1. Math Brainstorming Questions
2. Quick Math Stormzy

Math Brainstorming Questions

“Storm Chasers” is a real-life math project where students will complete ten different tasks, each one focusing on addition and subtraction to 1,000 and 10,000 in a real-life context. This project will help your students see how addition and subtraction is used in real life. Treasure MathStorm! Is an educational game designed for kids ages 6 to 8. The Master of Mischief has invented a machine that changes the weather and froze Treasure Mountain! Your goal is to restore the mountain by locating different treasures on the mountain and returning them to the castle at the top. Download MathStorm for free. A simple calculator, yet very attractive. This is my first software created, please tell me if you found any bug, or you can help me improvise myself as I am still a student, and have a lot to learn. Treasure MathStorm! Is an educational computer game intended to teach children ages five to nine mathematical problem solving. This sequel to Treasure Mountain! Is the sixth installment of The Learning Company 's Super Seekers games and the second in its 'Treasure' series. Math Slicer forces the child to make that split second decision in a fun and intuitive way. The child will also be rewarded for getting the correct answers making them want to continue playing. Slice the correct answer as it flies across the screen.

Exactly 20 years ago, on March 12–14, 1993, the Storm of the Century struck the eastern United States causing approximately $5.5 billion in damages—the fourth costliest storm in U.S. history at that time. The storm’s record snowfalls isolated thousands of people, especially in the Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia mountains. Workers rescued over 200 hikers from the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains, and more than 270 people died because of the storm. The National Guard was deployed in many areas, and several counties and cities enforced curfews and declared states of emergency. The storm closed nearly all interstate highways from Atlanta northward as well as every major airport on the East coast at one time or another, unprecedented at the time.

Snowfall rates of 2–3 inches per hour were common during the height of the storm. Generally, New York’s Catskill Mountains along with most of the central and southern Appalachians received at least 2 feet of snow. Wind-driven sleet fell in some areas of the East Coast, with central New Jersey reporting 2.5 inches of sleet on top of 12 inches of snow—somewhat of an “ice-cream sandwich” effect. Hundreds of roofs collapsed under the weight of the heavy wet snow, and the storm left over 3 million customers without power due to fallen trees and high winds. Illustrating the storm’s magnitude, the National Weather Service’s Office of Hydrology estimated the storm’s equivalent total volume of water at 44 million acre-feet, which is comparable to 40 days’ flow on the Mississippi River at New Orleans.

Up to six inches of snow even blanketed the Florida panhandle. In addition to the snow in the panhandle, an estimated 15 tornadoes struck the state, and 44 deaths in Florida were attributed to either the tornadoes or other severe weather. A 12-foot storm surge occurred in Taylor County, Florida, resulting in at least seven deaths. Dry Tortugas, west of Key West, Florida, recorded a wind gust of 109 miles per hour. From Florida northward, the storm battered the entire eastern coastline, and at least 18 homes fell into the sea on Long Island due to the pounding surf. The storm also damaged about 200 homes along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, making them uninhabitable. The Coast Guard rescued over 160 people at sea in the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico, where at least one freighter sank.

Very powerful storms, like the Storm of the Century in ’93, can strike at any time, making it extremely important to analyze them to better prepare for the future. NCDC’s severe weather data and accompanying analyses provide decision makers and constituents with the needed tools to ensure the public is well prepared for any future devastating storms. For more information on how you can prepare yourself, your family, and your friends for severe weather, visit www.ready.gov.

NCDC’s Technical Report 93-01 from May 14, 1993 is also available online.

View a satellite imagery animation of the Storm of the Century from NOAA's National Environmental Visualization Lab.

Talea Mayo joined the Emory faculty in May as assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics. A computational mathematician, she specializes in developing numerical hydrodynamic models to help predict coastal hazards.

By creating models for storm surge caused by hurricanes, for instance, she is able to investigate the potential impacts of climate change on coastal flood risks. The resulting data may help policymakers and others develop better plans for the safety and resilience of coastal communities.

Among Mayo’s accolades are an Early-Career Research Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences Gulf Research Program and the Early Career Faculty Innovator Award from the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

In the following Q&A, Mayo talks about some of the environmental forces that helped shape her as a scientist and as an educator, and how she became what she describes as “a fierce advocate of accessible, inclusive science and education of all people.”

You grew up in Littleton, Colorado. What were some of your early math and computer science influences?

My mom was in software development and we always had a computer around. I don’t ever remember not having one nearby. Before I even started school, she bought me this really simple kid’s learning tool that was like a computer, with a keyboard and a screen. By the time I was in first grade, she was teaching me multiplication and I would practice on my “computer.”

I liked school and most of the subjects. I especially liked that math and science subjects were objective. Your answer to a problem is either right or wrong. But I really thought I wanted to be a lawyer.

How did you decide to attend Grambling State University in Louisiana?

I wanted to go away somewhere different than Colorado. I applied to a few schools randomly but I got a scholarship to Grambling and so I went there. I loved being in the South. It was so green while Colorado is so dry. Also, Colorado’s population is about 4 percent Black. My experience with Black people was mainly limited to church and family. Grambling is an Historically Black College and University and probably 96 percent Black. It was nice to meet Black people from all over the country and from all different socio-economic backgrounds. I played the flute and piccolo and I joined Grambling’s famous marching band. The band is really tight knit and that made it easy for me to build community there. I really value that.

I also valued how the professors interacted with students. I was a criminal justice major, but I took a high-level calculus class because math was important to me. The professor eventually called me into his office and said, “You should change your major to math.” I thought about it and I realized that he was right, so I did.

What prompted your interest in modeling the coastal effects of hurricanes?

I was a sophomore in 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast. The university is in northern Louisiana and we didn’t deal with the storm surges, but I remember the rain. And a lot of students were from places along the Gulf Coast. That allowed me to see the personal impacts of hurricanes. One of the band members was from New Orleans and his sister was killed in a shelter. I realized that it was people who looked like me on the news, sitting on roofs, and seemingly not being taken care of. Seeing that societal impact, particularly for my community, sparked my interest in trying to do something about it.

The following summer I got an internship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. I worked on a project to try to understand the relationship between the intensity of storms and atmospheric water vapor. I realized how much I loved research and doing something beyond analytical math that had a practical application.

You went on to become the first African-American PhD student at what is now known as the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas. What was that experience like?

The transition was very difficult. Initially, I felt isolated within the institute as the only Black person. You may not even be conscious of it, but if there is no one that looks like you who is studying or teaching in a program, it’s like a silent message. I had to get up to speed in computational math, there was this big learning curve, and I also was dealing with culture shock. I couldn’t relate to people on a personal level and I was intimidated, thinking everyone else was so far ahead of me. It took me a while to get myself together and adjust.

UT Austin is mid-way between Dallas and Houston and near Louisiana, so it was relatively easy for me to connect with people that I knew, which was healthy for me. And once I got into my research things got much better. I loved working with mathematical models and computer coding. I had a really great advisor. The day I defended my dissertation went as smoothly as it could have gone. The timing, the way I answered questions, the way the sun looked when I walked out of the building. That was a perfect day.

The net was positive. My initial struggles in graduate school make me a better mentor now.

How do you sum up your research?

I use a computer to solve math problems surrounding the way that fluid flows during storms. I work with a model that doesn’t have to depend on historical data from storms in coastal communities. I can change a variable in the model and determine how that may affect a storm’s impact. One of the scenarios that I look at a lot is variables due to climate change.

I don’t study the atmosphere. I study the response of the ocean to the atmosphere. Many people get focused on the category of a hurricane, which tells you the wind strength. But there is also the hazard from water, via storm surge and inland flooding. The water hazards also pose a great threat to the built environment. And human deaths from hurricanes are usually related to water.

What improvements would you like to see in national hurricane research?

The hazards are multi-dimensional so we should not study the problems underlying them in isolation. Katrina was catastrophic not just became of the storm but because New Orleans is below sea level, it’s densely populated, and there was a failure of infrastructure. And there are bigger questions than those surrounding physical infrastructure. How do we develop the social infrastructure needed so that low-income people can evacuate in an emergency? How do we foster resilience?

We need more science in politics if we want to protect coastlines. We need truly inter-disciplinary teams tackling the problems funded over 20-year timescales, so we don’t just do things halfway. As a nation, we’re so reactionary. But only one dollar in prevention equals six dollars spent on a reaction.

Why did you decide to come to Emory?

The faculty here really care about teaching and so do I. The students are well-supported, especially in the Department of Mathematics. And I feel valued as a truly inter-disciplinary researcher. I don’t belong in a box. Emory offers a lot of opportunity to grow as my interests evolve. I can collaborate with faculty from the Department of Environmental Sciences, the Department of Computer Science, the Rollins School of Public Health and elsewhere across campus.

What do you hope will be your academic legacy?

Quick Math Stormzy

I want to make an impact scientifically. I want to write good papers and to advance knowledge. And, at the end of the day, I hope that people will say, “She was kind. She treated people well while she achieved those things.”