George Berzsenyi (born 1938) is a Hungarian-American mathematician and retired professor, known for his contributions to mathematics education and his mentorship of high school mathematics students. He chaired the

American Invitational Mathematics Examination The American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME) is a selective 15-question, 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics examination (formerly known as the AHSME), and starting in 201 ...

(AIME), co-founded the

United States of America Mathematical Talent Search The United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) is a mathematics competition open to all United States students in or below high school. History Professor George Berzsenyi initiated the contest in 1989 under the KöMaL model a ...

(USAMTS), and helped create several problem-solving programs. For his contributions, he received the

Paul Erdős Award The Paul Erdős Award, named after Paul Erdős, is given by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions for those who "have played a significant role in the development of mathematical challenges at the national or international le ...

in 1996 and the Gung and Hu Award in 2016.

Early life and education

Berzsenyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1938. His family descends from the Hungarian poet

Dániel Berzsenyi Dániel Berzsenyi (; 7 May 1776 in Hetye (now Egyházashetye) – 24 February 1836 in Nikla) was a Hungarian poet.Trencsenyi, Balazs & Michal Kopecek, eds. ''Discourse of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe.'' New York: Central E ...

. He emigrated to the United States in 1957 following the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

, accompanied by his father, Col. Miklós de Vargha. He earned his doctorate in mathematics with a specialization in complex analysis.

Academic career

Berzsenyi taught mathematics at

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the ...

in Beaumont, Texas, for 19 years. He later joined the

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) is a private university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1874 and houses twelve academic departments with over thirty undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, en ...

, where he continued to teach and promote mathematics competitions for 12 years until his retirement in 1999.

Competitions and outreach

Mathematics Day and Texas Olympiad

At Lamar University, Berzsenyi organized an annual "Mathematics Day" (1977–1982) for high school students. He also created the Texas Mathematics Olympiad during this period.

AIME and AMC involvement

In 1983, Berzsenyi became the founding chair of the

(AIME) committee and served for six years. He also contributed problems to the

American Mathematics Competitions The American Mathematics Competitions (AMCs) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that ...

(AMC), including the earlier AHSME.

USAMTS and IMTS

In 1989, Berzsenyi co-founded the

(USAMTS), a nationwide proof-based contest by mail. Modeled on Hungary's '' Középiskolai Matematikai Lapok'', it allowed students extended time and feedback. He directed the contest through the 1990s, later co-editing international problem volumes for the IMTS. For much of the 1990s, thirty of the strongest solvers were invited to spend 3 weeks at the NSF-funded Young Scholars Program at RHIT where they learned various topics from Geometry to Chaos Theory.

Team competitions

Berzsenyi was the first coach of the Texas team for the

American Regions Mathematics League The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), is an annual, national high school mathematics team competition held simultaneously at four locations in the United States: the University of Iowa, Penn State, University of Nevada, Reno, and the U ...

(ARML) in 1980. He also mentored students for the Intel/Westinghouse Science Talent Search and similar competitions.

The Competition Corner

He edited ''The Competition Corner'' in ''The Mathematics Student'' journal from 1978 to 1981.

Publications

* ''The Competition Corner in the Mathematics Student: Its History, Problems, Solutions, and the People Involved'' (self-published, with István Laukó and Gabriella Pintér) * ''The Contest Problem Book V: American High School Mathematics Examinations and American Invitational Mathematics Examinations 1983–1988'' (with Stephen B. Maurer) * Edited two volumes of international problems from the International Mathematical Talent Search. * ''Tata’s Tattered Tales'', a multivolume genealogical memoir.

Recognition

In 1996, Berzsenyi received the

from the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions. In 2016, he received the Gung and Hu Award from the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary edu ...

for a lifetime of distinguished service.

Legacy

Berzsenyi's protégés include numerous academics and scientists. Among them are

Noam Elkies Noam David Elkies (born August 25, 1966) is a professor of mathematics at Harvard University. At age 26, he became the youngest professor to receive tenure at Harvard. He is also a pianist, chess national master, and chess composer. Early life ...

Kiran Kedlaya Kiran Sridhara Kedlaya ( ; born July 1974) is an American mathematician. He currently is a Professor of Mathematics and the Stefan E. Warschawski Chair in Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego. Biography Kiran Kedlaya was born i ...

, and

Vamsi Mootha Vamsi K. Mootha is an Indian-born American physician–scientist and computational biology, computational biologist. He is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Professor of Systems Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical Sch ...

, who credited Berzsenyi's mentorship in an NPR feature.

References

External links

George Berzsenyi's family website

United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS)

Gung and Hu Award announcement at the MAA

Gung and Hu Award citation (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berzsenyi, George 1938 births Living people American mathematicians Hungarian emigrants to the United States Mathematics educators Mathematics popularizers