Never be afraid. Dr. Mulatu Lemma refuses to let you fear what you don’t understand. Perhaps that’s why this expert mathematician, author, and innovative researcher was named the 2013 Georgia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Just 36 professors across the nation were honored. Dr. Lemma was one of them.
While he’s known for discovering his Mulatu Numbers, an integral sequence of numbers with distinct mathematical properties and patterns (think Fibonacci numbers), he considers his greatest achievement what he creates with his students.
Dr. Lemma worked for more than three years investigating the Mulatu Numbers (producing more than 13 theorems along the way). He used that work as a teaching exercise for his students. They explored numbers—together. And the students who worked alongside him went on to present their work at national conferences.
A native of Ethiopia and graduate of Addis Ababa University and Kent State University, Dr. Lemma has helped students discover the beauty and power of math at Savannah State University since 1994.
In 2010, he received the Savannah State University Distinguished Professors Award for outstanding teaching, research, and services. Dr. Lemma is also one of the most awarded professors in Georgia.
Dr. Lemma is relentless. Tenacious. And has never met a problem that he didn’t want to solve. He challenges his students to live and study with the same single-minded determination he uses to crack equations. Students must rise to meet his challenge. And they do. Seriously Impressive.
