Tag Mathematics
UW–Madison mathematician wins prestigious Packard Fellowship
Melanie Matchett Wood, a University of Wisconsin–Madison assistant professor of mathematics whose research takes new approaches to classic questions of number theory, is one of 18 early career scientists from around the United States named a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering. Read More
Machine teaching holds the power to illuminate human learning
Human learning is a complex, sometimes mysterious process. Most of us have had experiences where we have struggled to learn something new, but also times when we've picked something up nearly effortlessly. Read More
Bracketology 101: What McLay reads in the seeds
Will a No. 5 seed lose to a No. 12? Will No. 1 seed Wisconsin make it all the way to the Final Four for the second year in a row? One could guess the answers to these key questions before March Madness begins in earnest, but there are much better ways to fill out NCAA brackets, according to UW–Madison’s resident bracketologist, Laura McLay, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering. Read More
Report, experts analyze surging STEM activity at UW–Madison
A recent report on instructional activity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines at the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows significant advances in enrollment and degrees since 2000, which campus experts attribute to a number of factors, including job placement, greater career opportunities and enhanced teaching methods. Read More
Hans Schneider, leading mathematician, dies
Hans Schneider, the UW–Madison James Joseph Sylvester professor emeritus of mathematics who devoted his life to the revival of the classical field of linear algebra, died of esophageal cancer Tuesday, Oct. 28. He was 87. Read More
Improved computing provides a better look at the cosmos
Building a neutrino telescope - a unique instrument that detects extremely small, high energy particles - out of 5,000 optical sensors embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, a tremendous engineering feat, was just the first challenge. Read More
Swimming through complex bodily fluids gets simpler
It's an uncomfortable truth of life that our bodily fluids are chock full of microscopic swimming organisms - maybe even more uncomfortable to researchers that those little swimmers do laps faster than the theories describing their motion would allow. Read More
Math professor to join author and actress on ‘TODAY’
Jordan Ellenberg, a University of Wisconsin–Madison mathematics professor, is slated to appear Thursday on NBC’s “TODAY” show alongside fellow author Danica McKellar, more widely recognized as the actress who played Winnie Cooper on the sitcom “The Wonder Years” in the 1980s and ’90s. Read More
WID conference probes math challenges in optimizing solutions to industry problems
With every flipped light switch, plane takeoff, package delivery and even medical procedure embedded in 21st-century life, there’s a series of decisions that have been optimized to make these actions work the most efficiently. A thriving community is constantly finding the best way to run these systems in order to reduce costs for companies and customers, get the most out of resources, improve medical treatments and to achieve a multitude of desired outcomes. Read More
Study looks at why students leave STEM majors
The good news: Jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) continue to grow and offer better pay than non-STEM jobs. Read More
NSF tabs UW chemist to lead Math and Physical Sciences Directorate
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected F. Fleming Crim, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of chemistry, to serve as assistant director for the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS). Read More
Study challenges conventional wisdom about gender and math performance
A major study of recent international data on school mathematics performance casts doubt on some common assumptions about gender and math achievement - in particular, the idea that girls and women have less ability due to a difference in biology. Read More
New faculty eager to make their mark
Some come directly from graduate school; some come from established careers at major universities. All of the new faculty members at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are excited to get to work. Read More
Stirring the ocean: Calculating the role of the oceans’ swimmers
The world's oceans, we know, are constantly shaken and stirred by the winds and the tides and other physical forces of nature. Read More
UW-Madison student wins $250,000 fellowship
Daniel Lecoanet, who will graduate with comprehensive honors from University of Wisconsin–Madison this spring with a double major in math and physics, has won a five-year, no-strings-attached fellowship to pursue graduate studies. Read More
UW-Madison student wins Churchill Scholarship
A student who has engaged in chemistry and mathematics research on campus since high school is the University of Wisconsin–Madison's third Churchill Scholar - and the first in 30 years. Read More
MathBio looks at ‘best picture’
If 2008’s inaugural MathBio Symposium was a big-picture look at collaboration, the focus of this year’s symposium is on the best picture. Read More
Culture, not biology, underpins math gender gap
For more than a century, the notion that females are innately less capable than males at doing mathematics, especially at the highest levels, has persisted in even the loftiest circles. Read More
Those with interdisciplinary tastes should sample MALBEC
An interdisciplinary seminar will feature scientists who use computational approaches to understand the behavior, learning and perceptions of people and machines. Read More
Lovely ‘snowfakes’ mimic nature, advance science
Exquisitely detailed and beautifully symmetrical, the snowflakes that David Griffeath makes are icy jewels of art. Read More