National Science Foundation

National Curve Bank

Renie Awards

Beckman Institute

Renie Awards

2017


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2017.

Deposit #149

Superconics
Superparabola, Superellipse, Hyperbola, PseudoHyperbola and a Generalized Formula

The National Curve Bank honors
Cye H. Waldman

Superconics Animation
Superconics Animation

2016


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2016.

Deposit #150

Sphericons
Two Cones with a Twist

The National Curve Bank honors
David Hirsch

sphericons construction animation
Sphericons Construction

2015


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2015.

Deposit #147

The Method of Archimedes
Propositions 13 and 14 of Archimedes

The National Curve Bank honors
Cye Waldman, Gustavo Gordillo and Daniel Ye Ding

Cylinder Hoof Animation
Cylinder Hoof

2014


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2014.

Deposit #138

The Tautochrone Animation Code
Tautochrone in MATHEMATICA and its Wonderful Connection to American Literature

The National Curve Bank honors
Gustavo Gordillo

still tautochrone image
Tautochrone

2013


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2013.

Deposit #127

The Fibonacci and Mondrian Spirals
The Golden Ratio with Mondrian Shading

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr. Cye Waldman

Animation approximating the golden spiral
Waldman finds calculations with spirals to be amusing "because an approximation should be easier than that which is being approximated."

2012


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2012.

Deposit #113

Fractal Animation
Julia Sets in MATHEMATICA

The National Curve Bank honors
Chaya Morasha Gilbert-McNabb

A Julia Set Fractal
A Julia Set Fractal

2011


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2011.

Deposit #111

Wooden Models of the Conic Sections
Treceño is a master wood lathe craftsman

The National Curve Bank honors
Francisco Treceño of Valladolid, Spain

wooden conic sections
Union of Wooden Conic Sections

2010


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2010.

Deposit #103

The Cannonball Curves of Thomas Harriot
Harriot investigated projectile motion in the 1600s

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr. Janet Beery, University of Redlands and Dr. Louis Talman of Metropolitan State College, Denver

Image of line art cannon fire
From Harriot's algebra book Artis Analyticae Praxis

2009


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2009.

Deposit #98

Quasi-Spherical Orbits and Surfaces
Leibniz collaborated with Bernoulli to publish a wonderful illustration of a quasi-spherical orbit

The National Curve Bank honors
Robert G. Chester, Intellectual Properties Associates Tumwater. WA

Figure of a Quasi-Spherical Orbit
Acta Eruditorum (1692)

2008


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2008.

Deposit #84

The Catenary or Chain Curve

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr. Gary Brookfield of California State University, Los Angeles

Image of Theorem IX from From Schooten's Latin edition of Descartes
From Schooten's Latin edition of Descartes

2007


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2007.

Deposit #81

How to Visualize a Contour Map

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr. Louis Talman of Metropolitan State College, Denver

Image From one of Descartes' hallmark problems investigating roots and signs of polynomials
From one of Descartes' hallmark problems investigating roots and signs of polynomials.

2006


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2006.

Deposit #64

Vector Fields

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr.Tevian Dray of Oregon State University

From one of Descartes' hallmark problems uniting algebra with geometry
From one of Descartes' hallmark problems uniting algebra with geometry

2005


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2005.

Deposit #58

The Brachistochrone
"For the Shrewdest Mathematicians of All the World"
- Johann (Jean or John) Bernoulli

The National Curve Bank honors
Gustavo Gordillo of Verdugo Hills High School Los Angeles Unified School District

Image From descartes discourse on method of a man digging with a spade
From Descartes Discourse on Method

2004


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2005.

2003


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2005.

Deposit #30

The Cycloid Family of Curves

Cycloid, Trochoid, Epicycloid, Hypocycloid, Epitrochoid and Hypotrochoid

The National Curve Bank honors
Dr. Paul Chabot

image of a spiral

2002


On March 31, the anniversary of Rene Descartes' Birthday, The Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank proudly announced the annual Renie Award for Best animation of 2005.

Deposit #14

Sphericons

Two Cones with a Twist

The National Curve Bank honors
Steve Mathias

image of a Renie Descartes
Note the birthday expressed in Latin as the last day of March, 1596