Hershel Lamirand admits it was kind of a ruse when he devised a way to meet Ann Ackerman . Lamirand was serving as program director to new members in a local civic organization when he asked Ackerman, who has a doctorate in mathematics, to help him develop a quantifiable evaluation system for the organization.

"I knew she was challenged by math, especially in a social setting,” Lamirand said. "So, it was a good le...