The Trevor Evans Award, established by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), is presented annually to an author or authors of an exceptional mathematics article that is accessible to undergraduates.
Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, Kristen Mazur, along with co-authors Mutiara Sondjaja (OpenX), Matthew Wright (St. Olaf College), and Carolyn Yarnall (California State University, Dominguez Hills) won the 2025 Trevor Evans award for their article, Illuminating Illustration: Interesting Intersections and Helly’s Theorem, published in the journal, “Math Horizons.”
The Trevor Evans Award, established by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), is presented annually to an author or authors of an exceptional mathematics article that is accessible to undergraduates and published during the preceding year in “Math Horizons.” “Math Horizons” is the undergraduate magazine of the MAA, publishing high-quality articles that are geared towards undergraduates. It is a vibrant and accessible forum for practitioners, students, educators, and enthusiasts of mathematics, dedicated to exploring the folklore, characters, and current happenings in mathematical culture.
Award Citation from the MAA: This article explains an interesting result about the intersection of convex sets in a way that is accessible to a broad audience while still remaining rigorous in its treatment of the material. The authors’ choice to motivate the question using approval voting draws the reader into the material in an engaging way. The proof of Helly’s Theorem in two dimensions is very well presented and clear, with just a small case left to give the reader something to do on their own. Overall, the article leads the reader through the exploration of an intriguing mathematical result in an accessible way with nice illustrations and plenty of suggestions for the reader to learn more.