Mahavier, W. Ted

Challenges are a part of life that everyone faces. They help define us as individuals. They help define a person’s character, work ethic, and overall outlook on life. Dr. W. Ted Mahavier, a Professor of Mathematics at Lamar University has embraced and enjoyed challenges throughout his life. From struggling in calculus to getting stuck on his dissertation for nine months, challenges are what drove Mahavier to his success.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Mahavier was raised in Atlanta, Georgia during the school years and spent his summers in San Leon, Texas. Being a small kid, he fought a lot as a child. Even as a young boy he could not run from a challenge. This challenge eventually grew when he began taking martial arts classes at the age of eighteen. Mahavier was a faculty advisor for the martial arts club at Lamar for ten years, he has had training in Hap Ki Do, Ai Ki Do, Tae Kwon Do, and he has even achieved a black belt in Kuk Sool Won. As a kid, when Mahavier was not fighting, he was often sailing with his parents or his friends, owning his first sailboat at age eleven. Once finished with high school, he decided, like many college freshman, that he needed to branch out and get away from home. With a sister finishing her degree at Auburn University, it seemed like an ample opportunity to test the waters while still having someone around (4).

Not knowing that mathematics would become a wonderful career, Mahavier began his undergraduate studies in physics at Auburn University. He loved the idea of solving real world problems, but he always had deeper questions. How did we know to use that formula? Where does that come from? Why does it work? Physics professors, not taking the time to fully explain all of these, said that all of the equations and formulas came from experiments. Later in mathematics classes asking the same types of questions the professors would show the derivations for where the equations actually come from. The curiosity about the why questions led Mahavier to mathematics. He embraced this challenge of finding out why something works instead of just succumbing to experimental data. As an undergraduate student Mahavier took a couple of classes that were taught following the ideas of the modified Moore Method. He loved one of these classes as it gave him an opportunity to solve challenging problems on his own and show others how he reached the solutions (4).

The Moore Method has an emphasis on a student’s learning to deal and cope with problems outside of the classroom. This method tries to increase the depth of a student’s understanding. The theory of this method is to do more than just scratch the surface and teach students what to do in the classroom. The method is based on the ideas of R.L. Moore, a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas from 1920-1969. His philosophy of a class was to select problems and theorems for students to prove and present in front of a class. In the Moore Method there is no use of textbooks, there is no communication between students; there is only a student and the problem at hand until it is solved. The modified Moore method “limits the amount of presentation done by the students, which makes the method accessible to lower-level classes, and facilitates using traditional materials and texts while still emphasizing student presentation” (2). “This technique fits well with the current reform movements directed toward involving students more actively in their learning. It prepares students for academia as well as industry by encouraging communication, presentation, writing skills, and critical thinking, while alleviating many of the difficulties that we face, such as complacent students, poor work attitudes, and low test scores” (2). Part of the idea is that students learn best when they mess up, try again, and eventually communicate the correct process to others (2). Mahavier is now an advocate of the Modified Moore Method, has co-written a book outlining his teaching methods, has taught numerous classes this way, and has given many lectures and presentations on his techniques. Mahavier’s first calculus classes were taught using the Modified Moore Method; these were his first introduction to what would later make up a large portion of his teaching career.

As an undergraduate Mahavier faced a number of challenges that almost prevented him from accomplishing so much in his career. In his first day of calculus via the Modified Moore Method, Mahavier thought he was going to fail out because he was given a bunch of problems he was supposed to know how to do. He thought he did not know how to do any of them, but with a little guidance from his sister, Mahavier soon realized he could do all of them. He just needed a closer look and a different perspective to make some connections to his previous learning. After his junior year, Mahavier considered dropping out of college. He was feeling burnt out from studying mathematical theory, and thought he had failed a modern algebra course. Passing the course he thought he failed, he decided it was worth it to come back and keep going (4). Had Mahavier not been a driven person who overcomes challenges he may very well have taken a very different path.

Mahavier graduated from Auburn University with BS in applied mathematics and a computer science concentration in 1985 (3). Shortly after graduation he took a job in industry (4). Mahavier “investigated multiple-vehicle tracking systems via Monte-Carlo simulations and developed terrain modeling codes” (3). He then got bored “working on other people’s problems… and wanted to work on [his] own” (4). At this point Mahavier’s father had developed lung cancer. Wanting to continue his education and be close to his father, Mahavier decided Emory would be the right place for him to further his studies (4). While studying for his masters, he faced more challenges. Some of these challenges came simply from the nature of his studies. Mathematical theory is a very difficult topic; it is not a surprise that Mahavier faced some tough ideas. After just one semester he was ready to give up once again. However, a very helpful sister, like before, was there to encourage and help him overcome his challenges (4). Mahavier also held a teaching fellow position at Emory as he worked through his masters. Completing his MS in 1990 from Emory University, Mahavier decided to further his education even more (3).

Mahavier chose to go to the University of North Texas for his Ph.D. It was at the University of North Texas that he took many more classes based off of the Moore Method. “He took more than a dozen courses taught via the Moore method from a total of nine academic descendants of R.L. Moore or H.S. Wall” (1). These classes were difficult for Mahavier as he had to figure everything out on his own, but therein was also the desire for these classes. These classes were thrilling because of the challenge of problem solving, and the challenge of developing an understanding of the material to a deeper level (4). While working on his dissertation Mahavier was an adjunct instructor, an assistant instructor, and a teaching fellow. These all came at various times throughout his Ph. D. work, which helped him support his wife and himself. Mahavier married Cathleen Jean Cole in 1990 (3). After work on his dissertation had been going smoothly, it all came to a sudden halt for him. He got stuck for nine months (4). However, with his desire to overcome challenges Mahavier completed his dissertation on “A Numerical Method for Solving Singular Differential Equations Utilizing Steepest Descent in Weighted Sobolev Spaces” in 1995 (3). His work on his dissertation was a “blend of theory… and programming” as he attempted to model real world problems through programming while looking at and searching for optimal Hilbert Spaces in which to solve particular differential equations. (4).

After finishing his doctoral work, Mahavier began his career as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Nicholls State University. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor before accepting a position as an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Lamar University. From there Mahavier became a Professor of Mathematics at Lamar University in 2010 (3). Continuing his work on the Moore Method, Mahavier “has taught pure Moore method courses in analysis, calculus, discrete mathematics, topology and trigonometry. He has mentored more than a dozen faculty members, each of whom implemented the Moore method for the first time under his direction. Mahavier has delivered a dozen invited addresses on aspects of the method including implementation, administrative hurdles, and material development” (1). He had his co-authored book The Moore Method: A Pathway to Learner-Centered Instruction published in 2009. From 1996 to 2014 Mahavier was been a Board Member and the co-founder of MathNerds.org (3). This website was set up to give helpful instruction to over 250,000 students working on math problems without giving them the answer. In Moore Method form, the site is designed to guide students in their own learning of how to solve problems. Continuing his research, Mahavier has continued to search for “efficient algorithms to solve ODE’s” in order to model real world problems. While at Lamar, Mahavier also served as the Faculty Advisor for the Math Club for ten years (4).

Mahavier having accomplished so much is proud of more than just his work at institutions. A frequent escape for him to get away from the stress of work is to his sailboat. He spent many years restoring a sailboat until it was destroyed by Hurricane Ike (5). After losing all that time he spent restoring his old boat, his newest one, Aftermath, is getting a lot more time at sea. Mahavier said he has gotten a lot of mathematical work done on his boat as he calls it “a much more pleasant place to work than an office” (4). Mahavier also said that restoring and sailing is often “an escape to let the mind wander to less stressful ideas” (4). His passion for sailing has influenced Mahavier to become the Faculty advisor for the Sailing Club at Lamar University. Not only does Mahavier work on boats, but he has also restored and done all of the mechanical work to his cars and motorcycles. Mahavier, a father, is also very proud of his children. Caroline, Mahavier’s sixteen year old daughter is already in college. Austin, Mahavier’s twelve year old son, recently helped win first place in the nation in an online Math League Team Competition (4, 3).

Dr. W. Ted Mahavier is an extremely interesting individual who has had a marvelous career. He is a teacher that cares very deeply for the learning of his students. He is a college, masters, and Ph.D. Graduate. His work has influenced the way many students learn as well as the way many professors teach. Mahavier has always been a person that will not run from a challenge, but rather face it head first. The reason that he went into mathematics was “because it challenged [him]. [His] passion for it comes from how amazing it is when you do figure something out completely!” (4). Dr. W. Ted Mahavier is a man who loves his family, who loves his students, who loves teaching, who loves mathematics, and who loves challenges.

   

Written by Daniel Van Groningen            

Bibliography

[1] "About Ted." The Legacy of R.L. Moore. Lamar University, 3 Mar. 2012. Web. http://legacyrlmoore.org/mahavier/wtm/pages/ted.html

[2] Mahavier, W. Ted. "A Gentle Discovery Method." College Teaching 45.4 (1997): 132. Academic Search Complete. Web.

[3] Mahavier, W. Ted. "Curriculum Vitae." Lamar University, Web. http://www.jiblm.org/mahavier/pages/resume.pdf

[4] Mahavier, W. Ted. "Mathematical Biography Paper." Message to the author (Email Interview).

[5] Mahavier, W. Ted. "My (non-mathematical) Life." Lamar University, Web. http://www.jiblm.org/mahavier/pages/personal.html

Yackel, Carolyn

Mathematical Life of Carolyn Yackel

“Your greatest possible contribution to the world, including the world of mathematics, is to think creatively and deeply in the way that only you can.” (Yackel). Carolyn Yackel has always been inspired by mathematics. Her love for the subject began at a young age. Yackel discovered a passion for art, which then was connected to her mathematical background. Through mathematics and art, Yackel has expressed and shared her creativity that has led to collaboration and deeper learning.

Yackel found math important in her early years. Although she was still learning the basics, mathematical thinking surrounded her. From around the age of four, Carolyn Yackel thought she would become a mathematician. For most four year olds, growing up to be a mathematician was not on the top of their list. Because Yackel’s father is/was a mathematician (a probabilist), and her mom was a mathematics education professor, it was not a weird idea for her (Yackel). In her home, as a child, Yackel’s family had physical mathematical puzzles around the house as decorations (Q&A). Since her parents had strong math backgrounds, they gave Yackel age appropriate math problems to complete when asked. She found math fun and intriguing as a child. Whenever Yackel would make up nonsense, she was pointed in the correct direction to solve the problem. (Q&A).

Yackel attended the University of Chicago where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1992 (Yackel CV) Mathematics was not the primary reason Yackel chose to study at the University of Chicago. One of her goals was to receive a great liberal arts education and have a positive experience (Yackel). Following her undergraduate years, Yackel completed her Masters and Ph. D in mathematics at the University of Michigan. While at the University of Michigan, Yackel focused on commutative algebra (Yackel).

Yackel began her career as a professor as a Max Zorn visiting assistant professor of Mathematics at Indiana University in 1998. In 2001, Yackel began working at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia as an assistant professor in the mathematics department. After six years as an assistant professor, Yackel became an associate professor and still is today (Yackel CV). Yackel teaches mathematics to undergraduate students. Within the set of courses, she teaches mostly calculus, some statistics, introduction to proofs, and other courses she is asked to teach, which has included about fifteen different courses in all (Q&A). Yackel’s favorite class to teach is abstract algebra because she finds this area of math beautiful. Yackel finds peace in the organization that algebra creates and describes (Q&A).

Being a professor is interesting yet challenging for Yackel. Her career involves a variety of tasks to work on from day to day. Whether it is planning for class, holding office hours, grading papers, learning new mathematics, attending committee meetings, or conducting research, Yackel is always on the go. One of Yackel’s favorite aspects of her job is helping people understand mathematics. She finds it satisfying to help others determine what they enjoy doing (Yackel). With teaching come challenges. Math is very abstract, which means most of what happens occurs inside of each individual’s brain. Yackel has to rely on what her students are able to articulate, which is only a small fraction of what they can conceive (Q&A). To maximize understanding, Yackel focuses on highly interactive lectures and discussion.

Mathematics has not always been easy for Yackel. At times, Yackel has worked too far beyond the edge of her own understanding, which caused frustration and made it challenging to relate new material back to what she already knew. Working to discover examples to ground her, collaborating with other mathematicians or students to receive different perspectives, and gaining support help Yackel when she is frustrated (Yackel). Yackel learned that stepping away from a problem and returning to it after more knowledge has been learned is a viable solution. Through her students and colleagues, Yackel has the opportunity to grow in math with others as well as by herself.

As Yackel grew in her knowledge of mathematics, she began to express her excitement about math through art. Yackel has always been interested in art and crafts. She has been fearless when it comes to teaching herself crafts from a book. Around her first year of graduate school, she began to tie math and art together. She finds similarity between learning mathematics and learning crafts from a book. Both require reading each line again and again until it makes sense (Q&A). Yackel is a hands-on individual. Using the medium of fiber art, Yackel is able to express the beauty she sees in mathematics. On the other hand, art, at times, helps her understand math more effectively. Yackel is able to express symmetry through the making of temari balls. She finds the intricacy of some of the designs incredible (Yackel). In the making of temari balls, Yackel is able to make further mathematical connections and portray various concepts.

Throughout Yackel’s years a mathematician she has put on several workshops, produced numerous publications, and given several presentations. One of Yackel’s most memorable mathematical contributions is the establishment of Knitting Network (KN) (Yackel CV). Yackel partnered with sarah-marie belcastro to develop the KN, which began at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM). The development of the KN at the JMM led to Yackel and sarah-marie belcastro co-organizing three American Mathematical Society special sessions on mathematics and mathematics education in fiber arts at the JMM (Yackel CV).

The Knitting Network is an informal get together/networking venue for mathematicians and fiber artists of all types to discuss mathematics, crafts and their intersection at the JMM. Because the gathering is very laid back, a great deal of mentoring and sharing of ideas occurs. People help each other better understand the crafting, mathematical ideas, the relationship between the mathematical ideas and the craft, how to formulate mathematical problems related to the craft, and simply encourage each other in their lives mathematically and otherwise (Yackel). Yackel has found a way to express the value of crafting to the mathematical community through the KN. As a result of the KN, a great amount of people have begun working on various mathematical problems that they see in their everyday work. People start to see and express mathematics inside the crafting and find it a valuable piece of the mathematical puzzle. Another way that the value has been expressed is through the mathematical fiber arts exhibits associated to the special sessions. The specifically fiber arts exhibits are one-day affairs specifically accompanying the fiber arts and math special sessions (Yackel).

Yackel and sarah-marie belcastro have co-edited two books on mathematics and fiber arts that are written for crafters, mathematicians, and mathematics educators (belcastro). Making Mathematics with Needlework consists of 11 chapters written by different authors. Each chapter has four sections: an overview intended for crafters and mathematicians, detailed mathematics for mathematicians, teaching ideas from elementary to graduate level, and a project with tested instructions. Crafting by Concepts has a similar format to Making Mathematics with Needlework with different teaching ideas and projects (belcastro).

Yackel has used her passion for both math and art to conduct several workshops. In 2012, Yackel gave four workshops regarding temari art (Yackel, CV). The mathematical level needed for each workshop differed from low to high, and the audience for each workshop varied from community members to students and faculty. The workshops were just another way that Yackel could show the significance between mathematics and art.

Outside of mathematics and art, Yackel enjoys gardening, cooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting, tatting, and reading. Although she is a busy woman, she finds time to hang out with her friends and her dog. In Yackel’s spare time she likes to think about and brainstorm new projects she would like to create (Yackel).

Throughout Yackel’s years as a mathematician, she has made an impact to not only the mathematics community but artists as well. Her passion for fiber art has allowed her to show and help others discover the value mathematics has outside of the typical mathematician world. Yackel’s strong desire and enthusiasm to help students uncover all that mathematics entails allows her to share her true passion.

Written by Holly Halstead

Bibliography

belcastro, sarah-marie. "The Home of Mathematical Knitting." The Home of Mathematical Knitting. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.

"Q&A with Carolyn Yackel." Interview. A Weekly Digest of the Mathematical Internet. Math Munch, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://mathmunch.org/qa/qa-with- carolyn-yackel/>.

Yackel, Carolyn. Carolyn Yackel (CV). N.p.: n.p., Oct. 2014. PDF.

Yackel, Carolyn. "Life of Dr. Carolyn Yackel." E-mail interview. 3 Oct. 2014.

Hontz, Jennifer

Jennifer Hontz was born and raised in 1970 in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina. She attended Millbrook Elementary School, East Millbrook Middle School, and Sanderson High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her mother was her inspiration and role model as she was growing up and hoped to be just like her. Her first math memory was from her early years in the 1st grade. She remembers starting in the top math group and top reading group and was struggling with reading so the teacher dropped her down to the lower reading group. When she went to math group that day, she remembered thinking “I must be pretty dumb at reading but pretty smart at math.”

Math has always been her favorite area of study. One person who was of great significance in her life and inspired her to be a mathematician was Mrs. Kuhn, her Geometry teacher. Being a straight A student was important to Jennifer, but athletics and friends were equally as important. Some extracurricular activities she participated in were: cross country, swimming, track, and tennis. She was also part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which is an organization that challenges coaches and athletes to use athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. The core values of this organization are Integrity, Serving, Teamwork and Excellence (Mission and Vision, 2014). Jennifer considered herself more athletic than smart in high school, but she definitely used her athletic talents in the right way by being a part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Jennifer graduated with two undergraduate Bachelor of Science degrees from North Carolina State University; one in Mathematics Education in 1992 and the other in Applied Mathematics in 1993. She continued onto grad school at North Carolina State University to complete a Ph.D. in Mathematics (Jennifer Hontz, 2014). She majored in Mathematics Education because she intended to teach high school math. Two things set her apart from being a high school math teacher: One was that she took Abstract Algebra and her math education students hated it, while she loved it. The second was that when she student taught, all of the teachers told her to “get out, get out now.” This made her decide to take the graduate school path and delay teaching for a while. Another reason for delaying teaching was because she looked very young, making teaching challenging. So she took another year to finish her math degree and then head to grad school.

While in graduate school, Jennifer spent a lot of time researching Kac-Moody Lie Algebra in order to get her Ph. D. She worked closely with Dr. Kailash Misra, professor of mathematics at North Carolina State University. Kac-Moody Lie Algebras are infinite dimensional analogs of Lie Algebras which are vector spaces over a field with a binary operation. Kac-moody algebras have a main role in mathematics and mathematical physics. They have a significant representation theory with many applications in different fields (Hernandez, n.d.). She completed this research while in graduate school, but has not done much research since.

The main reason she initially decided to go to college was because her parents told her she was going to. She is very happy with her academic path and has had a lot of great experiences, so she wouldn’t change anything. She has wondered if other decisions would have been better, but she has no regrets. Before moving back to Meredith College in North Carolina, Jennifer worked at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. She was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics for the two years she was there, but really missed North Carolina so she moved back home where she holds a teaching position at Meredith College. Her job emphasizes great teaching so it is a perfect fit for her.

Meredith College is a private college that has been around for over 100 years, starting with only 200 women in 1891. The campus now holds about 2,000 students, which includes a large group of men that are a part of the graduate programs at Meredith College. The school focuses on a liberal arts education and offers degrees in Bachelor of Arts, Science, Social Work or Music, and graduate degrees in business, nutrition and education (Jennifer Hontz, 2014). The college is unique in that it emphasizes preparing students for a successful career and life. They do this through a program called StrongPoints, helping students make the most of their college career. The program is designed to start with having students identify their strengths and then create goals that they will achieve in college and carry with them into life. Some things that StrongPoints focuses on are: strengths, personal interests, creating a portfolio for employment, building a network, and preparing for interviews.

Since abstract algebra is Jennifer’s greatest math passion, she has been fortunate to be able to teach Abstract Algebra and Linear Algebra while at Meredith College. Additionally, she teaches Calculus l, ll, and lll, Statistics, and Senior Seminar. Outside of teaching, she holds many important leadership roles and is very involved in campus clubs and activities. She is the Math Club Advisor, Academic Council Representative, and Paschal Scholars Pl. She is also an active participant of the Mathematics Association of America at the National and Sectional level (Meredith College, 2014). Meredith College holds a one week residential mathematics camp for women entering the 10th grade called Math Week, which Jennifer plays the important role of co-director. The camp is held at Meredith College in the summer and called Math CAMMP (Comprehensively Applied Math Manipulatives Program). The camp has educational activities involving math, technology, and engineering. Participants have the opportunity to connect math with real life applications, build and program machines and robots, and experience a week on a college campus.

Jennifer has been involved in two professional development panels, one at North Carolina State University and one at Duke for mentoring future faculty as a faculty member at Meredith. She also participated in the program as a student. At the professional development pannel, she discussed the Preparing the Professoriate (PTP) process. This process is for graduate students to be trained in their discipline, mathematics. However, they are not taught how to teach their discipline. The program focuses on the entire professional life of a faculty member, with focus on teaching.

She is most proud of The Paschal Scholars program since she is the Pl of the National Science Foundation grant that funds this scholarship program for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education students (STEM) students. We mentor STEM students and support them as they go through their major with programming and scholarship money. The Paschal Scholars Program helps students pursue careers in mathematics, computer science, science and engineering. Participants receive a scholarship of $2,000-$2,500 and get to be a part of a learning community. The mentoring program prepares students for jobs in industry, government and education. The program also gives students the opportunity to explore graduate schools in their choice of study. The scholars get to attend a convocation about the importance of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Paschal Scholars, 2014).

Jennifer has two kids, Justin and Kristin. Justin is seven years old and Kristin is ten years old. She is seen as a strict and loving parent by her two kids. She is big into hiking and training for sporting events. The sporting events she trains for are triathlons and half-marathons. Her family enjoys vacationing out west in the mountains. One thing she recommends people do is to step outside of their comfort zone because you learn a lot about yourself and your values by stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Since she is a parent of a seven and ten year old, her main focus has been on personal and family goals and her professional goals are currently on hold. In a few years, Jennifer hopes to get elected to positions in the MAA Southeastern section. She additionally hopes to receive more NSF funding for the Paschal Program. Jennifer Hontz has done great things as a mathematician and will continue to be successful at Meredith College.


Written by Jenna Fitzgerald

Works Cited

Fellowship of Christian Athletes. (2014). Mission and Vision. http://www.fca.org/about-fellowship-of-christian-athletes/mission-and-vision/

Fitzgerald, J. (2014, October 7). Email interview.

Hernandez, D. (n.d). An introduction to affine kac-moody algebras. Retrieved from http://cel.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/11/25/30/PDF/Hernandeznotes.pdf.

Jennifer Hontz. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Jennifer-Hontz/456972571.

Meredith College. (2014). Jennifer Hontz. Retrieved from http://www.meredith.edu
/directory/jennifer_hontz.

Merideth College (2014). Paschal Scholars Program Application. Retrieved from http://www.meredith.edu/images/uploads/admis_paschal_application.pdf.

Barnes, Julia

Published in the Mathematics Magazine from 2003 was an article called “A Julia Set That Is Everything.” The co-authors Julia Barnes and Lorelei Koss both have their Ph.D in Mathematics. Having had the same advisor in graduate school, the co-authors met as graduate students and have stayed in touch ever since.They have written a couple other articles together as well.

Julia Barnes grew up in Ocala, Florida and attended grade school there. She kind of always liked math and helped a lot of friends with their homework. She started officially tutoring in fourth grade. She always thought that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, specifically a math teacher. While in 4-H and leading workshops for younger kids, she developed a strong urge to go into education.

She then went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Starting out a math education major, she planned on teaching high school. Preparing for her teaching career, she worked as a camp counselor at Camp Lutherock near Boone, NC. After completing almost all of the math requirements of a math education major, she switched to a mathematics major but still planned on teaching through lateral entry into the Florida public school system. But then early in her senior year, a professor took her aside and convinced her to go to graduate school. He believed she would be happier teaching college rather than high school.

So instead of student teaching, she applied to graduate schools. She graduated in 1990 with a BS in mathematics and it turned out the professor was right. While she still loved working with kids, she was meant to be at the college level. So continuing on to graduate school, she went for her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also in mathematics. She finished in 1996.

Since graduating, Dr. Barnes is a very involved member of the mathematical community. She is currently working on a book addressing tactile learning activities. She is the Associate Director for Project NExT—a professional development program for new university math faculty. It is a program of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). She has also been in charge of coordinating a mathematical treasure hunt for the Southeast section of the MAA for almost a decade now. With the help of many volunteer faculty, they get around 90 student participants.

While not focusing completely in one area, Dr. Barnes likes to jump around to different areas of mathematics, depending on what seems interesting to her at the time. She has a written a wide variety of articles. Some of her articles are more a survey of topics, while others cover more research depth. She also has some articles that are teaching related. For her, the best part is working with a wide variety of people.

Most recently she has been working with a graduate school office mate named Beth (Drews) Schaubroeck who happens to be a Wartburg College graduate from 1993. Currently Dr. Schaubroeck is a civilian at the Air Force Academy. With Dr. Barnes specialty in complex dynamics and Dr. Schaubroeck’s specialty in complex analysis, they decided to collaborate—hoping to find some common ground. While leaning more towards the dynamics side, they were not able to generalize their work.

Yet they still presented their work at an MAA conference and a graduate student who was doing research in the area they had been dabbling in, had an idea on how to go further with their work. The three of them ended up collaborating on an article titled “Real and imaginary parts of polynomial iterates” published in the New York Journal of Mathematics. This led to the integration of another collaborator Elizabeth Russell, who was working at West Point at the time. Being in three different time zones between the four of them, they mostly did work or presentations at national meetings in subsets.

Dr. Barnes and her co-author Lorelei Koss have written three articles together, including “A Julia Set That Is Everything.” This and one other one, “Ergodic Theory Carnival” are survey articles. She is proud to say that the latter has been translated into Chinese. While she is unable to read any of the Chinese characters, she still can recognize the diagrams. As mentioned before, Dr. Koss and Dr. Barnes met in graduate school and have stayed in touch. All of their publications have been written through email since graduating.

Outside of mathematics, Dr. Barnes remains busy with other projects. For five years she lived in a residence hall on campus as a Faculty in Residence working to increase faculty to student interactions. She mostly worked with faculty to bring them into the residence halls for programs. For eight years, Dr. Barnes was a teacher in a program for gifted high school students in a program of earth science. It was a four week program where kids would stay on campus and conduct research in stream ecology. She taught the statistics part of it in the mornings, and then helped in collecting data every afternoon. This was one summer job she really enjoyed.

More personally, Dr. Barnes enjoys cooking, sewing, and forestry judging. Also, she was a high school youth leader at her church for five years. She is currently a Sunday School teacher. In addition, she has done a lot of home renovations with her father who is a retired building contractor. Together they have re-roofed her house, resided it, renovated the kitchen and bathroom as well as completely repainted the interior.

While there is not much information on Dr. Koss, it is known through correspondence with Dr. Barnes that they have remained good friends since graduate school. Dr. Koss’s undergraduate degree in mathematics was accomplished at Columbia University in 1989. Her master’s and Ph.D. were attained at the University of North Carolina in 1992 and 1998, respectively. She is currently employed at Dickinson University as a Professor of Mathematics and has been there ever since finishing her Ph.D. Her personal work focuses on ergodic theory and complex dynamical systems with special attention to parametrized dynamics of meromorphic functions.

Bibliography

Barnes, Julia. "Re: Biographical Request." Message to the author. 7 Oct. 2013. E-mail.

Barnes, Julia. "Re: Biographical Request." Message to the author. 9 Oct. 2013. E-mail.

Faculty. Dickinson U, 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. http://www.dickinson.edu/academics/Faculty/

Wilczek, Frank

Frank Wilczek Biography

If you were to picture a crazy scientist, Frank Anthony Wilczek would certainly fit the part. On the 15th of May in 1951, the soon to be genius was born in Mineola, New York. It became apparent to his parents that he was going to excel in mathematics. Curiosity is what fueled him at a young age to take on mathematics. He asked himself questions such as, “How many ways can one exchange coins to get the necessary amount?” He found interest in huge numbers as well. Wilczek wanted to get large numbers in very few steps. He said big numbers made him feel “powerful” (Frank Wilczek - Biographical).

Prior to college, Frank attended high school in Queens at public school 186, Martin Van Buren High School. It was there that he received his diploma. With many desired questions left unanswered he decided to attend the University of Chicago where he would study mathematics. The cognitive processes of the brain always fascinated Wilczek, but he decided that brain science wasn’t for him because those questions couldn’t be answered with mathematics. Physics was never on the frontier of his goals until his last semester at the University of Chicago. Wilczek was inspired and became interested in physics by his passionate physics professor, Peter Freund. Freund’s class was about symmetry and group theory. He was inspired; he saw the connections of mathematics. It was as if he found his calling. He loved the freedom of mathematics, but his technical ability with numbers and analytics could finally be applied to something with a little less freedom, physics. He graduated from the University of Chicago with his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1970 and decided to further his academic career by traveling to Princeton, New Jersey.

His mathematics career continued at Princeton with physics remaining in the back of his mind at all times. Symmetry and its deep connection to physics became very apparent to him; specifically, the gauge theory of electroweak interactions, and the scaling symmetry in Wilson's theory of phase transitions (Frank Wilczek - Biographical). It was then that he realized that his training as a mathematician would turn him into a physicist by trade. He started to work extensively with David Gross, a professor at Princeton University. By the time Frank was 21 years old he helped define the properties of color gluons (MIT Department of Physics). Perhaps the most important part of his career occurred while in collaboration with Gross and Hugh D. Politzer on the basic theory of quantum chromodynamics. Their work led them to the discovery of asymptotic freedom, which is a property of some gauge theories. It states that bonds between particles become asymptotically weaker as energy increases and distance decreases (Asymptotic Freedom). Together, their work in from 1971-1973 in quantum chromodynamics led them to the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004. He attained his Master of Arts in Mathematics from Princeton in 1972, and eventually his Ph.D. in physics in 1974. Princeton then offered him a teaching position until 1981.

Besides the Nobel Prize in Physics, he has received several other prestigious awards. Wilczek won the J. J. Sakurai Prize in 1986 for his work to better understand the strong interaction between quarks. In 1994 he won the Dirac Medal. Every four years the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences awards the Lorentz Medal for important contributions to theoretical physics. Frank won the Lorentz Medal in 2002.

Professor Wilczek now holds the title Herman Feshback Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently researching areas in physics including: applications of asymptotic freedom, or “pure” particle physics, how particle physics can apply to cosmology, and the quantum theory of black holes (MIT Department of Physics). Frank is an avid reader, and the research will end only when he ceases to be.  

Works Cited

“Asymptotic Freedom”. Wikipedia.com. 22 Sept 2013. Web. 11 Oct 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptotic_freedom

"Frank Wilczek - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 14 Oct 2013. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2004/wilczek-bio.html

“Frank Wilczek”. Wikipedia.com. 10 Oct 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wilczek

Wilczek, Frank. MIT Department of Physics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 31 July. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/wilczek_frank.html

Barker, Andrew

The Career of a Mathematician:  Like a Sine Curve without the Consistency

            What does it mean to be a mathematician?  It’s a question that comes up often in class and one that we can’t quite pinpoint but only describe values pertaining to the individual.  I believe the question is difficult to answer because just like the many fields of mathematics, mathematicians are just as diverse.  Sure we all have a basic understanding of quite a few mathematical fields, but after that a mathematician is defined by his/her research, publication, discoveries and/or theories.  One man who is making his mark in numerical analysis and other closely related fields is Andrew T. Barker.  Dr. Barker just got into his 30’s, but has published and presented dozens of pieces of his research findings.  He’s truly a valuable component to the mathematical community because he doesn’t just solve problems, but he solves problems better.  Not bad for a guy who was a self-proclaimed “ok” math student in high school.      

            Dr. Barker attended public school in Virginia and Oregon and went on to attend Wheaton College in Illinois.  He was originally a computer science major, but then shifted his focus just a bit to mathematics.  “…something about the calculus classes and teachers at Wheaton made me fall in love with the subject and switch majors” said Barker and he has been studying and excelling at math ever since. (A.T. Barker, personal communication Nov. 1 2013).

            After his undergraduate studies, Dr. Barker went on to complete his Ph. D. in Applied Mathematics.  His main research interests were in numerical analysis and parallel computations, with an applicable focus in simulation of blood flow in human arteries.  So what does all this mean to the non-mathematical society?  “Basically lots of people have ideas for numerical techniques they think will be fast or efficient or accurate, and I write the code to test them and see how they work in practice” (A.T. Barker, personal communication Nov. 1 2013).

            Dr. Barker went on to take a postdoctoral position at Louisiana State University from 2009 to 2012, teaching classes in both Mathematics and Computer Science.  He now works for a research institute named Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems based in Magdeburg, Germany.  The company primarily works with chemical and bioengineering research and analysis (2013), making this career choice for Dr. Barker a rather obvious one.

            Dr. Barker has went on to publish many works in the field of mathematics, including one in The College Mathematics Journal entitled Evolution Stability in the Traveler’s Dilemma.  In the article, Barker discusses the game The Traveler’s Dilemma (closely related to The Prisoner’s Dilemma), a game that is based on two people placing a value on their lost suitcase between $2 and $100.  There are a lot of variables that go into who gets how much for their suitcase, but essentially the value of your suitcase depends on the other person’s placed value on their suitcase; if both passengers but the same value on their suitcase they get that amount. However, if passenger A places a lower value on his/her suitcase, the difference is taken from passenger’s B value and given to passenger A.  The game itself is easier then it sounds, but also more difficult in a strategic and analysis stand point.  Many studies including Dr. Barkers have concluded that irrational strategies produce better “profit” for the “passengers” and therefore analytically better than rational strategies and traditional game theory (Barker 2009).

            Some of Dr. Barkers other published works include, but are not limited to:  engineering application and analysis, non-symmetric system strategies and parallel method application for a variety of sciences dating back to his days at Wheaton College as an undergraduate (Barker 2012).

            While attending Wheaton College, Dr. Barker met his future wife Linda and is now the proud father of two daughters, Abigail and Amanda.  In his spare time, Dr. Barker enjoys reading, hiking and drinking coffee.  He and his family currently reside in Germany where his job is located.  He ahs future mathematical aspirations in economic analysis; using mathematics to better understand economic inequality, what it exactly entails, how to better measure it and where it comes from (A.T. Barker, personal communication Nov. 1 2013).

                  Unlike the U.S. economy, the immediate future looks bright for one Andrew T. Barker.  The “ok” grade-school math student is certainly doing better than ok in mathematics today.  With 18 articles published in the last 5 years, while spending most of that time as a Ph.D. student or a postdoc. Professor, Dr. Barker is making more than just sine and cosine waves in the world of analysis and overall problem solving.  With his advancements in application and analytical research and his loving family by his side, maybe our economic system isn’t as bad of situation as it looks with Dr. Barker taking some interest in the situation.

Works cited

A.T. Barker (personal communication, November 1, 2013).

Barker, A.T. (2009).  Evolutionary Stability in the Traveler’s Dilemma.  The College Mathematics Journal, 40(1), 33-38. 

Barker, A.T. (2012).  Andrew T. Barker.  Bio. Website. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from https://www.math.lsu.edu/~andrewb/.

(2013). The Max-Planck Institute:  Research.  Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems.  Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.en.mpi-magdeburg.mpg.de/institute/presentation.en.html.  

    

Gallian, Joseph

Joseph A. Gallian

Adam  J. Kucera

Intro

Born to the parents of a glass factory foreman and a waitress in small town Pennsylvania in 1942, Joseph Gallian  (commonly called Joe)  was never a person meant to go to college. However, after working for three years in a  glass factory,  Joe  enrolled in college.   After successfully completing his undergraduate and doctoral degrees, Joe  moved on to  find a position teaching. After sending applications all across the country, Joe eventually landed at the University of Duluth.  From here he has built one of the most prestigious undergraduate mathematics research opportunities in the country as well as contributing greatly to the mathematical community in the form of mentoring.  Joe  currently lives and works as the chair of the mathematics department in Duluth,  Minnesota.   He is continuing to mentor some of the best mathematically minded undergraduate students in the country.

Early  Life

Joe Gallian describes himself as a class clown throughout his childhood. He often did poorly in most of his classes, but generally excelled in the course that he liked (mainly mathematics) [3].  Although  he barely graduated high school, Gallian  says that  he had a fantastic high school math education. He credits all of his success in high school to a product of his generation. He says:

“My math teachers were outstanding . . . my generation had the great advantage that there weren’t many opportunities for women except in teaching and nursing. . . . That  meant that people like me had the benefit of women who might have joined [other] professions becoming great teachers” ([3]).

Throughout his high school career he often hung out with the neighborhood kids. After

high school, however, most of his friends went on to college. This option was never much of a thought for Gallian,  however, because his father had already secured him a position at the local glass factory that he worked at.  After working for three years, however, he was called to go into the factory and be a ’breaker’. This job required the worker to stand under a large sheet of glass as it was stretched and then break it off at a scored location. This job payed extra, but there was often injuries.  After being trained on a newer machine, Gallian  told himself that he was going to be OK  with breaking. The next day, however, he was no longer in training and seniority dictated that he work on the oldest, and most dangerous machine. After breaking for three hours on his own, Gallian  experienced the worst thing that  could

happen to a breaker, the glass exploded.  The glass shattered, leaving Gallian  holding one piece, the other in free fall like a large guillotine. Luckily,  Gallian  was not seriously injured during this accident, but he realized just how dangerous breaking was.  He called over the foreman and recalls the following exchange:

. . . I called the foreman over and said, ”I’m  leaving–I’m going home. He said, ”You mean you're not even finishing your shift?”;  and I said, ”I'm  going home.”  He said, ”If  you walk off, you lose your job.  Do you realize this?”  And I said, ”I’m  going home and”–here’s the exact quote–’I’m not a married guy; I want all my parts.  I don’t want to lose any fingers or kneecaps–I want all my parts!”  It  was kind of morbid.  Say  someone lost a kneecap; the rst thing he would do is figure out how much he’d get.  You got paid if you got injured; an eyeball might be worth $5000, a finger $1500. They  had a formula.  I said, ”I  don’t want any $5000 or $1500. I want all my parts”  ([3])

Coming home four hours earlier than planned, Gallian’s father immediately knew some- thing was wrong.  He immediately became incredibly angry.   His father had never had a job outside of the factory,  and in that  time no connections almost always meant no job. In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Gallian  threw out the only thing he could think of,

”how ’bout if I go to college?” [3]. The result surprised even Gallian.  His father immediately calmed down and called the factory to say that he wasn’t going to be coming in the following day.  The next day Gallian and his father drove up to Slippery Rock College, where three of his best friends were in their 4th year. With only just graduating high school, Gallian wasn’t sure if they would admit him.  However, after sharing his experiences  in the glass factory, the admissions person surprised him.  They let him in on probation [3].

The college didn’t have any dorm space, but through an advantageous connection forged by his mother, his landed in an off campus house with two senior math majors. This math majors, it turned out, encourage Gallian  to become interested in higher mathematics.  Not because they were very good at it, but because they were very bad. Gallian,  in an attempt to understand what they were talking about,  picked up an algebraic book and not only understood it,  but  began tutoring his housemates.  After several semesters  of exploring upper level mathematics,  learning how to  study, and getting  married, Gallian began to look into life after getting his undergraduate. At  the time Gallian  was at school, the only professions for a person interested in math was an education degree. During his sophomore year, however, Slippery Rock offered a liberal arts degree. Under the tutelage of a favorite teacher, he switched to a liberal arts degree in mathematics.  This worked out in Gallian’s favor and he applied to several different universities  in pursuit of a doctorate in math.

He was first accepted into the university at Kansas.   He excelled in that  program and soon became interested in infinite group theory.   After his first master’s thesis adviser left Kansas for Michigan State,  he wrote his master’s thesis with one of his colleagues working in the same area.  However, one day his new adviser came in and announced that  he was also leaving for Michigan State.  Knowing that he wanted to work in infinite group theory, he decided to apply elsewhere and ended up at Notre Dame [3].

After  having his adviser at  Norte Dame leave for New Zealand,  Gallian  published his thesis with an adviser who gave him a good problem, but little support.  This worked out, in large part, to be in Gallian’s  favor.  “He  gave me almost no help beyond giving me the problem, but that worked to my advantage, because when I eventually got to Duluth,  there was nobody to work with. But I was already used to working on my own” ([3])

Mentoring

In June  of 1972, Gallian  was still working at Notre Dame after two unsuccessful years of looking for a different position. However, a position in Duluth opened up when the original hire backed out.  The university called Gallian and two others up to campus for an interview. During  the  interview, among many other topics,  a  discussion about senior mathematics projects for undergraduates came up. When asked about if there were any tractable problems in finite group theory for undergraduates, Gallian replied that there was lots of them. After being selected for the faculty position at Duluth,  Gallian  devoted a lot of time and energy and time into the student projects. This was a precursor to his great work with the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)  program  [3].

The summer of 1976 was the first year that Gallian started recruiting talent from across the country.   This came in the form of a program called an Undergraduate Research Participation program (URP). This program was more of a literature search than research, but Gallian  applied anyway and received the grant.   The  largest benefit of this program for Gallian  and the future Duluth  REU   program was the exposure that  Duluth  received by recruiting talent from MIT, Princeton, and Harvard  [4].

Every year since 1977, with the exception of one, there has been a ten-week REU  program in mathematics at  the University of Minnesota Duluth.   Through 2012, the program has seen 194 students (not counting multiplicity) and produced over 190 papers that have been published in professional-level  journals.  The ma jority of these papers have been in graph theory, number theory, and field theory  [2].

The vast amount of success at the Duluth  REU  is often cited as the reason to attempt an REU  at Duluth.  Gallian,  however, has found a different meaning. “. . . you can still get a lot out of an REU  experience even if you don’t have anything on paper to show for it.  . . . if they go through the research process and learn something, that’s a success” ([4])

Gallian  is not only known for his amazing work with the REU  program at Duluth,  he is also the author of several survey papers in the field of abstract algebra. The survey papers on a specific topic that Gallian has written has been cited over 500 times via Google Scholar [1]. In his own words:

I liken my surveys to what someone who loves football and knows a lot about football but does not have the physical capacity to play in the NFL. So instead, he becomes a coach.  He still contributes to the sport by helping others become better players, but he doesn’t have to be a player himself. ([1])

Conclusion

Undergraduate mathematics education is the driving force behind much of the innovation and progress in higher level mathematics. Gallian,  in the respect, is an esteemed conductor. He has built an REU  program from the ground up that has been internationally recognized for its ability to foster amazing undergraduate mathematics research. Gallian is truly a role model for undergraduate  professors in the way he gives good problems to great students and allows them to build their own solutions. “I’m  not a whiz kid.  I’m not an incredibly strong mathematician, but my talents match up with what strong students don’t have.”  ([4])

References

[1]  Joseph Gallian.  private communication, 2013.

[2]  Joseph Gallian.  The vita of joseph gallian, aug 2013.

[3]  Deanna Haunsperger.  A  break for mathematics:  An  interview with joe gallian.   The

College Mathematics  Journal, 39:174–189, 2008.

[4]  Sara  Robinson.   In  the mix at  model reu:  Creative  mentor, talented students, hand- matched problems, jul 2005.