Rodrigo Bañuelos
Professor of Mathematics
and Department Head
Blackwell-Tapia
Prize
We give here two articles related to the Blackwell-Tapia 2004 Prize in mathematics. Both were written by Jorge Morales Almada, a reporter for the daily La Opinión (one of the nation's largest Spanish language daily newspaper) of Los Angeles, California, and published by La Opinión November 2004. For the first article Jorge received a second place prize in "The 17th Annual Hispanic Print Awards" in the category of "Outstanding Hispanic Success Story, Daily Publications," presented by The National Association of Hispanic Publications. Congratulations Jorge!
During the last few years I have received over a hundred emails and phone calls from Latino students (elementary, high school, and university), their teachers and parents, asking for more information on my professional career. While it is difficult for us scientists to speak about ourselves, I have decided to put these articles here in hope that they will encourage Latino students to consider careers in the mathematics.
All those looking for biographical information on Latino scientists in the US are encouraged to visit the SACNAS web-page, and specially the SACNAS "Biographical Project" page. I also strongly recommend visiting the web-page of Professor Richard Tapia, a person who has been a role model and an inspiration for countless US Latino students in mathematics and related fields. In addition, I believe it would be inspiring for all students, and especially for all minority students interested in a career in the mathematical sciences, to read about the life and achievements of Professor David Blackwell, a truly extraordinary American mathematician of African descent. For biographical information on Professor Blackwell, please visit Mathematicians of the African Diaspora, The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, or the MAA SUMMA page.
As always, students, parents and teachers can write to me at banuelos@math.purdue.edu.