College honors professor with 17 mph speed limit signs

http://www.wcvb.com/news/college-honors-professor-with-17-mph-speed-limit-signs/35876924



David Kelly fascinated by number 17

College honors professor with 17 mph speed limit signs
Published 10:58 AM EDT Oct 16, 2015

AMHERST, Mass. —A Massachusetts college has changed all the speed limit signs on campus from 15 to 17 miles per hour to honor a retired mathematics professor who spent his career fascinated by the number 17.

The change was made at the request of David Kelly, who didn't want a retirement party when he stepped down last spring after 45 years on the faculty at Hampshire College in Amherst.

The change was backed by many on campus, including President Jonathan Lash.

Kelly knows countless facts about 17, the seventh prime number. He says it has had broad applications in mathematics and other disciplines. There are many fun facts about 17, including that there are 17 columns on the long side of the Parthenon in Greece.