Evelyn Lamb
Science & Math Writer and more
About Evelyn
I am a freelance math and science writer based in Houston, Texas. I love sharing math and science stories with people, and I love creating mathematics, music, art, and food. I got my Ph.D. in math from Rice University in May 2012, and I had a postdoc at the University of Utah from 2013-2015. I write the Roots of Unity blog on the Scientific American blog network, and I write for a variety of math and popular media outlets. Sign up for my monthly newsletter to keep up with my writing and interesting articles I find each month. If you’d like to pay me to write something for your publication or send me a tip about something you think might be interesting for me to write about, please contact me by LinkedIn, or email.
Latest posts
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A Mathematical Companion for Your Year
By Evelyn Lamb • February 24, 2026If you’re looking for a holiday gift for a mathematician, STEM student, teacher, or other math-interested person in your life (including yourself), I’ve got good news for you! I am excited to announce the availability of a product I am particularly proud of: the AMS Page-a-day calendar, published by the American Mathematical Society. You can find… -
Blindness, José Saramago
By Evelyn Lamb • February 24, 2026Blindness by José Saramago is the subject of the first reflection in my Nobel literature project. Saramago, a Portuguese author, was the Nobel laureate in literature in 1998. Blindness was published in Portuguese (as Ensaio sobre a cegueira, or Essay on Blindness) in 1995 and English in 1997. I read Blindness in 2011. My memory is a bit hazy, but I remember how the book… -
The Math Reading Challenge 2020
By Evelyn Lamb • February 24, 2026I was one of those kids who always had a book at the table or on a road trip, and although I’m now too polite to read over dinner with people, I’m still an avid reader. I try to read books from a wide range of authors, genres, and time periods. For a few years now,…
Selected Publications and Writing
A Sphere-Packing Breakthrough in 8 DimensionsUkrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska recently figured out how spheres could be efficiently arranged in eight and 24 dimensionsUkrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska recently figured out how spheres could be efficiently arranged in eight and 24 dimensions
The Enduring Legacy of Hilbert’s 23 ProblemsHilbert’s 23 Problems at ICM 2026: Where Are We Now?Hilbert’s 23 Problems at ICM 2026: Where Are We Now?
The Mathematical Legacy of Maria Gaetana AgnesiAfter writing a groundbreaking math textbook, Maria Agnesi quit math for goodAfter writing a groundbreaking math textbook, Maria Agnesi quit math for good
How two outsiders tackled the mystery of arithmetic progressionsComputer scientists made progress on a decades-old math puzzle that asks where order existsComputer scientists made progress on a decades-old math puzzle that asks where order exists
SlateWriting at Slate by Evelyn LambWriting at Slate by Evelyn Lamb
The Mathematical Mysteries of FirefliesWhat blinking bugs reveal about synchrony in the universeWhat blinking bugs reveal about synchrony in the universeOne Weird Trick to Make Calculus More BeautifulThe strange power of complex analysis.The strange power of complex analysis.How Julia Robinson helped define the limits of mathematical knowledgeBorn 100 years ago, she was key in solving Hilbert’s 10th problemBorn 100 years ago, she was key in solving Hilbert’s 10th problem