MAA Prizes Awarded in San Antonio

At the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Antonio mathematics educator to mathematicians,” the ci- in January 2006, the Mathematical Association of tation states. “He is conducting carefully reasoned, America (MAA) presented several prizes. incremental, foundational research in order that dis- cussion of educational issues may one day be based Gung and Hu Award for Distinguished on more rigorous scientific findings. His service to Service mathematics and its teaching and learning at all lev- The Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award els is truly remarkable.” for Distinguished Service to Mathematics is the most prestigious award made by the MAA. First Haimo Awards for Teaching given in 1990 the Gung and Hu Award is the suc- The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards cessor to the Award for Distinguished Service to for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, awarded since 1962, and has been Mathematics were established in 1991. These made possible by the late Charles Y. Hu and his wife, awards honor college or university teachers who Yueh-Gin Gung. It is worth noting that Hu was not have been widely recognized as extraordinarily a mathematician but a retired professor of geology. successful and whose teaching effectiveness has He had such strong feelings about the basic nature been shown to have had influence beyond their own of mathematics and its importance in all human en- institutions. Deborah Tepper Haimo was president deavors that he felt impelled to contribute gener- of the MAA during 1991–1992. ously to our discipline. The 2005 Haimo Awards were presented to HYMAN BASS of the University of Michigan re- JACQUELINE DEWAR of Loyola Marymount University, ceived the 2006 Gung and Hu Award for “invest[ing] KEITH STROYAN of the University of Iowa, and JUDY vast energies over several decades to strengthen the LEAVITT WALKER of the University of Nebraska at mathematical community.” An outstanding re- Lincoln. searcher and former member of Bourbaki, Bass The award citation for Jacqueline Dewar states, has made many contributions to the mathematical “In her 32 years at Loyola Marymount University, community. He is a member of the National Acad- Jackie Dewar’s enthusiasm, extraordinary energy, emy of Sciences and has served on many NAS com- and clarity of thought have left a deep imprint on mittees, including the Mathematical Sciences Edu- students, colleagues, her campus, and a much cation Board, which he chaired. A past president larger mathematical community.” She profoundly of the AMS, he has served on many Society com- influenced the mathematics curriculum at Loyola mittees. He has been on the boards of trustees of Marymount, helping to shape the biomathematics the Institute for Advanced Study and the Mathe- program, the mathematics program for prospective matical Sciences Research Institute. In recent years, secondary school teachers, and the Master of Arts Bass has turned his attention to improving school in Teaching program. Her freshman-level work- mathematics. “Hyman Bass is playing a vital role shop course is credited with improving the reten- in bringing the insights of a mathematician to tion of mathematics majors. Outside the Loyola mathematics educators and the insights of a Marymount campus, Dewar has been active with

MAY 2006 NOTICES OF THE AMS 585 in-service programs for teachers, and with the Ex- immune to the limpid charms of a clever counting panding Your Horizons conferences for middle- and argument,” the prize citation states. The book by high-school girls. The citation recognized Dewar for Benjamin and Quinn “will charm you over and over “her passionate devotion to the art of teaching”. again. The authors claim that counting arguments “Keith Stroyan’s name is synonymous with in- make the most compelling, natural, and memo- novation in the teaching of ,” the award ci- rable proofs. It is hard to disagree with them after tation states. “In more than 30 years of teaching dipping into this lovely volume…Proofs That Really at the University of Iowa, he has constantly sought Count illustrates in a magical way the pervasiveness ways in which to combine past knowledge with re- cent discoveries and technology, and to find the and power of counting techniques throughout mental ‘hooks’ with students’ previous experiences, mathematics. It is one of those rare books that current interests, and future aspirations.” One of will appeal to the mathematical professional and the keys to his success is his careful training of seduce the neophyte.” graduate and undergraduate assistants for his courses, in which he inculcates the assistants with Chauvenet Prize good teaching practices. Long before calculus re- The Chauvenet Prize recognizes a member of the form projects started receiving grants from the MAA who has written an outstanding expository ar- National Science Foundation, Stroyan pioneered ticle. First awarded in 1925, the prize is named for the use of computer programs to help students William Chauvenet, who was a professor of math- grasp calculus concepts. Then, with several NSF ematics at the United States Naval Academy. grants, he developed materials to integrate com- The 2006 Chauvenet Prize was awarded to puters into calculus teaching. FLORIAN PFENDER and GÜNTER M. ZIEGLER, both of the “Judy Walker cares deeply about her students,” Technische Universität Berlin, for their article “Kiss- the prize citation states. “Her students testify that her courses are among the most demanding they ing Numbers, Packings, and Some Unex- ever had, yet consistently praise her ability to guide pected Proofs” (Notices, September 2004, pages the direction of a class through questions. Superb 873–883). According to the citation, this “lucid and at explaining mathematics and communicating the beautifully illustrated paper” discusses the history joy of discovery, she is readily available outside of and progress of three classical class for special problem sessions, and is in demand in various : the kissing number prob- as a doctoral thesis advisor.” One of her major in- lem, the problem, and the novations at the University of Nebraska was cre- packing problem. The immediate backdrop for this ating a freshman honors seminar for nonmajors paper is Thomas Hales’s controversial solution in called “The Joy of Numbers: Search for the Big 1998 to Kepler’s Conjecture, which is the general Primes”, which she also adapted to serve elemen- sphere packing problem for three. tary and middle school teachers. In 1997, Walker Pfender and Ziegler’s paper clarifies the differ- and a colleague launched ALL GIRLS/ALL MATH, a ences among the problems while also shedding program to encourage high-school girls to pursue mathematics. She also started the Nebraska Con- light on recent developments in the kissing num- ference for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics, ber problem. The authors “strip away all but the which over its first seven years attracted 800 par- essentials so that novices may appreciate the power ticipants. The citation praised her “dynamic lead- and beauty of these new approaches to finding an- ership and passionate commitment to teaching swers to the kissing number problem.” mathematics”. Certificates of Meritorious Service Beckenbach Book Prize Each year the MAA presents Certificates of Meri- The Beckenbach Book Prize, presented since 1982, torious Service to honor outstanding service to is named for the late Edwin Beckenbach, a longtime sections of the MAA. Those honored in 2006 are: leader in the MAA publications program and a pro- KAY SOMERS of Moravian College, Eastern Pennsyl- fessor of mathematics at the University of Cali- vania-Delaware Section; CALVIN (CAL) VAN NIEWAAL of fornia, Los Angeles. The prize is awarded to an au- Coe College, Iowa Section; ALAN TUCKER of Stony thor of a distinguished, innovative book published Brook University, Metropolitan New York Section; by the MAA. IVY KNOSHAUG of Bemidji State University, North ARTHUR BENJAMIN, professor of mathematics at ARJORIE NNEKING Harvey Mudd College and JENNIFER QUINN, executive Central Section; M E of Portland State director of the Association for Women in Mathe- University, Pacific Northwest Section; and WILLIAM matics, received the 2006 Beckenbach Book Prize YSLAS VÉLEZ of the University of Arizona, South- for their book Proofs that Really Count: The Art of western Section. Combinatorial Proof. “Few mathematicians are —From MAA announcements

586 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 53, NUMBER 5