2011 Student Writing Contest Winners

Winner

Paul Stahl, University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kepler's Development of Mathematical Astronomy - Stahl PDF file

Runners Up

Sarah Costrell, Brandeis University, Mathematics and Mathematical Thought in the Quadrivium of Isidore of Seville - Costrell PDF file

Rick Hill, University of Missouri - Kansas City, Thomas Harriot's Artis Analyticae Praxis and the Roots of Modern Algebra - Hill PDF file

Added Dec. 2010

Previous Years' Student Paper Contest Winners

Student Paper Contest - 2009 Results

• 1st place: Nathan McLaughlin of the University of Montana "The Mathematical Optics of Sir William Hamilton: Conical Refraction and Quaternions" paper in PDF form
• 2nd place: Tim Chalberg of Pacific Lutheran University "Regression Analysis: A Powerful Tool and Riveting Drama" paper in PDF form
• Honorable Mention" Amy Buchmann of Chapman University "A Brief History of Quaternions and the Theory of Holomorphic Functions of Quaterionic Variables" paper in PDF form

• Jennifer L. Nielsen, University of Missouri ? Kansas City "The Heart is a Dust Board: Abu?l Wafa Al-Buzjani, Dissection, Construction, and the Dialog Between Art and Mathematics in Medieval Islamic Culture"
• Palmer Rampell, Harvard University, (composed at Phillips Academy in the 12th grade) , "The Use of Similarity in Old Babylonian Mathematics"
• Stefanie Streck, Pacifc Lutheran University, "The Fermat Problem"

Convergence History of Math Website

Convergence: Where Mathematics, History, and Teaching Interact

Convergence: Where Mathematics, History, and Teaching Interact, is the MAA?s free online journal about the history of mathematics and its use in teaching. Now part of the Mathematics Digital Library (MathDL) and its online journal, Loci, Convergence is aimed at teachers of mathematics at both the secondary and collegiate levels. Topics are from grades 8-16 mathematics, with special emphasis on topics from grades 8-14: algebra, combinatorics, synthetic and analytic geometry, trigonometry, probability and statistics, elementary functions, calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra. .

We encourage you to visit Convergence at http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/46/ to see what the journal has to offer. We especially encourage you to view the article, ?Mathematical Treasures,? which features digital images of mathematical objects and texts from the Columbia University Library George Arthur Plimpton and David Eugene Smith collections. At the Convergence homepage, you?ll also find links to:

• Problems from Another Time
• On This Day in mathematics history
• Calendar of upcoming mathematics history events
• Reviews of books, websites, and other instructional materials
• Our newest articles and classroom activities, along with Tables of Contents for all annual volumes of Convergence since 2004.

• Expository articles on the history of topics in the grades 8-16 mathematics curriculum
• Translations of original sources appropriate for grades 8-16
• Classroom activities, projects, or modules for grades 8-16
• Classroom testimonials describing your experiences using a particular teaching aid, article, book, or website
• Reviews of books, articles, teaching aids, and websites
• Announcements of conferences and events for our Calendar.

Finally, if you would be willing to serve as a referee for articles submitted to Convergence, please let one of the editors know what topics and types of articles you would prefer to review.

Convergence founding editors Victor Katz and Frank Swetz continue to serve the journal as advisors, as project directors for its NSF grant, and as authors of the ongoing ?Mathematical Treasures? project. The journal?s current editors are Janet Beery (janet_beery@redlands.edu) of the University of Redlands and Kathy Clark (kclark@fsu.edu) of Florida State University.