MathMovesU Middle School Grant and Scholarship Program

Raytheon Company is calling for submissions to its MathMovesU Middle School Grant and Scholarship Program. To participate, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students nationwide are invited to illustrate the importance of math in the mission to Mars and in space exploration.

Student submissions will be evaluated on creativity, originality, time commitment and the use of math equations to demonstrate an enthusiasm for math and space exploration. Up to 150 students will be awarded $1,000 scholarships to be used for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) camp programs or college. In addition, the students' schools will receive matching grants of $1,000 to be used for math-related programs.

"Raytheon seeks to broaden interest and engagement in math by encouraging students to think about how math is integrated in the world around them," said Pamela Erickson, Raytheon's vice president of Community Relations. "When students consider the important role that math plays in exciting challenges – like the mission to Mars – they expand their horizons, literally and figuratively. We are eager to see the ideas that come to life in the students' submissions."

Applications will be accepted through Feb. 8, 2013. For more information about the MathMovesU Middle School Grant and Scholarship Program, including eligibility and submission requirements, please visit www.mathmovesu.com.

Black Women in the Mathematical Sciences

J. McKeen Cattell (1913), owner and editor of Science, "There is not a single mulatto who has done creditable scientific work." Others in the mathematical sciences were quoted as saying, "The Negro is incapable of succeeding."

Ancient and present achievements contradict such statements. We invite you to visit a website that exposes the inaccuracy of those proclamations by exhibiting the accomplishments of the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora within the Mathematical Sciences.

Less than 1% of all mathematicians are Black. Only 25% of these Black mathematicians are women. [SOURCE]

Presidential Awardees for Math and Science Teaching Honored in Washington DC

This year’s recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence for Mathematics and Science Teaching were feted earlier this month during their four-day visit to Washington, DC, where they participated in professional development activities, traveled to Capitol Hill and enjoyed a special White House ceremony in their honor. The 52 science teachers and 51 math teachers from grades 7-12, also received a $10,000 award.

• Read more about the PAEMST week in Washington, D.C.
• Read the White House press release and learn more about the program and winners
• Meet this year's Presidential Awardees for Excellence for Mathematics and Science Teaching

How great would it be to have math and science teachers associated with the BDPA Student IT Education & Scholarship (SITES) program being honored by the President next year?!? Do you know any math or science teachers in your local school who should be recognized in the future for their efforts?

Math Wiz Adds Web Tools to Education to New Limits

Thirty-three-year-old Salman Khan recently quit his job as a hedge fund analyst to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube, which appear on an electronic blackboard, and range in subject from basic addition and advanced calculus to science and finance.

And they are free.




Khan lives in California's Silicon Valley with his wife, a rheumatologist in training at Stanford, and their new baby. He got the idea for Khan Academy four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. Many American students have trouble with math, and studies show they lag behind their counterparts in Asia and Europe in both math and science. With Khan's help, his cousin got good at math, and he eventually had a new career tapping into anxieties around the world.

Now he records his lessons from a converted closet in the back of his bedroom. Internet instruction, be it the Khan Academy or taped university lectures, could revolutionize education in remote Third World locations, where access to high-quality instruction is frequently unavailable.

This is the type of creativity that inspires BDPA members all over the nation. Is your chapter thinking about using the Internet to document, record and share information?

Nominate a Teacher for the 2010 Presidential Awards

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is the highest award a K–12 math or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the U.S. The President officially names up to 108 teachers annually (award winners from 2007 shown in the above photo). Awards alternate between elementary and secondary teachers -- with elementary teachers eligible in 2010 -- and are given to teachers from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the outlying territories, and Department of Defense schools.

Since 1983, more than 4,000 teachers have been recognized for their contributions to mathematics and science education. If you know great teachers, nominate them to join this prestigious network of professionals. It would be great to see teachers that support BDPA nominated this time!

The deadline for 2010 award nominations is May 1, 2010.