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Outreach Activities

Recognition

I have been awarded an Elkins Professorship for the academic year 2007-2008. First established in 1978, these professorships support professors "who demonstrate exemplary ability to inspire students and whose professional work and scholarly endeavors make a positive impact beyond the University System of Maryland." My award will be used to foster interest and learning in mathematics among K-12 students and the general public.

Math interview on NPR broadcast on Monday, October 1, 2007.

My inaugural try - it's hard talking about math on the radio (no visuals!), as I found out. I hope to get better at it, though.

STEM Education at Schools

Click here for more information.

Taming Infinity Lecture

Did you know that infinity comes in different sizes? Leave behind the finite world to accompany Manil Suri on a journey through the fascinating realms of the infinite. No previous knowledge of mathematics beyond fractions and decimals required! Powerpoint show developed by Tyler Beck and Manil Suri, with additional contributions by Serina Jensen.

I have presented this lecture at various middle and high schools, at artist and writers' colonies (MacDowell, Yaddo, VCCA), at the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville, and even at the 2006 Berlin International Literature Festival (where four classes of German eleventh-graders were very interested in it, even though they were in English Literature classes). The response has been uniformly enthusiastic, leading me to believe that we all (non-mathematicians and mathematicians alike) share an inner need for some sort of mathematics in our life (witness the popularity of Sudoku). I believe there is a place for mathematics in the cultural/entertainment realm of society, and we should strive to make it available and accessible.

Information on BIRS Workshop on Mathematics and Creative Writing

Banff International Research Station, Canada, April 17-22, 2004. (Invited participant - a most unusual workshop, indeed. Click here for photos.)

"The Tolman Trick"

A short story about mathematicians at a conference, entitled "The Tolman Trick" (read excerpt) was presented at the above conference. This was later published in the first issue of the journal SUBTROPICS.

"Learn Math or Die" ("Mathe lernen oder sterben")

An essay about mathematics education in India, in the German-language cultural magazine, Kulturaustausch: IV, 36-37 (2006).

Planned mathematics exhibits

I have held preliminary discussions with the Walters Art Gallery and the Maryland Science Center, as a consultant for future mathematics exhibits.

International Fiction Reading Group