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Associate professor Xenophon A. Koufteros tries to make math fun for his students in Mays Business School with magic and jokes. Next semester, students can enroll in statistical methods INFO 303 to experience the mental magic and fast-hand tricks he performs.

Abracadabra

Business school professor dazzles with magic

By: Erin Wood

Posted: 10/23/07

Associate professor Xenophon Koufteros has a few tricks up his sleeve to keep students excited about his classes in operations management.

In his first semester at Texas A&M, Koufteros already has a reputation for his magic tricks without having completed teaching a full course.

This semester, he is teaching two graduate students; in the spring more than 300 students will have the opportunity to take INFO 303, a course in statistical methods, and see a little magic.

He said that magic tricks make class more appealing to students.

"It makes them wonder," Koufteros said. "It also makes them think that numbers could be fun."

The tricks started out as something to help him entertain his graduate students and keep them interested in night classes that averaged three hours in length.

"I thought it would be interesting if I could bring magic to the courses," Koufteros said.

His education in magic started when he attended community courses four years ago.

"Those courses kind of planted the seed and I was motivated to learn more," he said.

Since then, he has learned tricks from various sources, including people on the Discovery Channel. While teaching in Florida, he obtained membership to attend magic shows on the third Thursday of every month that featured top magicians.

Koufteros said that when learning magic it is necessary for him to adopt and adapt tricks to his environment. They range from mental magic such as card tricks and probability to what he called fast-hand tricks.

He said that his magic tricks are about the audience and that he does them just for fun.

"It's about whether students are excited to come to class again," Koufteros said.

He said that it is exciting to bring a smile to somebody's face and that he is successful if he can.

"Being a professor is not a job, it is a way of life and a mindset," Koufteros said. "More than anything I am enthusiastic about what I do. I am always energetic and I put tremendous effort into my courses."