Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Motivated by a game called the “Tower of Hanoi” played by the monks in Hanoi, Dr. Lap found a game that he loves called – “Magic Square” in a book called “Lo Shu” in Beijing. The principle of the “Magic Square” is to arrange the numbers in any square that is equal or larger than 3 x 3 (units), and added up to the same magic number vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. The simplest 3 x 3 Magic Square have 8 combinations.
James Lap is Associate Director of the Evening & Summer Sessions Office and Adjunct Faculty in Computer Systems Technology Department at NYC Technical College. He is also Adjunct Faculty in the Foreign Language Department at New York University and an Examiner of Vietnamese as a Foreign Language for Lehman, Queens and Hunter Colleges. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at New York University and his Master of Science at Columbia University. Mr. Lap has been interviewed by The Washington Post, NBC TV Channel 4, China TV, and Asian American TV Channel 25 on topics such as normalizing diplomatic relations between U.S. and Vietnam. He has led College-sponsored faculty and student trips to visit universities in Vietnam, and just recently returned from a faculty tour of universities in Ghana and Togo in West Africa.