In northwestern Oregon at Linn-Benton Community College, math professor Michael Lopez leads a “math for welders” class early one Monday morning. Dressed casually with a tape measure on his belt, Lopez challenges his 14 students to calculate the spacing of rungs on steel ladders—a critical task in welding projects where precision is crucial to avoid fines. The class reflects real-world scenarios where construction costs hinge on accurate measurements, with clients preferring minimal costs or specific rung distances. Lopez’s practical approach prepares students for such challenges, emphasizing precision down to one sixteenth of an inch and exact alignment with wall tops to pass inspections.
