Mary P. Dolciani (1923–1985) was an American

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, known for her work with secondary-school mathematics teachers.

Education and career

Dolciani earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree (B.A.) at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

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, and she completed her

doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(Ph.D.) at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1947 with B. W. Jones as thesis advisor. She taught briefly at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

before returning to Hunter, where she spent the next forty years. Dolciani taught mathematics there, and at times, she also served as a

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or the Provost.

Contributions

Beginning in the 1960s Mary Dolciani wrote a series of high school mathematics textbook, ''Structure and Method'', which in 2000 - 2010 has experienced a resurgence of popularity. Shortly before her death in 1985, Dolciani also co-wrote (along with two other mathematics educators) ''Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Course''. This textbook was widely used in the later 1980s through the 1990s. In addition to teaching the pure mathematics, it emphasized the usefulness of algebra in various practical applications. Although Dolciani is not well known by the general public, she was influential in developing the basic modern method used for teaching basic algebra in the United States (called "Dolciani algebra", which teaches it on the basis of drill like arithmetic, rather than on the basis of proofs as in

Euclidean geometry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small ...

). Dolciani also popularized the short-form names of the Properties that are familiar to many high school algebra students, e.g. the "Zero Property".

Legacy

The

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

publishes a series of mathematical books named for her: ''The Dolciani Mathematical Expositions''. Also, the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

's headquarters building in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

is named The Dolciani Mathematical Center in her honor. The Mathematical Association of America has given the

Mary P. Dolciani Award The Mary P. Dolciani Award is an award established in 2012 by the Mathematical Association of America. The award recognizes a pure or applied mathematician with a record of distinguished contributions to K-16 mathematics education in the United S ...

annually since 2012 for distinguished contributions to teaching, and the American Mathematical Society has given a different award, the Mary P. Dolciani Prize for Excellence in Research, every other year beginning in 2019. In 1982, Dr. Mary P. Dolciani Halloran, with her husband James J. Halloran and Eugene J. Callahan as Trustees, established the Mary P. Dolciani Halloran Foundation to further the study of mathematics and mathematics education.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolciani, Mary P. Hunter College alumni American women mathematicians 20th-century American mathematicians Cornell University alumni Vassar College faculty Hunter College faculty 1985 deaths 1923 births 20th-century women mathematicians 20th-century American women