Mathematicians receive patent for invention

Two area mathematicians have received a U. S. Patent on their invention--a balance used as a teaching tool in classrooms throughout the country.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Professor George Kung and Ken Vicchiollo, director of computing for the Berlin school district, collaborated on the device which is manufactured and sold by Cuisenaire, a New York company that specializes in materials for teaching mathematics and science.

The process of applying for and securing the patent took about three years. It protects the design of the balance from being copied for 14 years. The inventors developed the device as an offshoot of an Eisenhower Grant-funded workshop led by Kung.

Kung reports that the balance is selling well. He has given presentations about its use throughout the country and has led workshops for educators across the state. He will conduct a session in Hawaii next summer. The tool can be used in classes from fourth grade through high school algebra and for teacher training courses at the college level.

Kung says reviews have been excellent including one in the Mathematics Teachers Journal last spring. The device also is being marketed and sold in Mexico, Columbia, France and Israel.

The duo has invented another educational tool that is headed toward classrooms in the future. They have known each other for several years since Vicchiollo, a Stevens Point native, SPASH graduate and UWSP alumnus, first took a computer class from Kung as an undergraduate.

Kung has long been interested in the use of hands-on tools in the mathematics classroom, In addition to teaching his undergraduate classes at UWSP, he has led two summer workshops for teachers and has served as a mathematician-in-residence for the Wautoma School District. He has been invited to return to Wautoma next February.

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