Math Olympiad Champs

Math Olympiad ChampsTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 113, Segment 5

Jul 30, 2015 • 20m

Guest: Po-Shen Loh, Ph. D., Professor of Math at Carnegie Mellon University, Team USA Math Olympiad Coach Call it an upset. Call it historic. Definitely don’t call it a matter of basic arithmetic. It took a lot more than adding and subtracting to propel Team USA to victory at this year’s International Math Olympiad. It was the first time Americans took the crown in 21 years. A fact made no less surprising by the fact that American teenagers fall below average in math compared to 64 other countries.

Other Segments

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Guest: Daniel Nielson, Ph. D., BYU Political Science Professor President Obama has just concluded his first trip to Africa while in office, including stops in Kenya and Ethiopia where he said, "The future of Africa is up to Africans, for too long many looked to the outside for salvation." He urged African leaders to create jobs, foster innovation and uphold the human rights ideals of democratic society. BYU Political Science Professor Dan Nielson argues that Africans, in many ways, are already taking charge of their destinies and that local success stories on the ground in Africa might surprise Westerners.

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Guest: Holly K Oxhandler, Ph. D., Professor of Social Work at Baylor University Do your doctors know what your religion is? Should they? How about your therapist? Is it any of their business? Or might it be helpful for them to know? This turns out to be a question many social workers wrestle with. The vast majority surveyed in a recent study said they believe discussing their clients’ religious beliefs would be helpful, but the fact is, very few are actually doing it.

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Guest: Sister Dorothy Fabritze, Missionary Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Under the Big Top of Ringling Bros. circus there are acrobats! Clowns! Tigers! Elephants! Even llamas! And nuns! Yes, nuns. More than a decade ago, Sister Dorothy Fabritze joined the circus ministry of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She travels the country mentoring circus performers, arranging mass in the center ring and pitching in to help make the circus The Greatest Show on Earth.

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Guest: Audrey Rowe, Administrator for the Good Futrition Service at the USDA Believe it or not, there are children in America who feel a sense of dread when school gets out for the summer. They know there will be hunger pains without the daily breakfasts and lunches they get at school. To ease those pains, the USDA offers funding for states to distribute meals during the summer – often in parks and community centers in low-income neighborhoods. Last year the Summer Food Service Program served more than 187 million meals to children. But USDA officials know there are many families still hungry in the summer, because they don’t know where the meals are served.

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Guest: Peter Weyand, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Applied Physiology and biomechanics at Southern Methodist University College football is just around the corner, and players all over the nation are in preparation mode. This typically means protein shakes, training and, of course, weightlifting. But believe or not, weights weren’t always a big part of football. In fact, 50 years ago, weight training was generally frowned on in football. Coaches worried it would slow players down. Today, they feel quite differently.