Math Matters

In 2003, the National Academy of Engineering (USA) published ¹A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements that Transformed Our Lives. This book celebrates the top twenty technological advances of the twentieth century that fundamentally changed society. These advances have influenced where and how we live, what we eat, what we do for work or leisure, and even how we think about our world and the universe.

Mathematics has played a major role in bringing these innovations to reality. Many mathematical theories and models of real world problems have helped scientists and engineers grapple with seemingly impossible tasks. Today, mathematical techniques reach even further into our society. In addition to making technology more efficient and effective, mathematical techniques help organizations deal with financial, manufacturing, and even marketing issues.

This poster is a tribute to the National Academy of Engineering as well as the men and women who have focused their brilliance to transform the modern world. The poster is a mosaic of the ways mathematics helps us utilize and benefit from these great technological achievements. Some achievements will be familiar. Some will be a surprise. All, hopefully, will encourage you to investigate these topics further.

1 George Constable and Bob Somerville, A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives (Washington: National Academies Press, 2003).
The content on this poster does not necessarily reflect the position or views of the National Academy of Engineering, and no official endorsement should be inferred.