Q&A
A Movement to Close the Gender Gap in Mathematics
The Brazilian mathematician Carolina Araujo, who calls herself “a bit of an anarchist,” is organizing meetings and building a support network to study and solve the problems women face in mathematics.
Q&A
An Italian Cosmologist Who Wanders in Dante’s Dark Wood
A scientist and programmer with a literary bent, Valeria Pettorino thinks multiple angles and diverse points of view are needed to unriddle the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
Q&A
Her Key to Modeling Brains: Ignore the Right Details
Being able to think like a physicist helps Carina Curto, a mathematician-turned-neuroscientist, pull insights about the human brain out of theoretical models.
Q&A
In Mathematics, ‘You Cannot Be Lied To’
For Sylvia Serfaty, mathematics is all about truth and beauty and building scientific and human connections.
Pencils Down: Experiments in Education
The Art of Teaching Math and Science
The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational theory. What can we learn from the best teachers on the front lines?
Q&A
Michael Atiyah’s Imaginative State of Mind
At 86, Britain’s preeminent mathematical matchmaker is still tackling the big questions and dreaming of a union between the quantum and the gravitational forces.
profiles
A Life in Games
The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play.