News-Letter

Zucker's passion for mathematics education is deep; when asked about his accomplishments, he did not cite his well-known contributions to mathematical research, but instead, noted his award for Excellence in Teaching that he received in 2004.

"I noticed that Hopkins students often had trouble adjusting [academically] to the University," Zucker said.

Originally suspecting his own ineptitude in capturing students' interest, Zucker said he went beyond the demands of his job and increased the amount of time he spent planning effective, interesting lectures. Despite this effort, Zucker still noticed that students were struggling with the transition from high school mathematics to the rigor required in college.

To explain this observation, Zucker came up with two likely possibilities: covered grades and the shift in how mathematics is taught between high school and college. Zucker contends that while high school students are spoon-fed how to do math, college students must learn to learn on their own.

With this as a launching point, Zucker began writing commentaries and lectures on the education of mathematics. What had begun as a personal search soon evolved into a passion for teaching.?

However, there is more to Zucker's eccentric personality than his work as a professor. From playing tournament bridge in college to traveling the world, from working out three days a week at the recreation center to playing and listening to classical piano, from photography to watching movies, this professor has a wide range of interests outside of teaching and research.

One of Zucker's favorite quotes by Francois de La Rochefoucauld gives a rare glimpse into the inner workings of this professor: "The world rewards the appearance of merit oftener than merit itself," to which Zucker responds, "It is a cause of great frustration that people want simple criteria for making judgments on complicated things."

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