Charles G. Simonson

Biography

Shai Simonson's research interests are in theoretical computer science (algorithms, complexity theory, and formal grammars), computer science education, math education, and history of mathematics. He has received a number of grants from the National Science Foundation, for his work in these areas.

Shai has a particular interest in mathematics education at the middle school and high school levels. He designed an innovative mathematics curriculum for the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School in Norwood, which led to his book, Rediscovering Mathematics, published in 2011, and written for a general audience.

At the height of the dot-com boom in 2000, he directed an innovative corporate-sponsored one-year post-baccalaureate computer science program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called ArsDigita University. Videotaped lectures from this program are used freely all over the world.

Shai's Java book, co-written with Ralph Bravaco, was published by McGraw Hill in 2009.

Education

• B.A., Mathematics, Columbia College, New York, 1979
• M.S., Computer Science, Northwestern University, Illinois, 1983
• Ph.D., Computer Science, Northwestern University, Illinois, 1986

Publications

•  Looking for Math in All the Wrong Places: Math in Real Life