Awards Announced for Contributions to Undergraduate Mathematics Education

WASHINGTON, DC (July 27th, 2020) We are pleased to announce the 2020 award recipients for the Daniel Solow and Selden Award. These awards represent outstanding achievement in undergraduate mathematical education in writing and research.

Daniel Solow Author’s Award

The award recognizes the author of undergraduate mathematics teaching materials with the primary criteria for selection being the material's impact on undergraduate education in mathematics and/or the mathematical sciences.

Annie and John Selden Award

The award honors a researcher who has established a significant record of published research in undergraduate mathematics education.

About the award winners

Daniel Solow Author’s Award, Jim Hefferon - Hefferon, J. (2020). Linear Algebra (4th ed.).

Dr. Hefferon’s Linear Algebra has been a model open-source text for decades. His use of relevant examples and interesting applications makes it a widely-used and adopted text in the United States and abroad. Students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines can explore different parts of the subject and utilize that understanding to build their other skills. The supplemental materials offered through modern technology like Sage, Matlab, and Python help instructors to better gauge student understanding and achievement while also enabling students to better apply their learning beyond the classroom.

Dr. Hefferon says “I felt that the students in front of me needed an approach that both respected mathematics and respected where they were. Today, I sometimes get emails from people saying that the text did help them see that the subject is about ideas. Those notes brighten my day.”

Annie and John Selden Award, Paul Dawkins

Dr. Paul Dawkins has created an impressive and unusually high level of production early in his career. He has developed heuristic mathematical processes to bridge student understanding from earlier mathematical instruction to more advanced learning. He has also studied language and its impact on understanding proof-writing for students. Dr. Dawkins brings an exuberance, attention to detail, and deep intellectual curiosity to his work that other researchers are inspired by.

Dr. Dawkins responded by saying he is “Very thankful to receive affirmation that the work that I enjoy so much is of value to my peers. To be nominated is a joy and to be awarded is incredibly humbling.”

“The MAA is delighted to recognize these exemplary contributions towards improving undergraduate mathematics education,” said Michael Pearson, executive director of MAA. “We can all be inspired and challenged to strengthen teaching and learning in mathematics by the work of the awardees.”

###

The Mathematical Association of America is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts. We accelerate the understanding of our world through mathematics because mathematics drives society and shapes our lives. Learn more at maa.org.