
June 11 Studying Biology Now Requires a Grounding in Math
June 10 Adapting Math Ed to the Needs of Future Biologists
June 9 New Book by John H. Conway and Colleagues Reveals Symmetry and the World
June 6 Diane O'Leary and Rebecca Golden Will Give Key Lectures at Summer Meetings
June 5 Math Educator and Author W.W. Sawyer Dies at 97
June 4 Alexandre Grothendieck Turns 80 in Self-Imposed Seclusion
June 3 Computer Algebra Pioneer Bruno Buchberger Wins Award
June 2 Theoretical Physics as an Inspiration for Mathematical Advances
May 2008 Post Date Title
May 31 Social Equality Means Improved Math Skills for Girls
May 30 Hairstyle Patterns Teach Young African Americans about Their Mathematical Heritage
May 29 Stereotypes of Mathematicians Discourage Study of Math in Britain
May 28 Studying Percolation on Infinite Graphs
May 27 South African Math Institute Aims High
May 24 Vermont Has Two Math Whiz Kids on USAMO Team
May 23 Marcus de Sautoy Does Creative Calculations
May 22 Left-Handed Number Sense Is Right
May 21 Revised MathDL Slated To Debut This Summer
May 20 Deligne, Griffiths, and Mumford Share 2008 Wolf Prize in Mathematics
May 17 Math Project Garners a Top Prize at 2008 Intel Science Competition
May 16 Gigliola Staffilani: A Woman in Mathematics
May 15 Breakthrough: A Math Model of a "Memristor"
May 14 Tracking the Concentration of E. coli in the Lower Charles River
May 13 Math Model Shows Pollution Diminishes Pollination
May 12 Gaps Close in Math and Science Achievement
May 9 John Nash to Speak at Shepherd University's Computer Algebra Day
May 8 Patterns in Mathematics and Poetry Makes Surprising Connections
May 7 Researchers Convert Music to Mathematics
May 6 Edward Lorenz, Father of Chaos Theory, Dies at 90
May 5 Mathematical Model Predicts Low Probability of Intelligent Life Elsewhere in Universe
May 2 Don Knuth Defends Status Quo of TeX
May 1 Terence Tao Elected to National Academy of Sciences
April 2008 Post Date Title
April 30 Understanding Saturation Mathematically
April 29 Students May Learn Math Better When Teachers Stick to Abstract Equations
April 28 Cell Phones Will Help South African Girls Learn Mathematics
April 25 Brunei's Students Partake in Mathematics Carnival
April 24 Mathematical Model Suggests Idea of "Slushball Earth"
April 23 Math is in the Fight Against Nitrogen-Contaminated Water
April 22 Foreign Students "Eat, Sleep, Breathe Mathematics and Science"
April 21 Celebrating Math Awareness Month
April 18 Best Elements of Mathematics Education Are Hard to Define
April 17 Former MAA President William L. Duren Has Died at 102
April 16 Canada's Students Are Really Doing the Math This Week
April 15 Coming to the Classroom: Mathematical Software for the Blind
April 14 Retired Mathematician Knows What 100 Feels Like
April 11 Recently Found Astrolabe May Disappear Again
April 10 Humans Can Count Before They Speak
April 9 New from SIAM: The Journal on Imaging Sciences
April 8 Aztecs Were a Numerate People
April 7 Mathematician Michael Huber Wins German Research Foundation Award
April 4 Aha! A Third-Degree L-Function Has Been Found
April 3 Math Scores of Vermont's High School Students Don't Add Up
April 2 A Disappearing Number Garners Best New Play Award
April 1 Math Teachers Underrate Ability of Low-Income African American Students
March 2008 Post Date Title
March 31 Stanford Mathematicians Will Help Set Up New Saudi University
March 28 American and Frenchman Share 2008 Abel Prize for Mathematics
March 27 2008 is "Mathematics Year" in Germany
March 26 Mathematicians Find Better Way to Reliable Predictions
March 25 Investigating Fractals Through Time
March 24 This Algorithm Can Reveal What You're Feeling
March 21 Young Students Can Dance to Music and Mathematics
March 20 There Are Infinite Solutions to Euler’s Equation of Degree Four
March 19 David Gale, Known for Mathematical Economics, Has Died
March 18 Math Helps Three Students Garner Prizes in Intel Talent Search 2008
March 17 National Mathematics Panel Issues Call for "Back to Basics"
March 14 Today--March 14--Is Pi Day!
March 13 Science Magazine Lauds Sophie Germain as "A Woman Who Counted"
March 12 Schwarz-Christoffel Formula Solved
March 11 It's Not Just Guesswork Anymore: There Is Mathematics to Zigzagging
March 10 New Math Model May Help Contain Hospital Infection Rates
March 7 No End in Sight for the Battle over the Best Way to Teach Mathematics
March 6 New Mathematics Textbook is Drawing Ire
March 5 Teacher-Student Communication is Critical in Math Instruction
March 4 New Yorker Magazine Article Posits Our Brains Are Hardwired for Math
March 3 Now There's a Parody of Television Numbers
February 2008 Post Date Title
February 29 Mathematician Discovers Novel Ways of Solving Differential Equations
February 28 The Mathematics of Multi-Criteria Analysis: A Tool for Conflict Resolution
February 27 Nano-Sized Drums Imply There's More to Know in Arena of Math, Physics, and Microelectronics
February 26 International Science Consortium Investigates "Touch Technologies"
February 25 Four-Decade-Old "Road Coloring Conjecture" Apparently Solved
February 22 Peers Affect High School Girls' Decisions to Take Mathematics
February 20 New Book: Finding Moonshine: A Mathematician’s Journey Through Symmetry, by Marcus du Sautoy
February 19 2008 American Mathematics Competition Has Begun
February 15 Even Doctors May Have Trouble "Doing the Math"
February 14 AIP Awards Mathematical Physics Prize to Mitchell Feigenbaum of Rockefeller University
February 13 The 2007 Numbers from the NSF: Indian Graduate Students Predominate
February 12 Mathematicians Argue the Value of Teaching Mathematics the Old-Fashioned Way
February 11 Moscow State University Math Department Now Owns One of World's Most Powerful Supercomputers
February 8 NAS Will Honor Two Mathematicians for Scientific Contributions
February 7 Influential Mathematics Educator Izaak Wirszup Has Died
February 6 NSF Requests 20 Percent Hike for Mathematics and Science for FY 2009
February 5 Remembering Mathematician Sam Karlin
February 4 Mathematicians Model Actual Snowflakes
February 1 Mathematics Shows that, Yes, a Tiger Can Leap a 12 Foot Wall
January 2008 Post Date Title
January 31 Mathematician Maxim Kontsevich Wins Crafoord Prize 2008
January 30 Newsweek Notes Relevance of Mathematics to Voting
January 29 Differential Evolution Aids Space Travel
January 28 Prominent Mathematician in India Accused of Plagiarism
January 25 Three Mathematicians Share 2008 Wolf Prize
January 24 Google-Style Search Could Track Spread of Hospital Infections
January 23 First You Don't See It, Now You Don't Hear It
January 22 This Year's Mathematics Awareness Month Highlights Mathematics and Voting
January 18 Monkeys Master Basic Addition Algorithm
January 17 Texas Officials Reject Widely Used Elementary Math Textbook
January 16 Math Findings Rank Among Top 100 Science Stories of 2007
January 15 An Interdisciplinary Approach for Tomorrow's Math Majors
January 14 Study Finds That U.S. Middle School Math Teachers Are Ill-Prepared
January 11 Mathematician Nominated for Grammy for Helping Restore Woody Guthrie Recording
January 10 European Union May Streamline Process to Retain Foreign Mathematicians and Scientists
January 9 Combinatorial Mathematics May Help Pinpoint Software Bugs Quickly
January 8 From Optical Rogue Waves to Ocean Monsters
January 7 U.S. Universities Report Stalled Growth in Federal Research Funding in FY 2006
January 4 Mathematical Path Leads to a Novel Object That Rights Itself
January 3 Cryptographer Uncovers Potential Weakness in Encryption Algorithms
January 2 Jobs in Computer and Mathematical Sciences to Grow Fastest of All Professions
December 2007 Post Date Title
December 24 Square Dancing Takes a Mathematical Spin
December 21 Free Math Software to be Distributed at the JMM in San Diego
December 20 Gene Golub, Pioneering Mathematical Computer Scientist, Has Died at 75
December 19 New Book Argues for Reforming the Process of the "Formation of Scholars"
December 18 MIT Math Courses Now Available Online
December 17 Systems and Computational Biology as Career Choices for Math Majors
December 14 Math Video Attracts a Million Hits on YouTube
December 13 International Assessment Puts Finn Teens at the Top in Math and Science
December 12 Gender, Math, and Scientific Achievement
December 11 Geometric Model May Link Gravity and Fundamental Forces of Nature
December 10 International Digital Library of Math Books
December 7 A Math Model of Polar Bears That Bears Watching
December 5 Girls Take Top Prizes in Siemens Competition
December 4 Mathematics for Virtual Surgery
December 3 German Math Prize Awarded for Novel Function Systems Research
November 2007 Post Date Title
November 30 Study Reports U.S. Students in STEM Subjects Rank ABOVE Foreign Counterparts
November 29 Australian Effort to Tame Huge Datasets
November 28 Numeracy at an Early Age Linked to Later Educational Achievement
November 27 Fractal Analysis Apparently Fails an Art Authentication Test
November 26 Modeling Weather's Role in Wildfires
November 21 Mathematical Model of Albatross Flight Crashes
November 20 Magazine Highlights a Firefighter's Theorem
November 19 Chinese Scientists Celebrate 400th Anniversary of Translation of Euclid's Elements
November 16 Computer Program Can Tell a Dali from a Dud
November 15 Getting a Handle on Mathematics
November 14 U.S. Students Face Hurdles in Mastering Math and Science Courses in College
November 13 Monkeys Recognize Number Values; Is Calculus — if not Shakespeare — Next?
November 12 Remembering Math Heroine Bella Abramovna Subbotovskaya
November 9 You're Going to Love Those Movie Numbers
November 8 Nationwide Test Reveals Japanese Students Score Lower in Math Applications
November 7 Ben Green Awarded 2007 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize
November 6 Applying Game Theory to Beat the Bad Guys
November 5 Using Music to Teach Elementary Math
November 2 Controversial Turing Machine Proof
November 1 Too Much Testing Discourages Further Math Study by British Students
October 2007 Post Date Title
October 31 Mathematical Prestidigitation Suggests Possibility of Electromagnetic Wormholes
October 30 Toward a Mathematical Model of the Immune System
October 29 Predicting How Verbs Evolve
October 26 Stanford Postdoc Thomas Snyder Is New U.S. Sudoku Champion
October 25 Assessing Assessment in K-5 Math Programs
October 24 Mathematicians Demonstrate a Gravity-Defying Result
October 23 Boston Globe Spotlights Mathematician and MAA Member Paul Sally
October 22 László Lovász Awarded Bolyai Prize
October 19 Math Video a Winner of 2007 "Science and Engineering Visualization"
October 18 Ancient Greeks Devised Machines First, Mathematical Theory Later
October 17 A Chaotic Manifold Sculpted in Steel
October 16 Mathematics Helps Three Economists Gain 2007 Nobel Prize
October 15 Math and Physics Researchers Collaborate on Improved Algorithms for Quantum Chromodynamics
October 12 Hand-Held Calculator Reaches Age 40
October 11 Noncommutative Quantum Math: When Subtraction Gets You More Than You Started With!
October 10 Creating Accurate Mathematical Models of Nerve Cell Activity
October 9 Giving a Cork a Mathematical Twist
October 5 Math in the Art of Braided Hairstyles
October 4 Florida's New Math Standards Based on Finland's and Singapore's
October 3 Report Prompts More Testing, Performance Data Disclosure at Colleges
October 2 Algorithm Can Trace Ancestry from a Single DNA Sample
October 1 U.S. Education "Report Card" Points to Continued Math Gains
September 2007 Post Date Title
September 28 Smithsonian Offers Online Exhibit on Teaching Math and Science in the Age of Sputnik
September 27 Coming-of-Age Novel About Math Prodigy
September 26 Mathematician Kenneth L. Cooke, Known for Study of Epidemics, Dies at 82
September 25 Mathematical Modeling of Brine Flow in Sea Ice May Help Fine-Tune Global Warming Forecasts
September 24 Innumeracy Is Costing Canada Billions
September 21 Ramanujan and Hardy Featured on the London Stage
September 20 SAT Performance Predicts Creative Potential of Gifted Youth
September 19 National Mathematics Advisory Panel Hears “Reform Math” Complaints
September 18 Conference on Mathematics' Role in Counterterrorism
September 17 Nine-Year-Old Prodigy Finds College Math a Little Too Easy
September 14 Study Suggests Cramming to Learn Math Doesn't Work in the Long Term
September 13 Modeling a Nasty Bacterial Outbreak
September 12 Science Popularizer Keith Devlin Will Receive This Year's Carl Sagan Prize
September 11 "Math Is More," Say 12 Influential Practitioners of the Subject
September 10 No College Tuition for Math and Science Majors: More than Pi in the Sky?
September 7 New Space Telescope Is Closer to Prime Time After Mirror Focusing
September 6 Professor Indicts Hollywood for Its Ignorance of Math and Science
September 5 16-Year-Old Math Whiz Devises Encryption Method
September 4 2007 SAT Math Scores Lowest Since the 1970s
August 2007 Post Date Title
August 30 Can You Hear the Mathematics in Music?
August 29 NSF's Science Board Announces Two-Part Plan for STEM Education
August 28 More U.S. High School Students Taking More Advanced Math Courses
August 27 Move Over Newton: Medieval Indian Scholars Were First to Discover Infinite Series
August 24 Detecting the Abrupt Formation of Ordered Patterns
August 23 Explaining Plant Configurations Mathematically
August 22 Mathematician Finds Math + Cryptography Conflicts
August 21 Mathematical Model Says Ideal Baseball Season Requires Additional 100 Games
August 20 Robert Schneider Hits High Note at MathFest 2007
August 17 Math Whizzes at Conference Prove Just How Exciting The Tate Conjecture Can Be
August 15 Doing Hard Math in High School Pays Off in College
August 14 It's No Wonder That Danica McKellar Wrote "Math Doesn't Suck"
August 13 Evolutionary Algorithms Make Faster Design a Reality
August 10 Harvard Math Grad Is "The Simpsons" Lead Writer and Executive Producer
August 9 Two Universities an Ocean Apart Initiate Collaborative Math Degree Program
August 8 Noted Number Theorist Atle Selberg Has Died
August 6 MSP Programs Lead to Higher Mathematics Scores
August 3 An Oil-and-Water Mystery Solved
August 1 Clearer Ultrasound Images Thanks to Mathematics
July 2007 July 30 At Last, Mathematically Modeling a Möbius Strip's Shape
July 27 Well, Now We Know: You Can Play Checkers to a Draw!
July 26 Mathematician Hyman Bass Among National Medal of Science Winners
July 25 Economics Math Suggests Copyright Term of 14 Years
July 24 Host Team Vietnam Prepares for IMO 2007
July 23 Sand, Waves, and Math, Under the Sea
July 19 The Cell Phone May Be the Next Math Lab
July 18 Math Modeling Key to Uncovering Secrets of Embryo Development
July 17 AMS Conference Proceedings on Undergraduate Math Research Available Online
July 16 Top Math Grads Can Choose Between the "Street" and the "Valley"
July 13 New Book to Reveal Archimedes' Lost Works
July 12 Statistical Model Points to Complex Genetic Causes for Complex Diseases
July 11 John Todd, Numerical Analysis Pioneer, Has Died
July 10 Robert Lang Is Origami's Renaissance Man
July 9 Mathematics Elucidates Pattern of Genetic Change in Cancer Cells
July 6 Achieving Efficiency via Recreational Mathematics
July 5 No Surprise Here: Europeans Stress Importance of Using Best Modern Mathematical Methods
July 3 Mathematician Maria Klawe Appreciates the Fun Side of Idiosyncratic Harvey Mudd
July 2 Graph Theory Reveals Two Independent Command Centers in Britain
June 2007 June 28 Taking aim at Cancer With Mathematics
June 27 Math Modeling Predicts Best Designs for Carbon Nanotube Logic Gates
June 26 Euler's Greatness Highlighted in Wilson Quarterly
June 25 Langlands and Taylor Share Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences
June 22 Sudoku Proves to Be Good for You, Mathematically Speaking
June 21 Altering Actions of Complex Systems May Be a Matter of Simple Inputs
June 20 Chaucer's Astrolabe Remains Lost in Time
June 19 In One Indian City, Learning Mathematics Requires the Right Ambiance
June 18 Doing the Math in Seattle: One Size Fits All
June 14 STEM Minority Undergraduates Take Part in New NASA Internship Program
June 13 See, Monkeys Are Like People—When It Comes to Computing Payoffs
June 12 Two Mathematical Scientists Named Winners of National Medal of Science
June 11 Any Rubik's Cube Configuration Can Be Solved in 33 – 1 (Wrist) Moves
June 8 Spelling Bee Champ Evan O'Dorney Prefers Mathematics to "Memorization"
June 7 Professor Links Origami and Math
June 6 Knotted DNA Can Lead to Cell Death
June 5 Children's Number Sense Develops Earlier Than Expected
June 4 Data-Driven Statistical Models
June 1 Using Analogy in the Math Classroom
May 2007 May 31 Math Unveils Strange Properties of Quasicrystals
May 30 Gödel Prize Highlights "P vs. N" Problem
May 29 Turing Machine Research Prize
May 25 Factoring Feat: Largest "Special" Hard-to-Factor Number Yields Its Secrets
May 24 Math Project Wins at International Science Fair
May 23 Equations Predict Microbe Motions
May 22 Math Goes Awry When Consumers Have to Deal with Percentages
May 21 You Can Put Humpty Dumpty Together Again — If He's a Shredded Document
May 18 MSRI Receives Funds to Increase Public Awareness of Mathematics, Gets New Director
May 17 Mathematical Simulation of Random Interface Between Heavy and Light Liquids
May 16 Topology Becoming Essential to Real-World Sensor-Network Applications
May 15 Newspaper Editorial Calls for "Bold Steps" to Increase Students' Math Skills
May 14 SIAM Awards Princeton's Salvatore Torquato Its Kleinman Prize
May 11 Oh Heavens! A Three-Planet, Figure-8 Orbit Works in Einstein's Universe, But Only for a While
May 10 Mathematical Model Supports Concept of Invisibility Cloak
May 9 Fifteen Mathematicians Join Honor Roles of Two National Science Academies
May 8 House Approves $1.4 Billion for "10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds"
May 7 Mathematics of Compressed Sensing Offers Promise of Improved Imaging Systems
May 4 Look Out, Ramanujan Films Are in the Works
May 3 Euler Characteristics Is Key to Explaining Coarsening of Three-Dimensional Foams
May 2 Pre-College British Students Reportedly Lack Mathematical Skills, Sometimes Deliberately So
May 1 Surprise: Web-Based System Improves Students' Mathematical Understanding
April 2007 April 30 Survey Finds Undergraduate Research Has Great Benefits
April 27 Conference on Groups and Symmetries Honors John McKay
April 26 The "Harsh Reality" of Teaching Remedial Math Requires Money and Better Instructors
April 25 Mathematicians Invited to Apply for Grants to Improve U.S. Voting Practices
April 24 Public Service Award Goes to TV's Exciting Mathematical Drama "Numb3rs"
April 23 Math Spouses Are at Forefront of Research at Microsoft
April 20 France's Presidential Candidates Support Investment in Mathematics
April 19 Leading Mathematician Envisions a "Harvard of Hong Kong"
April 18 Speaking Xhosa, Zulu, English, and Math
April 17 Math Hits the Silver Screen at the University of Montana
April 16 Researchers Uncover Fractal Patterns in a Fruit Fly's Buzz
April 13 Teams Are Supplanting Individual Researchers in Science and Mathematics
April 12 ExxonMobil Ads for the Masters Highlighted Mathematics
April 11 AMS Honors Two Programs Promoting Diversity in Mathematics
April 10 Wrong Mathematics Leads to a Little Big Bang
April 9 Forbes Magazine Features Problems from the American Mathematics Competitions
April 6 Relativity Could Lead to Lightning Fast Number Crunching
April 5 Fields Medalist Paul Cohen Dies at 72
April 4 Mathematics Helps Identify Building Blocks of Turbulence
April 3 Hofstadter's Latest Book Makes Use of Kurt Gödel's Ideas
April 2 Scientists May Have Located the Source of Dyscalculia
March 2007 March 30 New Study Claims Students' Opportunities to Learn Math and Science Are Limited
March 29 Carnegie Mellon Receives $2 Million for Center for Nonlinear Analysis
March 28 National Initiative Hopes to Improve Mathematics Education Even More
March 27 Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan to Receive 2007 Abel Prize
March 26 Mathematician John W. Backus, 82, Helped Open the Information Age
March 25 Numeracy Matters in Health Decisions
March 18 Improving Teaching: New Report Highlights Successes by Other Nations
March 11 Yale University Restores Louis Kahn's Mathematical Gem
March 4 Richard Tapia Addresses Issues of Race and American Higher Education
February 2007 February 25 RIT Offers Free Master's Degree in Mathematics to Hearing-Impaired Graduates
February 19 Wall Street Journal Takes a Brief Look at 2007 Annual Meeting
February 12 New Study for the Development of Math-Science Expertise
February 5 Mathematical Adventures in Biology
January 2007 January 29 Science Magazine Hails Perelman's Solution of the Poincare Conjecture
January 22 Professor Suggests that Mathematical Comprehension is Just a Dice Throw Away
January 15 Esteemed Mathmatician Martin Kruskal Dies at 81
January 8 Son of a 1916 Charter Member of the MAA Bequeaths Nearly $1 Million to Parent's Colleges
January 1 Springer and Hebrew University Collaborate on Mathematics Journals
December 2006 December 25 Purdue University Employs Virtual Reality to Teach Deaf Children Mathematics
December 18 New Book on Descartes Posits He Was a Spy
December 13 California Strives to Increase Number of Mathematics Teachers
October 2006 October 26 British Mathematician Colin R. Barber (1934-2006) Revolutionized Computer Typesetting
September 2006 September 14 Children of Recent Immigrants Pursue Mathematics and Science
September 11 Infants' Brains Seem to Detect Errors in Arithmetic
September 7 Native Language Affects the Brains Mathematics Processing
August 2006 August 31 The Geometry of Music: The Mathematical Path to Attractive Melodies
August 30 NIH Program Aims to Model Immune Responses and Key Infectious Diseases
August 23 Saving the Planet, from a Mathematical Perspective