Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival
The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF) is an educational organization that sponsors locally organized mathematics festivals targeting K–12 students. The events are designed to introduce students to the richness and beauty of mathematics in a collaborative and non-competitive forum.[1][2][3]
Abbreviation | JRMF |
---|---|
Founder | Nancy Blachman |
Focus | To inspire students to think critically and explore the richness and beauty of mathematics through collaborative and creative problem-solving. |
Location |
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Coordinates | 37°22′48.57″N 121°54′25.98″W |
Key people | Nancy Blachman, Founder Mark Saul, Executive Director Hector Rosario, Director of Outreach and Teaching Daniel Kline, Director of Activities Catherine Messina, Director of Communications Usha Kotelawala, Director of Outreach in NYC, Facilitator Trainer for Online Webinars Florrie Fasanelli, Director of Outreach in DC Tyler Knapp, Director of Outreach in SF Bay area for JRMF Alice Peters, Publication Manager Jennifer Kane, Philanthropic Relations & Outreach Liaison |
Website | jrmf.org |
History
In the 1970s, Saint Mary's College of California produced a mathematics contest that was popular with secondary schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.[4] In 2005, Nancy Blachman attended an education forum sponsored by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) and remembered how the Saint Mary's contest had inspired her as a student.[5] Unfortunately, the contest no longer existed. Seeking to possibly resurrect the contest, Blachman and MSRI development director Jim Sotiros reached out to colleagues in the educational community. One response was from local high school math teacher Joshua Zucker, who also remembered the contest and even had saved a book of problems from it.[2] Sotiros suggested that Blachman and her husband David desJardins fund MSRI in order to hire Zucker to recreate a program in the style of the Saint Mary’s Math Contest. Blachman and Zucker became co-founders and organized their first event in 2007.[6][7] They called it a festival rather than a contest because they wanted to emphasize collaboration, creativity and fun rather than competition.[2] They named the festival after Julia Robinson, a mathematician renowned for her contributions to decision problems. In fact, her work on Hilbert's 10th problem played a crucial role in its ultimate resolution.[8] Blachman felt that such a woman would provide a role model for young girls and would show that one need not be male to be a great mathematician.[1]
When they sent out invitations to local schools, the response was so overwhelming that, in order to have enough space, they prevailed upon Google in nearby Mountain View to host the first festival.[7] A second festival was hosted in 2008 by Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville.[9] Enthusiasm and interest have spurred strong growth, and since then, there have been festivals at Princeton University (and its greater community); Stanford University; and University of California, Berkeley,[10] and throughout the United States,[11] as well as in Europe and Asia.[12]
As of December 2019, JRMF will have hosted nearly 500 events in 25 states, the District of Columbia, one territory (Puerto Rico), and 15 foreign countries. In 2020, they hosted over 120 Festivals—an increase of more than 50% over 2018. The services JRMF offer continue to be free of charge. The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival has been invited to host festivals and tables at events such as the Joint Mathematics Meeting and MAA Mathfest. In December 2019, they celebrated Julia Robinson's 100th birthday with a festival in her hometown. Prof. Michael Hutchings, Chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, said:
"This festival not only honored the achievements of our former colleague Julia Robinson on the centennial of her birth, but also introduced K-12 students to the kind of creative and collaborative problem-solving that will be needed for our future."
The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival is a program of MathCommunities, an initiative of the American Institute of Mathematics.
Programming
The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival has hosted festivals in over 15 countries and 25 states and territories. They also provide a variety of other services.
Website
Many useful tools and resources can be found on the JRMF website, including:
- A place to find festivals happening in your local area and a place to apply to host your own.
- A JRMF store including shirts, hats, posters, activities, and more.
- A compilation of activities, including their Maze Mats and Activity Booklets. Maze Mats originated from Robert Abbott’s No-Left Turn Maze Mat at the National Museum of Mathematics. Eight versions can be printed off their website or purchased in the store, and the life-sized versions are used at festivals around the world. Their activity booklets created by different mathematical experts and compiled by the JRMF team are very popular at their festivals.
- More resources with additional links and materials
JRMF also has an extension website solely dedicated to its activities, including information on their Webinars and Game of the Week as well as a complete library of all past JRMF activities.
COVID-19 Response
In order to help families cope with COVID-19, the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival launched the JRMF Webinar Series on March 26, 2020. In this weekly series, they explore an activity that they use at their festivals. In order to serve the national and international communities, they host three sessions of the same seminar every Thursday, from 7 AM to 7 PM EDT, in three languages - English, Spanish and Hebrew. Participants from the US, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East come to attend. Many community members and volunteers have joined the JRMF team as facilitators to lead breakout rooms in order to provide closer attention to each participant for learning and brainstorming. To register, visit their website.
Team
The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, as of March 2020, is composed of the following members:
- Nancy Blachman, Founder
- Mark Saul, Executive Director
- Hector Rosario, Director of Outreach and Teaching
- Daniel Kline, Director of Activities
- Catherine Messina, Director of Communications and event coordinator of Mathapalooza, a recurring JRMF festival in Atlanta
- Usha Kotelawala, Director of Outreach in NYC, Facilitator Trainer for Online Webinars, manages Math On the Border program in NYC
- Florrie Fasanelli Director of Outreach in DC and Chair the International Study Group on the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics
- Tyler Knapp, Director of Outreach in SF Bay area
- Alice Peters, Publication Manager
- Jennifer Kane, Philanthropic Relations & Outreach Liaison
Support
Since its founding, JRMF has had the support of many people and organizations, including dedicated mentors and volunteers, the founding host MSRI, and the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM), which has been a fiscal sponsor since 2013. JRMF has also frequently partnered with various educational, corporate, and mathematical organizations including The National Association of Math Circles, The National Museum of Mathematics, ThinkFun, and Gathering 4 Gardner (G4G). Among The "Friends of JRMF" are David Eisenbud, Gary Antonick, Peter Norvig, Vi Hart, and Megan Smith.[13]
References
- "Getting Kids Excited About Mathematics, One Festival at a Time" By Colm Mulcahy, Huffington Post Blog, December 6, 2017
- Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
- About Us jrmf.org
- Saint Mary's College Mathematics Contest Problems For Junior and Senior High School
- Saint Mary’s Math Contest: High School Division : by Nancy Blachman & Nick Baxter
- Joshua Zucker Math Forum
- The 2007 Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival at Google was the founding of this event for middle school and high school students. video
- Reid, Constance (1996). Julia: A life in mathematics. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America. ISBN 0-88385-520-8.
- History of JRMF By Nancy Blachman, JRMF Founder
- julia robinson mathematics festival at past
- UK Mathematics Hosts Julia Robinson Math Festival By Jenny Wells, University of Kentucky, October 30, 2017
- The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival in Hong Kong, March 24, 2018
- Sponsors and Partners JRMF.org