Students from Galveston Independent School District identified the
angles in the Engineering Quad sculptures as they took a mathematical
tour of campus last week, given by the Rice University School
Mathematics Project (RUSMP). Led by RUSMP directors Anne
Papakonstantinou, Richard Parr, Susan Troutman and Carolyn White, the
tour took students all across the Rice campus to explore mathematics. RUSMP leaders used the Roman numerals on the cornerstone of Lovett
Hall, the whispering niches and vaulted ceiling in the Physics Building, the stylized hyperbolic triangles at the entrance of the Humanities
Building and other campus features to illustrate math concepts. The students were participating in an intensive four-week
camp that took them beyond the classroom to experience real-world
mathematics through project-based learning. The program — R4,
Relations: Robots, Rockets and Roller Coasters — was the result of a
partnership between Galveston ISD and RUSMP and gave students the
opportunity to learn about college admission and the preparations for
admission. The students also learned about Rice’s role in the emerging field of nanotechnology at a lecture by Kristen
Kulinowski, senior faculty fellow in chemistry, executive director for
external affairs for Center for Biological and Environmental
Nanotechnology and director of the International Council on
Nanotechnology.