Mathematics

The nation's children aren't the best and brightest in the world when it comes to math, according to the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Even among industrialized countries, the United States ranked ninth out of 12.

Since unveiling proposals for math and science education Tuesday night in his State of the Union address, President Bush has been on the road each day, talking about the role that a tech-savvy workforce can play in keeping the U.S. economically competitive. Presenting successful math and science students as the future of the nation, Bush said on Friday that it was time to drop an old notion: Science whizzes, he said, should not be looked on as "the nerd patrol."

A Caltech mathematician has won one of the scientific community's most prestigious awards for his breakthrough work on wave signals, theoretical discoveries that could advance medical imaging, radar and other technologies. Emmanuel Candes is this year's recipient of the National Science Board's Alan T. Waterman Award, the highest honor bestowed by the National Science Foundation.

Margaret Cagle doesn't believe it's possible for people to \o7really\f7 hate math -- if only they would give it a chance. Cagle, also known as Peg, has spent 12 years at Chatsworth's Lawrence Middle School exposing algebra and geometry students to "this beautiful, vast world that you can't help but love," once you get to know it.

Recognizing the critical need to boost math and science test scores, the Los Angeles Unified School District has taken several steps -- including offering bonuses -- to attract and keep teachers in those fields at the district's neediest schools. The move, which took effect this month, comes at a time when the consequences of students falling behind their peers in an increasingly globalized economy are being widely acknowledged. With about 6.

Terence Tao, a UCLA professor who was a child prodigy in calculus and earned a doctorate when he was only 20, on Tuesday was awarded one of four Fields Medals -- an international prize considered the Nobel for mathematics. The Australian-born Tao, 31, was in Madrid to receive the honor, given out every four years at the International Congress of Mathematicians to candidates no older than 40.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today will announce a $1.3-million grant to Los Angeles schools to improve the teaching of algebra and other college-prep courses. The investment is modest compared to other Gates grants and even other school district initiatives, but marks a growing partnership between the nation's second-largest school system and perhaps the world's largest private philanthropic fund. The one-year grant will pay for teacher training and curriculum design.

A UCLA mathematician sometimes called the "Mozart of Math," a Stanford University aviation engineer using abstract mathematical principles to help prevent airborne collisions, a San Francisco entrepreneur developing affordable drugs for neglected diseases in Third World countries and a Palo Alto engineer helping the blind read are among the 25 winners of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius" grants. Each winner will receive $500,000 over five years to use as they see fit.

A mental health counselor recited pi to 100,000 decimal places from memory, setting what he claims to be a new world record. In Kisarazu, Japan, Akira Haraguchi, 60, needed more than 16 hours to recite the number to 100,000 decimal places. Pi is a physical constant defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It is usually written out to a maximum of three decimal places, as 3.141. Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of decimal places to which it can be written.

THERE may be a new weapon for helping guard the nation's airplanes against terrorism -- and this one doesn't come loaded with bullets or employ Space Age technology. It is mathematics. Or specifically, the mathematics involved in the field of operations research. Operations research is a little-known but valuable tool for such things as scheduling airline flight crews, planning National Football League seasons and even designing waiting lines at Walt Disney World.