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George's Mathematical Career

 

Not long ago George became the recipient of the Gung and Hu Award of the Mathematical Association of America at the 2016 Joint Mathematics Meetings held in Seattle, WA in January of 2016.  This prestigious award is given for his "remarkable career empowering generations of high school students to pursue their mathematical and scientific passions by promoting the art of problem solving, creating national and international mathematical talent searches, and supporting mathematical competitions".  Thanks go to a number of his mathematical 'proteges' who nominated him for this life-time achievement award.  

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Most recently, George was the subject of an NPR (National Public Radio) broadcast on Sunday, April 7, 2019.  It may be viewed and listened to at https://www.npr.org/2019/04/07/707326070/a-math-teachers-life-summed-up-by-the-gifted-students-he-mentored?fbclid=IwAR187n7vQH2uhUtvs4m7jr1BZx50JtH8awkvSpY--XGyB8eowKXGBhnj-Aw   .   As a result of this great program, George has written several articles to appear in Math journals soon.  

  

Until 2010, George was spending most of his time on genealogy.  However, after being contacted by a publishing company in South Korea at the end of May, 2009, he went back to working on mathematics.  The company wanted permission to publish the problems and solutions to the USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) in book form for a summer mathematics program.  As George still has the rights to at least the first half (10 years) of the material, he worked like mad to provide the necessary digital files.  Then, after the book was published in June, 2009, he decided to begin work compiling the English version.  While he was sorry to neglect his genealogical studies, the work on this competition, which he began in 1989, has been a labor of love.  The first book was published in Australia in 2010 and the second volume was published in 2011.   

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Since retiring from full time teaching at Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in 1999, George has worked less on Mathematics, and more on genealogy.  Thus, in order to feel that he was not 'wasting' his magnificent mathematical library, George negotiated a 'new home' for the large majority of his books.  That new home can be found in the Berzsenyi Daniel Gymnasium in Budapest, Hungary, where his gift became a "special collection" housed in beautiful oak bookcases especially constructed for it.  At the official opening of it in 2003, our son, Daniel, represented George as seen on the site http://www.berzsenyi.hu/kvt/kepek/matgyujt/index.html. 

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While George continued supplying problems for the United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS) for a few years after he retired, he has now completely turned it over to it's new home, The Art of Problem Solving .  This group took over the administration of this nation-wide competition that George began (in 1989, while at RHIT) when the National Security Agency (NSA) was unable to continue.  Students continue to enjoy solving problems, and now can even submit solutions online.

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Since the completion of the second volume of the IMTS problems, George has managed to return to his work on genealogy and has even begun to write up his findings, sharing his discoveries with the family.