Franklin D. Demana and Bert K. Waits have been widely recognized for their outstanding contributions to mathematics education. Texas Instrument's gift to the Mathematics Education Trust (MET), in recognition of the exceptional contributions to mathematics education by professors Demana and Waits, supports scholarships to student members of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) who are undergraduates studying to become mathematics teachers.
Demana and Waits were well known for assisting in the design of the Texas Instruments family of graphing calculators and promoting the use of handheld technology in mathematics education. They were cofounders of T3: Teachers Teaching with Technology as well as the annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics (ICTCM) and the biannual International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching (ICTMT). They cofounded the technology-enhanced curriculum revision project Calculator and Computer Precalculus (C2PC). Demana and Waits codirected many mathematics education projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Over the years, they coauthored three high school, college precalculus, and calculus textbook series.
Frank Demana was a professor emeritus of mathematics at Ohio State University. He also served as an academic coordinator for Texas Instruments, working with funding agencies, schools, and universities. He published numerous articles in nationally recognized professional journals. He was a frequent speaker at state, national, and international meetings, as well as a consultant to mathematics departments throughout the United States and other countries. Demana was an active member of NCTM, the Mathematical Association of American (MAA), and the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC).
Bert Waits was a professor emeritus of mathematics and a visiting professor of mathematics, science, and technology education at Ohio State University. He was the cofounder and director of the Ohio Early College Mathematics Placement Testing (EMPT) Program, of the Ohio Board of Regents. Waits served as president of the Central Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics. He authored over 70 publications in internationally recognized professional journals. He presented many keynote lectures, workshops, and minicourses at national meetings of the MAA and NCTM. From 1986 to 1988 he served as a member of the working group that wrote NCTM's
Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. He served a three-year term on NCTM's Board of Directors and was a member of the College Board's AP Calculus Development Committee.
Bert Waits died July 27, 2014.
Frank Demana died September 29, 2021.