Jim coroneos biography

People > Notable Kytherians

It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute... that gives meaning to our lives.

Anthony Robbins (1968-)

This is where people of Kytherian decent who have contributed to their community in an extraordinary way will be featured. They need not be "famous" is the usual sense of the world, simply extraordinary.

A talented teacher changes trajectories, changes lives. Such teachers fill the minds of their students with curiosity and wonder, and allow young people to achieve something they never believed possible.

Most of us have had one of those, someone they can credit for the fortune — material or otherwise — they have today.

For High Court Judge Ian Callinan, it was James Blair, who taught him in his final year at a Brisbane public primary school.

“Mr Blair did not accept pre-ordination of futures,” he wrote in My Favourite Teacher, a 2011 book edited by Robert Macklin in which high-profile Australians shared recollections of the teachers who inspired them. “He raised children beyond their expectations.”

Callinan’s High Court colleague Michael Kirby struggled with maths. “I just didn’t get the hang of it,” he said. That was until a young teacher named Jim Coroneos turned up at Fort Street Boys’ High School in Sydney. “Suddenly the penny dropped. As if by magic, I began to understand algebra and even trigonometry.”

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While MP Tanya Plibersek couldn’t pick a favourite individual teacher, she did praise a certain type of teacher: “The one whose enthusiasm was catching, who knew their stuff and loved their subject and passed onto me a lifelong interest in the material we studied together.” One of those was her art teacher, Diana Lewis.

I could go on. In my case it was a maths teacher who convinced me — and my parents too — that university, a long way from home, was a real option.

But we all have a story like that. And it comes down to impact: the power to change a future for the better. That’s the narrative that needs to be the focus of this rough-and-ready plan to revamp teacher training to deal with a nationwide shortage of educators, one that now sits at a crisis point.

It offers a wonderful opportunity for the Albanese government, but indicators of how it might do this should already be setting off alar

Jim Coroneos was a remarkable teacher and a wonderful human being. I had the great privilege of studying from his text books in my senior high school years and, during my first years of teaching, working alongside him as a colleague for a while. Sadly, he passed away almost exactly 10 years ago, in 2005, but you may read something of his life here.

In one of his more advanced texts, he provided a list of 100 Integrals to challenge his students. This list is now used by mathematics teachers and students world wide. The complete list has been produced on a few websites. Click here to obtain a PDF copy of them.

Partly to honour Jim, and partly to fulfil an international need, I have decided to produce 100 videos, showing how to solve his 100 integration ‘problems.’ I hope you find the videos useful!

As you can see, I have presented the integrals in bundles of 20. Please choose the set that you require.

Integrals 001-020
Integrals 021-040

I was born in Crete, Greece and immigrated to the United States in my junior year of high school. I went with one of my sisters to live in Salt Lake City, Utah with our grandparents and uncle. At first it was difficult being away from my family and friends and not being able to speak a word of English, but I enjoyed studying mathematics, the universal language of science. After graduation from high school, my parents encouraged me to come home to Greece. My sister went back but I decided to stay and attend college. I was accepted at the University of Utah, and although my dream was to become an architect, I quickly realized that this was not going to be possible because of my difficulties with the English language. I majored in mathematics and graduated with a B.S. degree from the University of Utah. While attending college, I also worked at the university accounting office. My undergraduate years were often difficult, but in the end, it was certainly worth it!

Upon graduation from the University of Utah, I moved to Cleveland, Ohio, attended Cleveland State University, and received a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics. While at Cleveland State, I tutored students in the math department, worked full time in the Controller’s office, and took courses in the evening. For me, the journey to NASA was unexpected. While at Cleveland State, a classmate who worked at NASA Glenn Research Center (formerly Lewis Research Center) told me about the opportunities at NASA and encouraged me to submit my application. A couple of months before graduation, I received a job offer. I was nervous and excited at the same time and found it almost unbelievable that NASA would hire me. Although I strived to study math and science, I never imagined in a million years that I could ever be a part of the NASA family.

I started as a Mathematician in the Scientific Services Branch of the Computer Services Division and have been at NASA Glenn for 24 years. In the Scientific Se