Rebecca Klemm Issued Puzzle Patent: Polygon Puzzle and Related Methods, Patent No. 9403084

NumbersAlive! is pleased to announce that its founder, Rebecca Klemm, Ph.D., received her first US utility patent on August 2nd.

The newly issued patent protects Dr. Klemm’s process of forming puzzles by decomposing shapes into smaller components with a mathematical correlation to the original. The patent additionally protects providing a base with cutouts to receive the original shapes that may be assembled from decomposed components. Finally, the patent protects the use of cards with images correlated mathematically to their shape.

Dr. Klemm’s work creating her patented puzzles gave rise to the Rebecca Klemm Conjecture. As she divided complex polygons into smaller polygons of the same number of sides, she realized that the process was infinite. The conjecture proposes that any polygon can be divided into an infinite number of polygons with the same number of sides. Dr. Klemm informally announced her conjecture at the 2016 Math Association of America Conference. A formal competition to prove the Rebecca Klemm Conjecture is forthcoming.

Rebecca Klemm’s new patent and its protections, despite their implications for the field of mathematics, pertain primarily to the educational puzzles that she produces at NumbersAlive!. Those puzzles are unique in asking learners to relate numbers to shapes and objects in the world around them. By reframing math in concrete terms, Dr. Klemm offers the many students across the world struggling to engage with math a new avenue to understanding.

While the educational puzzles develop numeracy through blended learning, they also help learners develop advanced spatial reasoning. Indeed, puzzles produced under this new patent can challenge all levels of learner, from the youngest students to collegiate competitors. The benefits of Rebecca Klemm’s unique and powerful learning tools extend to all.

Rebecca Klemm has already exhibited versions of puzzles protected by her new patent across the country and around the world.

ABOUT DR. KLEMM
Since receiving her Ph.D. in Statistics, Rebecca Klemm has specialized in explaining mathematical concepts via everyday language. Dr. Klemm has taught students of all ages through storytelling. While on the faculty of Georgetown University School of Business she received the 1982 Decision Sciences Instructional Award from the American Institute of Decision Sciences. For the past 25 years she has run Klemm Analysis Group, a research firm specializing in data collection and analysis.

Learn more about Dr. Klemm and her accomplishments since her 2010 return to teaching on her webpage: http://www.numbersalive.org/numbers-lady/.

ABOUT NUMBERSALIVE!
Research suggests that if one has fear it breaks off their cognitive ability to learn. NumbersAlive! answers that challenge by transforming numbers into Friends You Can Count On® helping kids who might become fearful of math discover the joy and relevance of math in their lives.

The playful numbers come alive through their own storytelling, captivating children into learning in every discipline. They are touchable in the form of soft plush numbers and also enchant children through their books, music, and puzzles/games. They even interact digitally on tablets! The innovative NumbersAlive! learning tools don’t just get kids ready for school, they prepare them to thrive in the classroom and the world!

Learn more about NumbersAlive at: http://www.numbersalive.org/.

NumbersAlive!
975 F Street, NW
Washington DC 20004 – 1454

Media Contact: Tricia Potmesil
Phone: 202-652-1820
Email: numbers@numbersalive.org

This release was published on openPR.