07/15/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/15/2025 07:23
By Brian Laubscher
July 15, 2025
Greg Dresden, professor of mathematics at Washington and Lee University, was recently recognized with an honorable mention for the inaugural Mohammad K. Azarian Award presented by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
Named for a mathematics professor from the University of Evansville, the Mohammad K. Azarian Award seeks to recognize individuals who contribute to the advancement of mathematics through their exceptional ability to craft innovative problems featured in MAA publications and the world of American Mathematics Competitions (AMC).
The award's top prize went to Joseph DeVincentis, Thomas Occhipinti and Daniel Velleman for their combinatorics problem published in The American Mathematical Monthly. Their problem modeled a game where tiles can either be removed in adjacent pairs or expanded individually into four new tiles.
Dresden was one of three mathematicians recognized as an honorable mention for the award, joining Carl Schildkraut of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Haoran Chen of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (China).
Dresden's submission invites exploration of an infinite geometric pattern where simple shapes combine to reveal an unexpectedly elegant outcome. The beautiful geometry puzzle is inspired by an infinite checkerboard where shapes stretch off into the distance. Though each shape is simple on its own, adding up the total area yields a surprisingly neat answer.
"I was overjoyed to receive this recognition," said Dresden. "Writing and solving math problems is a great entryway to learning about more serious mathematics, and I'm delighted the Azarian Award will recognize this type of contribution to the world of mathematics going forward."
Dresden has been a member of the W&L faculty since 1997, serving as chair of the mathematics department from 2011 to 2015 and again in 2021. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Stanford University, a Master of Arts in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Founded in 1915, the MAA is the world's largest community of mathematicians, students and enthusiasts. The organization focuses on undergraduate mathematics education and sponsors numerous competitions, publications and professional development opportunities for mathematics educators.
If you know a W&L faculty member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.