James Tanton Biography

Believing that mathematics really is accessible to all, James Tanton (PhD, Mathematics, Princeton 1994) is committed to sharing the delight and beauty of the subject. In 2004 James founded the St. Mark’s Institute of Mathematics, an outreach program promoting joyful and effective mathematics education. He worked as a fulltime high-school teacher at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA (2004-2012), and he conducted, and continues to conduct, mathematics courses and workshops for mathematics teachers across the nation and overseas.

James is the author of Solve This: Math Activities for Students and Clubs (MAA, 2001), The Encyclopedia of Mathematics (Facts on File, 2005), Mathematics Galore! (MAA, 2012) and twelve self-published texts. He is the 2005 recipient of the Beckenbach Book Prize, the 2006 recipient of the Kidder Faculty Prize at St. Mark’s School, and a 2010 recipient of a Raytheon Math Hero Award for excellence in school teaching.

He also publishes research and expository articles, and through his extracurricular research classes for students has helped high school students pursue research project and publish their results.

James is currently an ambassador for the Mathematical Association of America.

More about him can be learned from his websites www.jamestanton.com and www.gdaymath.com.