Nancy Blachman, founder of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, was featured by her alma mater, UC Berkeley, in the IEOR Alumni Spotlight series. The spotlight focuses on her love of recreational math and her passion for making math fun for kids.
“Nancy was able to realize her vision by establishing the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. Named after renowned mathematician and UC Berkeley alum Julia Robinson, the festival features a variety of activities and problem sets, with the ultimate goal of inspiring more students, including girls and the underserved, to have fun playing with mathematics. Response to the festival was fast and enthusiastic, and the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival has now made its way around half the United States and on every continent except Antarctica. To date, the festival has served more than 100,000 students.”
