Educational material publisher, textbook writer Markku “Make” Uus-Leponiemi died in Vantaa on August 14, 2024. He was 73 years old, born in Vaasa on July 15, 1951.
Uus-Leponiemi’s love for mathematics was ignited at Finnish boys’ high school in Vaasa and deepened into love at the University of Helsinki.
His publishing career began in 1975 as a mathematics textbook editor at Valistus. 1979 Amer bought Valistus as part of Weilin&Göös’ learning materials department, and Uus-Leponiemi became department manager. In 1995, Amer sold its publishing operations to WSOY. Sanoma and WSOY merged in 1999.
The learning materials department was incorporated in 2005 and Uus-Leponiemi moved from the publishing manager to the financial manager of the new company, Sanoma Pro. Five years later, he returned to mathematics and became a full-time textbook writer.
Uus-Leponiemi under his leadership, several classics of mathematics for basic education were created in the course of four decades, such as Mathematics, Numeracy, Kymppi and chemistry and physics Matter and energy.
Problem solving, functionality, differentiation, illustration and the student’s own creativity were the ingredients that made the series market leaders and builders of the foundations of Finland’s Pisa success.
Uus-Leponiemi was actively involved in the work of the author groups, giving ideas, guiding and inspiring. Husband Tuula was a teacher and a textbook writer, so the problems of teaching mathematics were often solved in the evenings together on long walks.
To Uus-Leponiemi his typical analytical and mathematical thinking were realized at their best every spring in the forecasts he made about the order book for basic education, which the publishing house eagerly gathered to listen to.
His hobby of classic literature and history was visible as an education of the heart even in difficult situations, where he always had honesty and justice as a guideline for decision-making.
Literary besides, hobbies that were important to Make included all kinds of exercise, from walking and cycling to tennis and roller skating, nature and nature photography, mushroom picking, berry picking, and the sea and boating.
The work took Make and Tuula to many international congresses, but they also had time to travel to nature spots and hiking trips, first in Europe and then further and further afield in different parts of the world.
Make described himself as an introvert from Ostrobothnia. We colleagues knew him as reliable and considerate, decisive, pedantic, long-term and responsible, but also a relaxed humorist. As someone who was good to work with.
Hannele Mattila
Eero Lehtonen
Markku colleagues from Uus-Leponiemi
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