THE NEWSLETTER OF THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA NSF Mathematicians Receive Awards Two long-time NSF staff members received ematical and Physical Sciences and the Na­ Volume 15, Number 5 federal service awards earlier this year. tional Science Foundation, including her inno­ vative leadership and Judith Sunley, former her successful strate­ director of the Divi­ gic planning efforts." In this Issue sion of Mathematical Sciences, former ex­ Bernard McDonald, 3 President's ecutive officer of the assistant director of the Column MPS Directorate, and Division of Math­ now in the Director's ematical Sciences, re­ 4 Letters to office, is the NSF's ceived the Director's recipient ofthe Presi­ Meritorious Service the Editor dential Award for a Award "in recognition Judith Sunley Distinguished Execu- Bernard McDonald of his contributions to 6 Myths in Math tive. This award recognizes career Senior Ex­ the advancement of the mathematical sciences ecutive Service members who have and the formation of policy for science." This 10 To Cballenge demonstrated sustained, extraordinary accom­ is the second-highest honorary award conferred plishment during their executive careers. She by the NSF upon employees who render meri­ with Compassion: was cited for her "distinguished contributions torious service within or beyond their required Goals for to the management of the Directorate for Math- duties. Mathematics Education House Subcommittee Considers Graduate Education The House Science Committee's subcommit­ Griffiths appeared as the first witness. He noted 14 Highligbts from tee on basic research held a hearing in July to that total unemployment among scientists and MathFest 1995 discuss the status of U.S. graduate education engineers is low but that new Ph.D.s are having in light of unemployment problems among to wait longer to find first jobs in their chosen new Ph.D. scientists and engineers. The fo­ fields. Subcommittee members expressed con­ 17 1996 Joint cus of the hearing was a recent report from the cern about the situation, but it seemed clear that Meetings National Academies, "Reshaping the Gradu­ problems of underemployment, which is diffi­ Information ate Education of Scientists and Engineers," cult to define in the first place, are not going to which recommends broadening the academic be resolved by federal action beyond helping 46 Employment options of graduate students to produce more universities improve graduate education. Opportunities versatile Ph.D.s. Committee Chair Phillip [See "Myths in Math" page 6.] 47 Become a Visiting U.S. Team Takes Six Medals at IMO Mathematician Each of the six members of the U.S. team won setts) won silver medals. Khazanov and Lurie AttheMAA medals at the thirty-sixth International Math­ were members of last year's U.S. IMO tearn ematics Olympiad in Toronto, Canada on July which received a perfect score for the first time 19 & 20. The U.S. tearn placed eleventh among in IMO history. the record number of seventy-four countries Christopher C. Chang (Palo Alto, California), The Mathematical that participated. The top twelve teams were Jay H. Chyung (Iowa City, Iowa), and Andrei Association of America China, Romania, Russia, Vietnam, Hungary, C. Gnepp (Orange, Ohio) won bronze medals. 1529 Eighteenth Street, NW Bulgaria, South Korea, Iran, Japan, United Washington, DC 20036 Kingdom, USA, and India. The U.S. winners received their medals at the IMO closing awards presentation on July 24. Aleksandr L. Khazanov (Brooklyn, New York) , JacobA. Lurie (Bethesda, Maryland), and Josh P. Nichols-Barrer (Newton Center, Massachu- See IMO on page 3 FOCUS October 1995 FOCUS Editorial FOCUS is published by The Mathematical A World of Melissas Association of America, 1529 Eighteenth Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20036- My editorial in the April issue of FOCUS generated quite a mailbag. That was the 1385, six times a year: February, April, 'Melissa editorial' in which I described the problems my own sixteen-year-old daughter June, August, October, and December. encountered in her high school mathematics class. In vain were my attempts to convince Editor and Chair of the MAA Melissa's teachers that if they would only look beyond her officially diagnosed learning Newsletter Editorial Committee: Keith disability, they would see that Melissa was probably one of the brightest students they J. Devlin, Saint Mary's College of would ever encounter. I likewise made no headway in trying to persuade them to look California at the evidence of the educational psychologist who had tested Melissa and discovered Associate Editor: DonaldJ. Albers, MAA an ability at mathematical reasoning way in advance of her tender years. According to Associate Executi ve Director and Director the school's definition, Melissa's inability to perform well on the narrowly focused, of Publications and Programs highly constrained, repetitive, and heavily algorithmic symbol manipulations that seemed Managing Editor: Harry Waldman, MAA to form the central core of their mathematics education program meant that she was "not Production Specialist: Amy good at math" and would therefore have to repeat the course. In frustration, my wife and Stephenson Fabbri, MAA I finally withdrew her from the high school and enrolled her in courses at the selective private college where I am a dean. Whereupon she promptly romped through the math­ Proofreader: Meredith Zimmerman, ematics course with an A and went on to perform well in a whole range of courses spread MAA across the curriculum. Copy Editor: Nancy Wilson, Saint Mary's College of California "Are there other Melissas out there?" I asked in my April editorial. "Yes!" came the thundering reply, as each day's mailbag brought in more tales of similar woe. Four of the Letters to the editor should be addressed many replies I received are printed, with permission, in this issue. (See pages 4 & 5.) Two to: Keith Devlin, Saint Mary's College of California, P.O. Box 3517, Moraga, CA letters are from parents, one from a 'former Melissa' just about to complete a Ph.D. in 94575; e-mail: [email protected]. mathematics, and the fourth is from a high school mathematics teacher. The FOCUS subscription price to Some of the letters I received were very bitter, and when I read what these writers had individual members of the Association is to say, it was hard not to sympathize with their anger at the treatment they or their children $6.00, included in the annual dues. had received in the name of high school mathematics. However, it was not the purpose (Annual dues for regular members, of my April editorial to begin throwing stones or to cast blame, and that is not the purpose exclusive of annual subscription prices for MAA journals, are $68.00. Student and of this follow-up either. Using my editor's privilege, I have decided not to publish any unemployed members recei ve a 66 percent of the more bitter letters. The ones you will read are representative of the overwhelming discount; emeritus members receive a 50 majority, where the writer seemed to share my view that blame was neither appropriate percent discount; new members receive a nor indeed easy to lay at the right feet. As a community of mathematicians, we face a 40 percent discount for the first two problem, and it is only by pulling together and cooperating that we have any chance of membership years.) moving forward. If there are mathematics teachers in the classrooms who do not have Copyright © 1995 by The Mathematical a real sense of what mathematics is, then we need to ask ourselves who taught those Association of America (Incorporated). teachers their mathematics. Educational institutions may reproduce articles for their own use, but not for sale, An easy answer is to say that we, the professional mathematicians and mathematics provided that the following citation is used: educators, provided our high school teachers with a good education, but they ignored it "Reprinted with permission of FOCUS, once they left the college or university and went into the school classroom. An easy the newsletter of The Mathematical answer. And I am sure there are cases where that is exactly what happened. But surely Association of America (Incorporated)." it is not an answer we should be satisfied with. If large numbers of school mathematics Second-class postage paid at Washington, teachers think that mathematics is mainly about learning and performing algorithms and DC and additional mailing offices. has little or nothing to do with concepts and creativity and connections to other parts of Postmaster: Send address changes to the life, then we-the teachers of the teachers-surely must bear our share of the blame. Membership and Subscriptions De­ partment, The Mathematical Association That's the easy part. of America, 1529 Eighteenth Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20036-1385. ISSN: 0731-2040 -Keith Devlin Printed in the United States of America. Printed on recycled paper. The above opinions are those ofthe FOCUS editor and do not necessarily represent the official view of the MAA. 2 October 1995 FOCUS IMO from page 1 United States team members were selected President's Column based on their performances in the twenty­ fourth annual USA Mathematical Olym­ piad held in April of this year. (See the Affirmative Action in the MAA August issue of FOCUS.) The U.S. team After decades of commitment to civil had four weeks of intensi ve training at the article "Ideas of Calculus in Islam and rights, the nation seems to be reversing its Illinois Academy of Mathematics and Sci­ India," which appeared in the June 1995 course. Whether you feel this reflects an ence in Aurora, Illinois before traveling to issue of Mathematics Magazine. He de­ appalling change of direction or is a badly Toronto. scribes how the House of Wisdom flour­ needed correction, you might wonder ished in Baghdad over a thousand years Titu Andreescu, from the Illinois Math­ whether this will have an impact on the ago.