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Gallery of Mathematicians
Posted:
Jan 25, 1994 5:14 PM
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Gallery of Mathematicians
Nancy Goldberg, math teacher in UMTYMP and at Eden
Prairie High School (in Minnesota), noticed that all
textbook pictures of mathematicians are of
pre-twentieth century mathematicians. This gives the
illusion that mathematics research is finished and now
only a subject studied in school. In order to destroy this
illusion, she has started a project in conjunction with
Arnie Cutler at the Geometry Center called the Gallery of
Mathematicians.
The Center asks its many visitors to allow themselves to
be part of the Gallery. If they agree, the Center staff
take their photo. They also supply a statement for high
school students. These statements can be biographies,
advice, description of research, or anything else that
might be interesting to the students.
Already there are over forty contributors to the
Gallery. They are quite a distinguished group. Many of
the people mentioned in previous articles appear in the
Gallery, such as Fred Almgren, George Francis, Jean
Taylor, Ken Brakke: "Although they are familiar to
everybody, ... soap films still hold surprises," Dan
Freed: "I kept taking more and more math courses, ... and
before I realized it, I was becoming a professional
mathematician!" and Gene Klotz, creator of the Geometry
Forum: "I've been a member of the Swarthmore College
Department of Mathematics since the dawn of man, when I
wrote my dissertation on Lie algebras."
In addition to mathematics researchers, there are a wide
range of others who use math in their work. For example,
there are high school teachers, education researchers,
software developers, and physics professors.
At current time, the Gallery is just a collection of
photos and statements. The plan is to make either a poster
set (around 25) or an academic year calendar available at
cost to those interested. Advertising will start in
April, taking orders first, and having everything ready
for the beginning of the 94/95 school year. The cost is
potentially $20 but perhaps less.
If you are interested in this project, please give your
input: Would you prefer a poster set or a calendar? Is it
better to have a $20 photo quality product, or would you
prefer to pay less for a copy quality product? If $20 is too
high, what is the maximum you would be willing to pay? Do
you have any other suggestions? Send all questions,
comments, and advice to Arnie Cutler (cutler@geom.umn.edu).
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