Where is ODU?
In National Geographic, New York Times, Discovery Channel, etc. Lawrence Weinstein, University Professor of physics at Old Dominion University and a researcher at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, is usually on the trail of subatomic particles. So why does an article in the April issue of National Geographic magazine have him pondering over jelly beans? The answer has a lot to do with the book by Weinstein and ODU mathematician John Adam, “Guesstimation: Solving the World’s Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin” (Quest, Vol. 11, Issue 1). As for jelly beans, National Geographic wanted to put Weinstein’s estimating skills to a test by having him guess how many pieces of candy were in a large jar. Newspapers, magazines, online news sources and television shows have lined up to do stories about the problem-solving tactics in the book. In the process, ODU is basking in reflected glory. In fact, ODU researchers and scholars got lots of good publicity du
