Julia Pevtsova to Receive 2018 PIMS Education Prize

The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) announces that Julia Pevtsova has been selected as the winner of the 2018 PIMS Education Prize. Dr. Pevtsova is a professor of mathematics in the University of Washington's Department of Mathematics holding degrees from Saint-Petersburg State University and Northwestern University.

“Julia Pevtsova is an enormously talented mathematician whose already large impact on mathematics education—within our university and beyond—continues to expand. What is most striking is the range of her activities, involving every level of mathematical learner from elementary school to Ph.D,” said Dr. Tatiana Toro, Craig McKibben & Sarah Merner Professor in Mathematics, University of Washington.

Dr. Pevtsova has an astonishing record of local K-12 outreach. She has set up a program for fourth and fifth graders at Montlake Elementary School, not far from UW, called Math Challenge as well as running a Math Circle for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders one evening a week, on campus, with co-director, Steve Klee, a professor at Seattle University. Dr. Pevstova supplements Math Circle with Math Hour and Math Hour Olympiad. The Math Hour is a spring series of three, monthly Sunday lectures given by faculty at various sites. Dr. Pevtsova has opened these talks up to a wider audience than the Math Circle students: “Well-behaved parents and teachers are also welcome to attend with the permission of their children. Siblings are free to join in, too.” This program benefits the community at large and attracts a broad and enthusiastic audience to campus.

More than these accomplishments, Dr. Pevtsova is a passionate, undeniable ambassador for Mathematics.

Awarded annually, the PIMS Education Prize recognizes individuals in Western Canada and Washington State who have played a major role in encouraging activities that enhance public awareness and appreciation of mathematics, as well as fostering communication among various groups concerned with mathematical education at all levels.

Math has become a necessary decision-making and discovery tool in nearly every industry. Innovation in medicine, physics, marketing, environmental sustainability, computing and even art uses mathematical analysis and predictive models as a universal language, and the PIMS Education Prize awards the constant pursuit of mathematical sciences literacy.

The 2018 PIMS Education Prize will be awarded at the annual Changing the Culture Conference organized by PIMS at SFU, Vancouver at Harbour Centre, on Friday, May 18, 2018.