News Release

John Allen Paulos receives prestigious AAAS Award for Public Understanding of S&T

Grant and Award Announcement

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

For his tireless efforts to communicate the joy of mathematics to the public, Temple University Professor John Allen Paulos has been named to receive the highly coveted 2003 AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.

Paulos--described as "one of the greatest mathematical storytellers of all time" -- communicates the pleasures and insights of mathematics to huge audiences.

Paulos has communicated mathematics to audiences in the United States and abroad. He has written seven books. "Innumeracy" spent 18 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper" was number one on the Amazon bestseller list when it came out. In addition to the popular appeal these books have, Paulos has received glowing reviews in a broad spectrum of journals and periodicals.

Perhaps best known for his monthly column on ABCNews.com, Paulos addresses issues in the news that have a mathematical angle to them.

During the 2000 presidential elections, for example, Paulos contributed pieces that led to a number of media appearances and much commentary, most notably a citation by the Florida Supreme Court. He has appeared frequently on television and radio, including interviews with the "Today Show," "20/20," "the Lehrer News Hour," "David Letterman," and "Larry King." Paulos has also written many opinion pieces for periodicals ranging from the The Nation and New York Times to the Wall Street Journal and Daily News, and his work has been cited favorably by commentators as disparate as Molly Ivins, Jeff Greenfield, and Stephen Jay Gould.

For more information on John Allen Paulos, please visit http://www.math.temple.edu/~paulos/.

The AAAS Award for Public Understanding of Science & Technology, established in 1987, recognizes scientists and engineers who make outstanding contributions to the "popularization of science." A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque and other honors are bestowed upon winners of the AAAS award. For more background on the award, please see http://www.aaas.org/about/awards/

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