National Curve Bank

Reading clockwise from Dr. Stewart Venit on the above left, J. R. Lara, Jennifer Cha, Gayle Burns, Hong Kha, Alexander Tascon, Louis Santillan, and Dr. Shirley Gray. This was the original team of CSU students, staff and faculty maintaining the NCB web site.

2005 Team

Back row: Alexander Tascon, Hong Kha, Dimitri Kosturos, Gayle Burns, Matthew Nelson. Front row: Wing T. (Sterling) Wong, Dr. Stewart Venit, Dr. Randolph Cooper, Dr. Shirley B. Gray, and Dr. Russ Abbott.

2006 Team

The 2006 team is below. From the left, Flavio Argueta, Matthew Nelson, Shadi Kalbasi, Gayle Burns, Nicholas Mew, and Jonathan Yee. We work together on a daily basis in the ELTS Lab of California State University, Los Angeles.

How to Submit a Curve

The National Curve Bank (NCB) students, staff and faculty welcome submissions that illustrate, in a way not possible on the printed page, the features of an interesting curve. A typical submission includes an animated gif file that displays the curve and, optionally, an accompanying text file that describes unusual features of the curve, discusses historical information related to it, or provides interesting applications of its use. We ask that your submission be relatively brief, generating hard copy that is not more than one page in length.

Submission Details

To submit a curve to the NCB:

1. Create the curve using the software of your choice; for example, Mathematica, Mathcad, Maple, Derive, or a variety of graphing calculators.

2. Animate the curve by creating a sequence of images saved as gif files and then using the appropriate software (for example, Mathematica, Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe ImageReady, or GIF Construction Set). Save the animation as a single animated gif file. Be sure to use the < .gif > extension when you make your final "Save As."

3. Create a separate text file, if you’d like, with interesting information about the curve (for example, unusual features, historical information, or special applications). Save the text in a separate file; for example, MS Word (.doc) or as plain text.

4. Include your name, affiliation and address, e-mail address, the name of the curve, the equations you used to create it, and a very brief description of the files you are sending. Attach the animated gif file and the text file (if applicable) to this e-mail. Please include references you have used.

5. Send the file(s) as e-mail attachments, using the email address of the NCB:
< sgray@calstatela.edu > . You may use the button at the bottom of this page.

Guidelines for Creating the Curve

1. Create a graphic that is 250 to 350 pixels wide, unless the animation requires a particularly wide display. In this case, do not exceed 600 pixels.

2. If your graphing software allows for color and varying curve thickness, make use of these features. In particular, do not use one-pixel-thick curves.

3. If your graphing software does not save graphics in a gif format, paste the images into a graphics program (for example, Adobe PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro) and save them there.

4. In animating the curve, use a sufficient number of images and an appropriate delay time between them to ensure that the resulting animation is relatively smooth.

Important Notes Concerning Your Submission — Please Read

1. In submitting material to the National Curve Bank (NCB), you ("the author") agree and consent to the following terms:
* No compensation will be paid for the submitted material or the rights granted to the NCB regarding this material.
* The author assumes full responsibility for the content of the submitted material and warrants that this material does not violate any patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret.
* The NCB does not assume any liability for the functionality of the submitted material or for determining its functionality.
* The author grants the NCB permission to duplicate and authorizes others to duplicate the submitted material.
* The NCB reserves the right to refuse submitted material it deems not suitable for the NCB Web site and to remove any material from the site at any time and without notice.
2. All submitted curves will be reviewed for suitability by the National Advisory Board of the National Curve Bank. We will inform you, as quickly as possible, as to whether your curve will be published on the NCB Web site.

We gratefully acknowledge support and encouragement from

National Science Foundation
DUE - CCLI Award

Academic Technology Support ATS
for providing the server.

Faculty Instructional Technology Support Center
FITSC Lab for expertise.

Innovative Instruction Award 2001-2002