Annalisa Crannell facts for kids
Annalisa Crannell is an American mathematician. She is an expert in understanding how water waves work, the science of unpredictable systems (called chaos theory), and how we see things in art (geometric perspective). She teaches mathematics at Franklin & Marshall College.
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Early Life and Education
Annalisa Crannell grew up in a family of scientists. Her father, Hall L. Crannell, was a nuclear physicist. Her mother, Carol Jo Crannell, was a solar physicist who worked for NASA.
When she was in high school, Annalisa loved Spanish class. She wasn't very interested in math at that time.
Discovering a Love for Math
She started college at Bryn Mawr College, planning to study languages. However, a math professor named Mario Martelli noticed her talent in a calculus class. He encouraged her to take advanced math courses, even as a first-year student. This changed her mind, and she decided to study mathematics instead.
Annalisa Crannell graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1986 with high honors. She then continued her studies at Brown University, where she earned her Ph.D. (a high-level degree) in 1992. Her main teacher and guide for her Ph.D. was Walter Craig.
Career and Teaching
After finishing her Ph.D., Dr. Crannell joined the faculty at Franklin & Marshall College in 1992. She has been a professor there ever since.
Leadership Roles
From 2005 to 2010, she was the first "Don" of Bonchek College House. This was a special role where she helped guide students living in a college residence.
Dr. Crannell has also held important positions in big math organizations. She was a leader for the East Pennsylvania Delaware section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) from 2014 to 2016. She also served on the executive committee for the Association for Women in Mathematics from 2012 to 2015. From 2003 to 2005, she chaired a committee for the American Mathematical Society.
For more than 15 years, she has been an associate editor for Mathematics Magazine. This magazine is published by the MAA.
Mathematical Contributions
Dr. Crannell's early research focused on water waves. Her Ph.D. work looked at how water waves behave, specifically using something called the Boussinesq equation.
Books and Publications
She has written or edited several books about mathematics:
- Starting Our Careers: A Collection of Essays and Advice on Professional Development from the Young Mathematicians' Network (1999) – This book helps young mathematicians with their careers.
- Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses: Crushed Clowns, Cars, and Coffee to Go (2004) – This book gives fun writing ideas for math classes.
- Viewpoints: Mathematical Perspective and Fractal Geometry in Art (2011) – This book explores how math, especially perspective and fractals, is used in art.
- Perspective and Projective Geometry (2019) – This book dives deeper into the math behind perspective and how we see things.
Art and Math Research
Her recent research often combines math with art. She studies how artists, like Albrecht Dürer, used perspective in their drawings.
One interesting technique she uses is bringing chopsticks to art galleries. She uses them to find "vanishing points" in artworks. These points help her understand how the artist created the illusion of depth. By finding these points, she can figure out the best place to stand to view the artwork as the artist intended.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Crannell has received several awards for her excellent teaching.
In 2008, she won the Deborah and Franklin Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. This award is given by the Mathematical Association of America. It recognizes math teachers who are outstanding and whose teaching has helped many students beyond their own college.
She also won the Christian R. And Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award For Distinguished Teaching in 2016.
Interests Outside of Math
Annalisa Crannell is also an athlete. She completed her first Ironman Triathlon on August 24, 2014. An Ironman Triathlon is a very challenging race that includes swimming, biking, and running long distances.
