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Table of Contents
- Letter from Dave
Carothers, Department Head
- New Faculty Members
- Liu Named Madison Scholar
- Peterson in Austria
- The Summer 2004 REU Program
- 21st Annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling
- Faculty Get Pied on Pi Day
- Talks and Presentations
- Student Awards
- High School Math Teacher of
the Year
- Contributions
- Alumni Info
- Puzzle Corner
- Previous Newsletters
Greetings to all from the mathematics community at JMU.
Several new initiatives at JMU continue to grow and expand. The statistics
major is now an established and growing program. Our master's degree in
mathematics education (a joint program with the College of Education) is now
approved and providing very desirable coursework for secondary teachers. We
are currently working with several other universities in the state to make
these programs available and convenient for a much wider audience throughout
Virginia.
Student research continues to be a priority, with very successful summer
programs for mathematics and statistics students at JMU with funding from
the National Science Foundation. You can read about faculty accomplishments
throughout this newsletter. One example: James Liu received the College of
Science Madison Scholar award for 2005, based on his outstanding record as a
researcher and director of student projects. Congratulations, James!
We welcomed four new faculty members to our department this year:
Beth Arnold, Nusrat Jahan, Samir Safi, and Brian Walton.
- Beth Arnold:
I received my Bachelor's degree in Government from Georgetown
University in Washington, DC. I have a Master's in Education from
George Mason University in Fairfax, and a PhD in Math from the
University of Maryland at College Park. After graduate school, I had a
postdoctoral position at Texas A&M University.
My research is in computational commutative algebra, more
specifically Groebner bases. I have developed a fast algorithm for
computing GB's using modular and p-adic methods. I have also dabbled
in using Groebner basis techniques for solving disclosure limitation
problems in statistics. I enjoy teaching IDLS courses, Calculus and
any upper level algebra courses.
My outside interests include horses, horses and horses. I live on
a farm north of Harrisonburg with my husband, 2 daughters and 5
horses, 2 dogs and 7 cats.
- Nusrat
Jahan:
I received my undergraduate degree in statistics from
University of Dhaka, Bangaldesh; Master's in statistics
from Queen's University, Canada; and Ph.D. in Mathematical
Sciences (with concentration in statistics) from
Mississippi State University. I taught undergraduate courses
at Mississippi state University. There I was awarded
the 'Teaching Assistant of the Year' award for 2002-2003.
My research interests are nonlinear time series and their
applications in the field of biology, epidemiology, and
business.
- Samir Safi:
I received my undergraduate degree in Statistics and Scientific
Computations from Al-Mansoura University in Egypt, a master's degree
and PhD in Statistics from the American University in Washington DC in
2004. My first teaching experience at the Islamic University of Gaza
in Palestine was in 1994. I taught many statistics courses in
Palestine such as basic statistics, statistical analysis, regression,
econometrics, SPSS, and finite mathematics between 1994 and 1997 and
between 1998 and 2000. I taught many Statistics courses at American
University in Washington DC in 2000-2004.
In 2003-2004, I have the opportunity to teach the graduate level
courses, Statistical Methods, Applied Multivariate Statistics and
Advanced Measurement and Evaluation at Howard University. These
courses gave me the opportunity to teach statistical concepts to
students who were highly motivated and inquisitive.
I lecture using power point slides which I found to be helpful and the
students found them easier and better than writing. Moreover; the
students like the format of the lecture and they like the format of
the slides as well. It allows them to listen and not to be busy
writing things rather than focusing on the lecture. Also; they are
asked to download the lectures before they come to class and they have
enough space to write notes for themselves.
My research interest involves an important statistical problem
concerning estimation in the presence of auto-correlated
disturbances. My particular field of interest is the comparison of
estimators in regression models with auto-correlated disturbances. It
is known that the most famous method of estimation, ordinary least
squares, may be not optimal in this context. For this reason, over the
years many specialized estimation techniques have been
developed. These methods are more complicated than ordinary least
squares and are less understood. For example, the small sample
behavior is not well known. Neither is the robustness of these
procedures against variations in the assumption of models underlying
them. I am comparing these estimators and developing criterion under
which ordinary least squares estimation perform nearly as well as the
more specialized estimators.
- Brian Walton:
I received my Bachelor's degree in August of 1996 in Mathematics
from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. For an honor's thesis, I
learned about group representations as I developed a decomposition of
the regular representation of the dihedral group. I never imagined
becoming so familiar with trigonometric identities as I did during
this project.
The day after my graduation, I moved to Tucson, Arizona. Feeling a
desire to apply the power of mathematics to solve problems in other
disciplines, I was entering the interdisciplinary graduate program in
Applied Mathematics at The University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. I
completed a Master's degree in 1998. After another 4 years, I was
awarded a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics in 2002. I spent the next two
years at Seattle, Washington, working in a postdoctoral fellowship in
the Department of Applied Mathematics at The University of
Washington.
My research interests lie mainly in the applications of mathematics
to problems in biology. Although I have general training in the broad
category of applied mathematics, I have focused particularly on the
area of applied probability and stochastic processes. One application
uses a probabilistic model for how a protein called kinesin pulls
cargo in a cell to develop statistically meaningful methods for
analyzing experimental data sets recording this motor protein in
action.
In teaching, I try to convey a sense of the beauty of mathematics
while at the same time demonstrating its utility and importance as a
tool of application. This year, I particularly enjoyed teaching a
course on mathematical models in biology with Biology professor,
Dr. Reid Harris, which he and Dr. Sochacki introduced last year. I
look forward to continuing to develop opportunities for mathematicians
to learn interdisciplinary modeling skills and for biologists to
deepen their mathematical insight and computational skills.
James Liu has been named
the 2005-2006 Madison Scholar for the College of Science and Mathematics.
The Madison Scholar award recognizes the member of the college
faculty who has made outstanding contributions in research and
scholarship.
From the Nomination for James:
"It is in no sense an exaggeration to say that James is an internationally
recognized and respected scholar. As such, he is an extremely valuable
member of our faculty, but perhaps more important is the fact that James is
a scholar who mathematical and scientific work has an important impact on
undergraduate students and the undergraduate curriculum at James Madison
University...James Liu is a mathematician who research is highly original,
deep, and of extensive interest to the mathematical community."
James has an exceptional record of publication in highly respected
mathematics research journals. He has directed the research of students who
themselves have published in mainstream mathematics journals. James is also
the author of a well-received textbook "Qualitative Theory of Differential
Equations."
Professor Gary
Peterson spent spring semester of 2005 on educational leave. Part
of this leave was spent as a visitor at
Johannes Kepler Universität in
Linz, Austria where he is a research fellow and lecturer from March
through June. During this stay he is doing research and conducting a
seminar for graduate students and faculty on idempotents in nearrings.
The department's NSF-sponsored Research Experience for
Undergraduates (REU) program was interesting and successful in the
summer of 2004. Eight students were chosen from over 250 applicants
from across the country; the selected students worked on an intensive,
8-week research project in groups of two under the direction of a
faculty mentor.
During the summer of 2004, the four research projects were:
- Hasan Hamdan
directed Kristen Dardia (JMU) and Melanie Wilson (Allegheny College)
in
Using Scale Mixtures of Normals to Model Continuously
Compounded Returns.
- Jason Rosenhouse
directed Mary Balmes (Saint Joseph's College) and
Jackie Kaminski (Xavier University) in Conditions for
One-Regularity in Cayley Graphs.
- Laura Taalman
directed Anna-Lisa Breiland (Willamette University) and
Layla Oesper (Pomona College) in ?.
- Paul Warne directed
Jeb Collins (JMU) and
Matt Watts (JMU) in New Developments for Analysis of Intracranial
Saccular Aneurysms: I. Biomechanical model, II. Computational
algorithm, and III. Scientific visualization.
Six of the eight students traveled to the Joint AMS-MAA Meetings in
Atlanta to present their work at the Special Session on Research in
Mathematics by Undergraduates and at the MAA Undergraduate Research
Poster Session. In addition, Dardia and Wilson traveled to the Young
Mathematician Conference at Ohio State in August to present their
work, and Breiland and Oesper presented their work at the Big Sky
Conference on Discrete Mathematics at the University of Montana.
During the summer of 2005, the four research groups will be led by
Elizabeth Brown
(mathematical logic), Hasan Hamdan
(probability and statistics), James Liu (differential
equations), and Jason
Rosenhouse (algebraic graph theory).
The Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is an international
contest for high school students and college undergraduates. There are
two problems, Problem A (continuous) and Problem B (discrete), and
teams of three students have from 8pm Thursday night until 8pm the
following Monday to work on the problem of their choice. 644 teams
submitted solution papers, representing ten countries. JMU has had
teams entering the competition since 1990. Our best ever result was
achieved in 2001 when JMU was the only institution to have two teams
each do a different problem and both be awarded Meritorious.
In 2005, three teams entered the 21st Annual Mathematical Contest
in Modeling, and one team entered the Interdisciplinary Contest in
Modeling (ICM). The teams were Joshua Blake, Justin Creasy, Nick
Giffen, (Advisor: Jim Sochacki) Greg Tumolo, Jonathan Lamanna, Mo La
Croix (advisor: Caroline Smith) Andrew Domazos, Ryan Charest,
Mary-Kate Sokolowski (advisor: Hasan Hamdan) Sarah Shahmoradian, James
Kokorelis, Nicole Wood (advisor: Brian Walton – ICM ).
The work submitted by the team consisting of Joshua Blake, Justin
Creasy and Nick Giffen, was judged Meritorious. Andrew Domazos, Ryan
Charest, & Mary-Kate Sokolowski (MCM) and Sarah Shahmoradian, James
Kokorelis & Nicole Wood (ICM) obtained Honorable Mentions, and Greg
Tumolo, Jonathan Lamanna and Mo La Croix received a Succesful
Participant. Congratulations to them for their good work and thank you
to all of the teams for participating!
This year the JMU Department of Mathematics and Statistics
celebrated "Pi Day" (March 14) with its First Annual Pi-Throwing
Chairity Fundrasier.
The Math Club did a fantastic job organizing this event that was
extremely well-attended and enjoyed by all, even by those people whose
misfortune it was to leave the event covered in whipped-cream pie.
Fourteen faculty members bravely volunteered for the event, and one
donation jar for each faculty member was placed in the student lounge.
The three faculty whose jars collected the most money at the end of
the week were "pi-ed" on the big day. Students and faculty alike
contributed generously to the jars.
At approximately 3:14 on 3/14, Rickie Domangue, Leonard Van Wyk,
and Debra Warne donned protective goggles and garbage-bag shirts,
lined up in the sun in front of a growing crowd outside Burruss Hall,
and endured a seemingly endless barrage of whipped-cream pies thrown
at them (mostly) by students. The event was captured on
film. Professors Domangue, Van Wyk, and Warne are to be commended
for their bravery under fire. The event raised a total of $150 for
Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
Faculty members gave assorted talks and presentations at various
meetings this past year, including the following.
- Peter Kohn
presented "Integrating Calculus, Precalculus and Algebra" at the AMATYC
Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, November 2004.
- Ed Parker gave a
talk on nonlinear semigroups at the conference at University of North
Texas honoring John Neuberger's 70th birthday, November 2004, and was
a panelist discussing "Preparation for and Day-to-day Conduct of
Moore-Method Courses" at the Legacy of R. L. Moore conference, in
Austin, TX, May 2005.
- Dave Pruett gave
a talk entitled "Motivating Calc. III by Celestial Mechanics"
at the MD-DC-VA MAA sectional meeting at the University of Virginia,
April 2005.
- Jason Rosenhouse
gave a contributed talk at the 18 Annual Midwest Conference for
Combinatorics, Computing and Cryptography entitled "Hamilton Cycles in
Cayley Graphs of the Picard Group" in Rochester, New York, in October
2004, and an invited talk at the AMS Special Session on Graph Theory
entitled "Lower Bounds on the Cheeger Constants of Highly Connected
Regular Graphs" in Bowling Green, KY, March 2005.
- Caroline Smith was
awarded the 'Navigator Award'
for "Dedicated Contribution to Systems Engineering Education
and Research" by Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken,
NJ, September 2004.
- Jim Sochacki gave a
talk on Newton's method at the conference at University of North Texas
honoring John Neuberger's 70th birthday, November 2004, and a talk
entitled "Polynomial differential equations and periodic solutions" at
the Spring 2005 MAA VA-MD-DC Sectional Meeting at the University of
Virginia.
- Laura Taalman
presented "Problem Zero: A simply way to encourage students to read
mathematics" at the MAA Spring MD-DC-VA Sectional Meetings at the
University of Virginia, April 2005, as well as
"Problem Zero: Getting students to read mathematics and make
it their own" at the MAA Session on Getting Students to Explore
Concepts Through Writing in Mathematics at MAA MathFest, Providence,
August 2004.
- Leonard Van Wyk
attended an MAA PREP workshop at MSRI in Berkeley, CA, on Geometric
Combinatorics in May of 2004. He also presented the results of his
summer 2004 REU project (k-alternating knots) at the
MD-DC-VA MAA meeting at the University of Virginia, April 2005.
- Debra Warne was
invited to present "Asymptotic analysis of finite deformation in a
nonlinear transversely isotropic incompressible hyperelastic
half-space subjected to a tensile point load" in 40 Years of Nonlinear
Mechanics: Symposium Honoring Alan S. Wineman at the 41st Annual
Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, Univ. of
Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, October 2004.
- Paul Warne was
invited to present "The High-Order Accuracy Algebraic-Maclaurin-Pade
Numerical Method with Applications to Singular Differential Equations
from Nonlinear Mechanics" in the Symposium Nonlinear Elasticity and
Coupled Fields: Tribute to the 60th Birthday of Niall Horgan at the
41st Annual Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science,
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, October 2004.
Every spring the department recognizes the achievements of some of
our outstanding students at an awards ceremony sponsored by the
College of Science and Mathematics.
The award recipients for 2005 were:
- Ikenberry Award: Scott Carter Keith
- Mathematics Research Award: Nick Giffen
- Metron Applied Mathematics Award: James Collins
- Thomson Learning Future HS Teacher Award: Christopher Babb
- Award for Outstanding Statistics Major: Ryan Charest
- Award for Outstanding Statistics Minor: Rebekah Jones
- Thomsen Learning IDLS Award: Sara Markham
- In addition, Ju-Han ("Donna") Chang, Mathematics minor and
President of the JMU Chapter of the mathematics honors society Pi Mu
Epsilon, shared the College of Science and Mathematics Outstanding
Senior Award with the 2005 JMU Valedictorian.
Thomas Koliss, from Newark High School in Newark, Delaware, was the
recipient of the 2004-2005 High School Mathematics Teacher Award from
the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Mr. Koliss is the ninth recipient of the award given to a teacher who
is nominated by a JMU student in recognition of a high school math
teacher's work.
Mr. Koliss was nominated by JMU student and future teacher Cheryn
Clark, who is majoring in Earth Science. In her nomination letter
Cheryn wrote, "I am recommending Mr. Koliss for teacher of the year
because of his dedication, enthusiasm and helpfulness to his students.
He instilled in me a love for math that I have to this day. He was
always willing to come into school early and/or stay late to help me
with any difficulties I may have had -- even when I was no longer in
his class. His devotion to teaching students is something I will
always remember and try to emulate as I pursue a teaching career. Of
all the teachers I had, Mr. Koliss was the most dedicated. His hours
went from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., just to help his students. I loved how he
would explain things in many different ways so you would understand it
completely. While many teachers I had would would just give you the
answer, Mr. Koliss knew better and seemed to be more in touch with his
students. He wanted his students to succeed throughout life, not just
in high school."
Cheryn continued, "He surprises me every year. He still offers to
help me in college if I have trouble with physics or mathematics. He
will forever be known as `the man with the most chalk on himself'. At
the end of each day, Mr. Koliss looked as if he had rolled in chalk
dust, but we all loved him for it."
Unfortunately, due to the distance and scheduling conflicts,
Mr. Koliss was not able to come to JMU to receive his award, so a
plaque in recognition of his award will be mail him. His name will be
engraved along with the names of the previous recipients of the award
on our plaque in Burruss Hall.
Last year's recipient, Cathileen Love teaches at Parkville High School
in Baltimore County, Maryland. Previous recipients of the award are:
Michelle Gordon or King George, Virginia, JoAnna Sychterz of
Shillington, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Riddle of Alexandria, Robert
Salewski of Fairfax, June Billings of Yorktown, Martha Blakeney of
Leesburg and Kathy Beatty of Clifton.
How would you like to help support the programs in the Department of
Mathematics and Statistics? You can help by contributing to our student
scholarship fund, or by making an unrestricted contribution to the
department's JMU Foundation fund. Unrestricted funds can be used, for
example, to support student activities or to bring student-oriented
speakers to campus. Funds may be sent to: The JMU Foundation MSC 8501
James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA 22807 Mark the donation "Greater
University Fund" and designate it for the Department of Mathematics and
Statistics.
Tell us what you are doing! We'd love to hear from you. Fill out
our on-line
alumni information form.
Here is last year's puzzle:
Are there any 10 digit numbers abcdefghij such that each digit is
different, and so that the number ab is divisible by 2, abc is
divisible by 3, abcd is divisible by 4, etc? If there are any, find
one. Is the answer unique?
The winning solution was submitted
by Kirsten (Speca) Barr ('95).
Here is this year's puzzle:
One hundred ants are placed on a stick one meter long. Each ant
begins to travel either to the left or to the right at a constant
speed of one meter per minute. When two ants meet, they bounce off
and reverse direction while maintaining their speed. When an ant
reaches either end of the stick it falls off.
What is the longest amount of time one must wait to be sure that
the stick is completely ant-free?
The person who submits the best solution will receive a copy of
The Mathematical Experience by Phil David and Reuben
Hersh. Mail your solution to Peter Kohn at the Department of
Mathematics and Statistics, or e-mail your solution to pkohn@math.jmu.edu.
[ 2002 |
2003 | 2004 ]
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