George Berzsenyi

George Berzsenyi (; August 17, 1938 – June 4, 2026) was a Hungarian-American mathematician and professor, known for his contributions to mathematics education and his mentorship of high-school mathematics students. He founded and chaired the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME), founded the United States of America Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS), and helped create several other problem-solving programs for mathematically gifted students. For his contributions, he received the Paul Erdős Award in 1996 and the Gung and Hu Award in 2016.

Early life and education Berzsenyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, on August 17, 1938, as György de Vargha. Both parents came from old Hungarian nobility. His mother Kornélia descended from the poet Dániel Berzsenyi. György and his father, Colonel Miklós de Vargha, were among the many thousands who emigrated to the United States in 1957 after Soviet troops crushed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

György soon officially changed his name to George Berzsenyi. He earned his doctorate in mathematics from Texas Christian University in 1969, with a specialization in complex analysis.

Academic career Berzsenyi taught mathematics at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, for 19 years. He later joined Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he continued to teach and promote mathematics enrichment for 12 years For much of the 1990s, he invited 30 of the strongest USAMTS solvers to spend three weeks at the NSF-funded Young Scholars Program at RHIT, where they studied various topics from classical geometry to chaos theory.

The Competition Corner Berzsenyi edited "The Competition Corner" in The Mathematics Student from 1978 until the journal ended in 1981. This was the first of his Hungarian-style proof-by-mail efforts (eventually becoming USAMTS) that helped develop hundreds of American high-school mathematicians through year-round creative problem-solving.

His mathematical protégés include numerous academics and scientists. Among them are Noam Elkies, Kiran Kedlaya, and Vamsi Mootha, who credited Berzsenyi's mentorship in an NPR feature.

Recognition In 1996, Berzsenyi received the Paul Erdős Award from the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions for his contributions to national competitions and educational enrichment. In 2016, he received the Gung and Hu Award from the Mathematical Association of America for a lifetime of distinguished service.

Selected publications The Contest Problem Book V: American High School Mathematics Examinations and American Invitational Mathematics Examinations 1983–1988 (Mathematical Association of America, 1997, with Stephen B. Maurer) International Mathematical Talent Search, Parts 1–2 (Australian Mathematics Trust, 2010–2011) The Competition Corner in The Mathematics Student: Its History, Problems, Solutions, and the People Involved (self-published 2021, with István Laukó and Gabriella Pintér) Tata's Tattered Tales, a three-volume genealogical memoir (self-published 2022–2023)