| Jeganathan Sriskandarajah Teaching more than numbers |
| By Laura Salinger |
| Jeganathan Sriskandarajah, known to his students as "Sri," has been teaching mathematics at MATC (Madison Area Technical College) since 2000. His uncommon passion for his work has inspired his students and brought enthusiasm to a subject that is sometimes considered difficult or boring. Sriskandarajah was born and raised in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. His father, a businessman, and his mother raised four boys and three girls in this city of approximately 1 million people on Sri Lanka's southwestern coast. "We were a very close family," Sriskandarajah said, although, according to American standards, ";we didn't have that much luxury." Although the predominant religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism, Sriskandarajah's family practiced Hinduism. He was educated at the leading Catholic school for boys in Colombo. His interest in math, encouraged by his father, began at a very early age. Parents in Sri Lanka had a lot of influence on their children's education, Sriskandarajah said. "My father was the one who motivated me to do math." After graduating from high school, Sriskandarajah went on to pursue an accomplished career in mathematics. He attended the University of Sri Lanka and earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics. Afterward, he taught at the University of Sri Lanka for four years while attending graduate school, where he earned a master?s degree in mathematics. From there, Sriskandarajah attended the University of Rome, Italy, until he moved to Africa to teach mathematics at the University of Zambia. He stayed on in Zambia to become a systems analyst for the Cooper Mining Industry. Sriskandarajah eventually moved to the United States, where he earned a master's degree in statistics from the University of Delaware. In 1985, Sriskandarajah began a 15-year teaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Richland Center. In 2000, he brought his knowledge and experience to Madison. Most important, he brought his enthusiasm for mathematics. Named MATC's 2005 Distinguished Teacher of the Year and a 2004 Outstanding Employee, Sriskandarajah is credited with bringing humor to his curriculum as well as the drive to reverse students' negative impressions of mathematics. Sriskandarajah founded and advises the award-winning MATC math club, chairs the Mathematical Association of America-Wisconsin, and is the state director for the American Mathematics Competitions. "I wanted to do something different [rather] than simply teaching in the classroom." Sriskandarajah said. "We have been doing a lot of different things with our math club." Perhaps the most important thing that Sriskandarajah and his math club do is make math fun while promoting the subject among middle school, high school, and college students. For example, in April, the MATC Math club and the American Mathematical Society sponsored ";Who Wants to be a Mathematician?" Ten of the state's top high school math students participated in the competition, which was tailored after the television series "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" $6,000 and a number of other prizes were given away at the competition, whose purpose was to make math fun and to reward students who thrive on the subject. On March 14, the MATC math club celebrates Pi Day. The date is fitting considering that Pi = 3.14. The year's event featured an annual math competition between teams from six two-year colleges and presentations by math experts. The highlight of the day was a pie - eating contest, in which students had three minutes and 14 seconds to eat as much pie as they could. Sriskandarajah also brings in math experts each month to speak to the Math Club. They aren't' always your everyday mathematicians./In February, math enthusiasts were introduced to mathematician Elvis Bogart Wales, who happens to be a dog. His owner mathematician Timothy Pennings of Michigan's Hope College, unveiled the story of how the Welsh corgi solved an age-old calculus problem. Elvis always discovered the quickest (or optimal) route for retrieving his ball when it was thrown into the water time after time. Pennings, who measured and documented his dog's route to the ball, eventually wrote a book titled "Do Dogs Know Calculus?" and Elvis was rewarded with an honorary doctorate from Hope College. Sriskandarajah coordinates events like these to bring an element of fun to mathematics. They spark students' interest in the subject and demonstrate that one teacher's passion can make a difference. He notes that math is an important subject that enters into everyday life all the time. "There is no subject without mathematics," he said. Sriskandarajah asserts that the study of mathematics is important, and his events show that success in the subject can be very rewarding. The age-old subject of math is taking on a new look under his direction. |
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