Student honored for essay about math instructor

Anthropology major Siobhan McCue of Camden has received honorable mention in the undergraduate category of the 2011 Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest.  McCue wrote an essay about UMaine mathematics instructor Jennifer Tyne titled, “For the Love of Math.”  McCue took MAT 101 – The Nature and Language of Mathematics in the Fall 2010 semester at the Hutchinson Center and was inspired by how Tyne’s teaching methods made complex ideas simple and understandable. The annual essay contest, cosponsored by Math for America, focuses on biographies of contemporary women in mathematics to increase awareness of their contributions to the field. The contest is open to college undergraduates as well as high school and middle school students.  The winning essays by McCue and other students are online.