Retiring Dispositions

After years of work, the book and CD-ROM M.C. Escher’s Legacy, edited by Doris Schattschneider, professor emerita of mathematics, has been published by Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. Doris reports that at the joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America, January 17 in Baltimore, the publisher sold out its allotment of books in no time.

An outgrowth of an international congress in 1998, held in Rome and Ravello, Italy, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, the book contains 40 articles by authors from 11 different countries, commenting on Escher’s work and its influence on their creative lives. The CD-ROM is an extension of the book that offers artworks, photos, movies, animations, interactive demos, and puzzles. Check it out at the www.springer.de website.

In connection with the exhibit “Stairway to Nowhere: The Art of M.C. Escher” at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, Doris gave a slide-lecture January 29 called “Visions of Symmetry: Mathematics and the Art of M.C. Escher.” She will speak on her fascination with Escher on April 7 as part of the Monday Night Speakers Series at the College.

David Schattschneider, dean emeritus of Moravian Theological Seminary, also is busy. His review of The Moravian Church and the Missionary Awakening in England: 1760-1800 by John C.S. Mason appeared in the December issue of Church History: Studies in Christianity & Culture, the journal of the American Society of Church History.