Mar. 14, 2026 at 3:12pm by Ben Kaplan
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
As folks have a good time Pi Day on March 14, the mathematical fixed pi continues to be an integral a part of on a regular basis life for scientists and engineers. Pi is utilized in a variety of functions, from calculating spacecraft movement and propulsion programs to growing new medical checks and applied sciences. The vacation was created in 1988 by a physicist on the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco, and has grown into an annual celebration that includes a procession of individuals carrying digits of pi.
Why it issues
Pi is a elementary mathematical idea that’s woven into the material of science and expertise. Understanding and making use of pi is essential for developments in fields like aerospace engineering, biomedical analysis, and fluid dynamics. Celebrating Pi Day helps increase consciousness of the significance of math and science in our on a regular basis lives.
The particulars
Pi, which represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is utilized in numerous scientific and engineering formulation. In aerospace engineering, pi is important for calculating spacecraft movement, supplies, and propulsion programs. In bioengineering, pi is used to create tiny polymer droplets that act as “test tubes” for learning cells and growing new medical checks. Pi can be essential for understanding fluid dynamics, just like the circulation of liquids in COVID-19 checks. While pi might seem to be an summary mathematical idea, it’s deeply embedded within the applied sciences and improvements that form our world.
- Pi Day is widely known yearly on March 14 (3.14), the date that represents the primary three digits of the mathematical fixed.
- The Pi Day celebration on the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco started in 1988 as a small workers occasion that includes pie.
- The Exploratorium’s Pi Day celebration has grown over time, now that includes a whole bunch of tourists marching in a procession carrying digits of pi.
The gamers
Larry Shaw
A physicist on the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco who created Pi Day in 1988.
Sam Sharkland
The program director of public packages on the Exploratorium, who labored with Larry Shaw earlier than his demise in 2017.
Artur Davoyan
A professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering on the University of California, Los Angeles, whose analysis appears at creating new propulsion programs for area exploration.
Dino Di Carlo
The chair of the bioengineering division on the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, who conducts analysis on utilizing tiny polymer droplets to check cells and develop new medical checks.
What they’re saying
“He had a very open and expansive view of the world and saw an opportunity with this number, mathematical concept, to invite people into the joy of mathematical learning.”
— Sam Sharkland, program director of public packages on the Exploratorium (nbcnews.com)
“Say aliens send something to us, something that we don’t know how to deal with. So the very first thing that you would do, you would try to split it into simple functions… and turns out that when you do this operation, you will naturally have pis in it.”
— Artur Davoyan, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering on the University of California, Los Angeles (nbcnews.com)
“As an engineer and scientist, (pi) is just a part of life. Maybe I’ve taken it for granted.”
— Dino Di Carlo, chair of the bioengineering division on the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering (nbcnews.com)
The takeaway
Pi is a elementary mathematical fixed that’s deeply embedded within the scientific and technological developments that form our world, from area exploration to medical analysis. Celebrating Pi Day helps increase consciousness of the significance of math and science in our on a regular basis lives and the continued discoveries and improvements which can be made potential by understanding and making use of this ubiquitous mathematical idea.