CSULB Associate Math Professor Brian Katz’s favorite classes to teach are geometry and abstract because his students can dive into the philosophical nature of math on Oct. 17. Charlotte LoCicero | Long Beach Current

Brian Katz, associate math professor in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics department, was recently the recipient of the 2025 SoCal-Nevada Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, given out by the Mathematical Association of America.

“I want my students to not just learn, but be able to have that meta-conversation explaining how we know what we know,” Katz said. “My classes are maybe not what people normally assume in a math class.”

This epistemological approach is one of the reasons Katz was chosen to issue a plenary speech at the 100th anniversary fall 2025 MAA SoCal-Nevada conference at California State University, Fullerton. He will give his speech titled “Teaching Proof as a Way of Knowing” to his colleagues on Oct. 18.

According to their website, the MAA is the largest community of mathematicians, students and enthusiasts in the world. Membership in 2024 grew 29.8% to 26,211 total members.

The SoCal-Nevada section is home to 1,599 members – making it the second-largest denomination out of the 29 sections.

To be eligible for the Distinguished Teaching Award, nominees must:

Be current MAA members
Teach mathematical science courses at least half-time during the academic year
Have at least seven years experience teaching at the college or university level

Each year, three section winners are awarded the national MAA’s Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics.

Katz was trained in theoretical math before transitioning to educational research. He is also the credential coordinator for undergraduate math majors who want to become teachers.

“There is this math gauntlet students undergo in high school where they are forced to get through calculus, and then they can take a breath,” Katz said. “Math itself is more about structure and pattern.”

By taking a philosophical perspective on math, Katz is teaching students not only the material but also the tools to effectively communicate that understanding to others.

This additional step in the pursuit and discovery of knowledge is what made Katz intriguing to the Section chair of the Awards committee, Konrad Aguilar at Pomona College.

“BK is a powerful positive force in mathematics in the classroom but also in the whole mathematics community, even at the national level,” Aguilar said.

Katz’s work as the associate director of the MAA’s Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) was also highly influential for Aguilar when soliciting nominations for the prize.

Mentoring future math educators is very important to Katz. “Most of my students want to be teachers because they saw their classmates traumatized by the system,” Katz said, “And they want to be a better teacher than that.”