Noah Giansiracusa to Receive the 2026 JPBM Communications Award

The following was shared by the American Mathematical Society.

Noah Giansiracusa will receive the 2026 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award “for his extraordinary contributions to public understanding of the societal impacts of algorithms through his acclaimed books and influential media presence,” according to the citation.

Giansiracusa is an associate professor of mathematics at Bentley University whose second book, Robin Hood Math, was published by Riverhead Books on August 5, 2025.

Response of Noah Giansiracusa

When I look at the names of past recipients for this award, I am blown away. These are legends. They are my idols. I would say that they are my role models, but that feels too pretentious and unrealistic: Each is in a category of their own and charted a professional path I could never successfully follow no matter how hard I tried. But while I cannot copy them, I can draw inspiration from them and the ways they communicate math to the public. And I hope that in doing so I leave you with some ideas for how you can do the same. If I have one piece of advice to share with you in this moment, it is that communicating math to the public is not about being the best. It is about being yourself, but doing so with so much enthusiasm and gusto that your audiences cannot resist falling in love with math in much the way you probably did many years ago when you first felt that spark and experienced that passion.

Biographical sketch of Noah Giansiracusa

Noah Giansiracusa, Ph.D. in math from Brown University, is an associate professor of mathematics at Bentley University and recently served as a visiting scholar at Harvard. After publishing the book How Algorithms Create and Prevent Fake News in 2021, Noah has gotten more involved in public writing and public speaking and policy discussions concerning data-driven algorithms and their role in society. He's appeared on CNN live and BBC Radio and has written for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Scientific American, TIME, Wired, and others. His second book, Robin Hood Math, explores how people of all backgrounds can use math to help navigate life and take back control in a world dominated by algorithms. He is also cohost of the podcast “AI in Academia.”

About the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics Communication Award

The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communication Award was established by the JPBM in 1988 and is given annually to reward and encourage communicators who, on a sustained basis, bring mathematical ideas and information to nonmathematical audiences. The JPBM is a collaborative effort of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), American Statistical Association (ASA), Mathematical Association of America (MAA), and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). 

Find out more about the award and see past recipients.