CH 12: Undercover Mathematicians
While there appears to be some degree of belief that many of the people under bright lights are vapid and devoid of geek credibility, there are in fact many examples of people in the entertainment field that excel also in the Real number field. OK, that was a silly math joke but let’s take a look now and recognize some of the mathematically nerdcore famous people.
1. Danica McKellar played Winnie Cooper on the classic television show the Wonder Years, and also obtained an undergraduate degree in mathematics from UCLA and found time to write a few well- received math books aimed at teenage girls. She is a great example of the supposedly elusive beauty and brains. Ask Maxim or Stuff magazine for more information.
10. David Robinson, one of the greatest players ever to tie up their shoelaces for the NBA, also scored a 1320 on the SAT and then went to the United States Naval Academy to get a degree in mathematics.
11. Art Garfunkel, half of the legendary duo, Simon &, has a Masters in Mathematics from Columbia University.
100. Who says tough guys can't be smart? Daniel Grimaldi, a cast member from the hit show, the Sopranos, holds a bachelors degree in mathematics from Fordham, a masters in operations research from NYU, and a PhD in data processing from the City University of New York. In fact, as of this writing, he teaches in a college in Brooklyn.
101. Brian May, the lead guitarist for the rock band Queen, first graduated with honors from Imperial College London with degrees in mathematics and physics. More than 30 years later, he finished his research and obtained a PhD in Physics. That is one persistent chap!
110. David Dinkins is the first African American Mayor of New York, and perhaps not surprisingly has a degree, with honors, in mathematics from Howard University.
111. Tom Lehrer, the revered songwriter and parodist, is also brilliant, earning a degree in mathematics from Harvard at 18, and then followed it up with a Masters a year later.
1000. Frank Ryan led the Cleveland Browns to a NFL championship in 1964 but perhaps should be better remembered for being the only player in NFL history to hold a PhD in mathematics, from Rice University.
1001. Paul Wolfowitz has been a Deputy Secretary of Defense and President of the World Bank but started with a bachelor of mathematics from Cornell.
1010. Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany, speaks fluent Russian, but first studied Physics at the University of Leipzig.
1011. James Harris Simons is one of the most successful hedge fund managers ever, and subsequently one of America’s richest citizens. The Financial Times has called him the “smartest billionaire” and before he ever made any money, he was getting degrees from MIT and Berkeley in mathematics.
1100. Bram Stoker, the author of the classic horror novel Dracula, first scared people by earning a degree in mathematics with honors from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
1101. William Perry served as the United States Secretary of Defense under Bill Clinton. Before that he was getting a PhD in mathematics from Pennsylvania State University.
1110. Paul Verhoeven has helmed classic Hollywood movies like Total Recall, Basic Instinct and Robocop. He also is a math and physics whiz with degrees from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
1111. Larry Gonick is a well-respected cartoonist, who received an MA in mathematics from Harvard.
10000. Masi Oka, Hiro on the television show Heroes, is a hero to math nerds, doubled majoring in math and computer science at Brown.
10001. Felicia Day, the American actress known for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, home- schooled her way to the University of Texas at Austin to double major in music performance and you guessed it, mathematics.
Honorable Mentions:
Wil Wheaton of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a pioneer on the Internet with major computer geek cred. Bill Nye the science guy is a mechanical engineer and can even boast at having had Carl Sagan as a professor. Phil Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee, has a degree in Physics from Harvard. Lisa Kudrow has an Emmy award for her acting and a biology degree from Vassar. Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, has a masters in engineering from Oxford. Hustle and Flow's Terrance Howard is a chemical engineering degree holder from Pratt University. Frank Capra, the acclaimed director, was a Caltech graduate. Herbie Hancock is a bona fide electrical engineer. Montel Williams the talk show host is also an engineer. Tom Scholz, lead singer of Boston is an MIT grad.
Dexter Holland, lead singer for the Offspring, has a bachelors and masters in molecular biology from USC. Dylan Bruno, who plays Colby on Numb3rs, has a degree in environmental engineering from MIT. Greg Graffin formed Bad Religion and also managed a PhD in Biology from Cornell. Weird Al Yankovic has a degree in architecture from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Mayim Bialik, the star of the television show Blossom, holds a PhD in Neuroscience.
Rumored to be an undercover Mathematician’s Car