Danica McKellar: Math Doesn't Suck & Wonder Years Actress

[Ivan Seeking]

Percolation and Gibbs states multiplicity for ferromagnetic Ashkin-Teller models on Z²
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0305-4470/31/45/005

One of the two student authors was the actress who played Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years.

McKellar studied at UCLA, majoring in mathematics, and graduated summa cum laude in 1998. As an undergraduate, she coauthored a scientific paper[4] with Professor Lincoln Chayes and fellow student Brandy Winn. The paper proves a theorem in mathematical physics that could be called the "Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem,"[5] although this appellation is not in widespread use. This paper makes her one of the very few people, with a finite Erdős-Bacon number (Natalie Portman being another notable example). Referring to the mathematical abilities of his coauthor students, Chayes was quoted in the New York Times[6] as saying, "I thought that the two were really, really first-rate." McKellar even provides free online math tutoring for her fans at her official internet website. While a student at UCLA, she was a sister in the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

McKellar is the author of the book Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail, a book encouraging girls in middle school to enjoy mathematics and be good at it.[7]. The book has been favorably reviewed by Tara C. Smith, the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa.[8] In an interview with Smith, McKellar said that she wrote the book "to show girls that math is accessible and relevant, and even a little glamorous" and to counteract "damaging social messages telling young girls that math and science aren't for them"[9]

McKellar was named Person of the Week[10] on ABC World News with Charles Gibson for the week ending 10-Aug-2007. The news segment highlighted her book Math Doesn't Suck and her efforts to help girls to develop an interest in mathematics, especially during their vulnerable middle school years.[continued]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_McKellar

 

[Astronuc]

Danica McKellar was interviewed by the regional NPR station today. Unfortunately, I missed it, but I'm hoping it was taped.

She's been interviewed on NPR.
Danica McKellar's Mathematical Theorem
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5201825

And she has a website
http://www.danicamckellar.com/

 

[fourier jr]

winnie has a finite erdos-bacon number! (six) an erdos-bacon number is the sum of someone's erdos number & their bacon number. apparently people with finite erdos-bacon numbers are very rare. i guess they would be since someone would have to be on both the erdos graphs & the bacon graphs. (in other words showbiz people & math people) daniel kleitman, for example, is tied for the lowest erdos-bacon number since he authored a paper with erdos and also worked as an advisor for good will hunting. erdos' erdos-bacon number is also 3.

 

[Astronuc]

apparently people with finite erdos-bacon numbers are very rare.

I am puzzled by the use of 'finite'. Does this mean that most people have infinite erdos-bacon numbers?

 

[Hurkyl]

Yes; one's Erdos-Bacon number is the smallest number of links you need to connect yourself to Erdos through academic papers and to Bacon through movies. If both connections cannot be done, your number is thus infinite.