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Mathematician Who Cracked Wall Street Is Paying NYC Teachers An Extra $15,000 Per Year Due To Poor Salaries

September 15, 2015

Jim Simons was a mathematician and cryptographer who realized: the complex math he used to break codes could help explain patterns in the world of finance. Billions later, he's working to support the next generation of math teachers and scholars.

Simons, the founder of $22 billion Renaissance Technologies, has been channeling money to deserving math and science teachers through his philanthropic organization, Math for America.

"We give them extra money, $15,000 a year. We have 800 math and science teachers in New York City in public schools today, as part of a core," said Simons in a rare interview with TED Talks.

Teachers in America are poorly paid relative to their peers elsewhere in the advanced world.

"There's a great morale among them," Simons added. "They're staying in the field. Next year, it'll be 1,000 and that'll be 10 percent of the math and science teachers in New York [City] public schools."

Simons started Math for America nearly 20 years ago with his wife, Marilyn Simons. He left Renaissance Technologies six years ago to work full time with the foundation.

Watch the full interview below:

(h/t) Business Insider.