1. Begin your mathematician search with a fun quiz that determines which mathematician most interests you. Print out a copy of your quiz results to turn in with your campaign speech, however the quiz results will not be graded. NOTE: You are not required to use the mathematician that the quiz results identify as the "mathematician that most interests you."

Mathematician Quiz

2. After you’ve taken the quiz and your mind is clearly focused on the Mathematical Icons of our time, play a quick game to test your prior knowledge of famous mathematicians. The game will show you a portrait and give you some clues, then ask you to guess who the famous scientist or mathematician is. Have fun! Whoever has the highest number of correct answers for Level 4 will receive a small prize.

Mingle with the Famous & Infamous

3. Now you are ready to take a walk on the wild side and explore the lives of the mathematicians who discovered the math concepts we use every day. As you read, find a mathematician that peaks your interest, but also has a sufficeint amount of information about his or her life. You may want to gather information on a couple of mathematicians because no two people will present the same person. You have 2 days to examine the sites below:

Look at the table of links under Historical Topics in Math for Middle School Teachers. Be sure to open the full MacTutor biography of each mathematician.

The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher

Mathematicians of the 17^th & 18^th Centuries

List of Mathematicians

Women Mathematicians

Biographies of Women in Mathematics

African Diaspora within the Mathematical Sciences

Mathematics Encyclopedia

The Pi Pages

4. Examine these print resources as well:

The Mathematical Universe: An Alphabetical Journey Through the Great Proofs, Problems and Personalities,William W. Dunham. Wiley, 1997.

Historical Connections in Mathematics Vol I, II & III, Wilbert and Luetta Reimer. AIMS Educational Foundation, 1995.

Mathematicians Are People, Too, Wilber and Luette Reimer. Dale Seymour Publications, 1990.

Men of Mathematics. E.T. Bell. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1965.

Makers of Mathematics. S. Hollingdale. Penguin Books USA Inc., 1989.

A Concise History of Mathematics (4th ed.). D. Struik. Dover Publications, 1987.

5. Choose a mathematician and present your name to the teacher for approval before proceeding with the following activities.

6. Create a visually-stimulating poster on 22"x 28" poster board, using the information gathered from the internet and print resources, including:

• Dates of his/her life
• Picture
• Famous Quote(s)
• Where the mathematician lived 
• Description of the type of mathematics studied 
• Other mathematicians that may have worked with or have been a resource to the mathematician you are writing about
• Occupation  
• How they were educated
• Significant contributions to mathematics. How this contribution is used today. How they died. Other interesting facts.

7. Write a hypothetical campaign speech as if your mathematician was running for president. Convince me of his or her qualifications using what you have learned about your mathematician. Make a persuasive argument of why today's society can't live without his or her mathematical contributions and why their life's work and contributions are worthy of the presidency. Think outside the box....think universal....but just think! Don't give me just a summary of facts, explain what life would be without this mathematician and why his or her contribution is vital to our society.

*EXTRA CREDIT*

Give an oral presentation of your written campaign speech, using your poster as a prop, and receive extra credit.