Einstein Community Celebrates Pi Day and 3.14 Days of Giving
Pi Day holds special meaning at Einstein, each year we celebrate everyone’s favorite mathematical constant, our namesake’s birthday, and Einstein Giving Day. This sixth annual festivities highlighted the dedication, generosity—and memorization skills—of our campus community.
From left: Pi Recitation Contest participants Fnu (Aodeng) Aodengtuya, research technician, Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein, Mary Lou De Jesus, M.D. student, and Bill Zhu, M.D. student. Not pictured: second-place winner Srinivas Aluri, research assistant professor of oncology and medicine
From left: Pie Baking Contest winner Rosemary O’Neill, M.D. student, and Mohanlall T. Teloki, M.S.Ed., director, office of student life
The week leading up to Pi Day, the D. Samuel Gottesman Library hosted a “Find Uncle Albert” scavenger hunt encouraging friendly competition for a chance to win prizes. The Falk Recreation Center also brought well-being to the forefront by inviting the campus community to complete 3 workouts, 1 meditation break, and 4 days of reaching healthy eating goals. To help achieve these goals the Falk staff opened select fitness classes to the entire campus community with great participation.
The winning coconut cream pie
The celebrations culminated in the annual Pi Recitation and Pie Baking Contests on Monday, March 16, 2026, in the Main Street Café. Mary Lou De Jesus, a first-year M.D. student, recited an astounding 1,017 digits of pi, coming in first place. Srinivas Aluri, Ph.D., research assistant professor of oncology and medicine at Einstein, came in second with an impressive 286 digits, and Fnu (Aodeng) Aodengtuya, research technician at Einstein, came in third with 211 digits. Finally, Rosemary O’Neill, first-year M.D. student, showed off her baking skills by winning the Pie Baking Contest with her coconut cream pie.
Dean Tomer welcomes the Einstein community
Giving Day, which was extended to 3.14 Days of Giving this year, was also a success, reaching 326 gifts totaling $224,308, including $50,000 in challenge funding from Trustee Buzzy Geduld. The Einstein community came together to successfully complete development’s three main challenges, hitting 314 donations, receiving more than 30 dean’s society gifts, and welcoming more than 50 parent and family donors.
“The funds raised will be used to enhance every area of campus—from purchasing new equipment and sponsoring student activities, to maintaining and updating facilities, and providing support for students, such as with travel stipends and emergency funds,” said Yaron Tomer, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean and chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein. “Thank you for your continued dedication to Einstein and for all you do to advance our mission.”
Posted on: Thursday, March 19, 2026