University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	August 13, 1999
Contact: Emily White, University Relations 956-3967, emilyw@hawaii.edu

UH mathematics professors receive distinguished writing award UH Manoa mathematics professors, David Bleecker and Lawrence J. Wallen, received the George Pólya Award last week at the Summer Mathfest in Providence, Rhode Island for their article, "The World's Biggest Taco." To capture the attention of his calculus students, Wallen thought of a fast food problem. The problem is to determine the precise cross-sectional curve that a taco shell should have in order that the shell hold the most stuff without "running beyond the border." Wallen teamed up with Bleecker in order to find the optimal cross-sectional curve. They discovered that a hefty taco shell, molded along their curve, using a tortilla disk two feet in diameter, holds .8300305 cubic feet of stuff. If the same tortilla is molded along a typical industry-standard curve, one gets about 57% of this amount. Established in 1976, the George Pólya Awards, consisting of a citation and cash prize, are presented by the Mathematical Association of America for articles of expository excellence published in The College Mathematics Journal.

-UH-