Jangwoon “Leo” Lee, assistant professor of mathematics, presented the talk “Mathematical Analysis of Models” at the US-Korea Conference on Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Seattle in August. Lee also presented the poster “On Solving a Boundary Control Problem Using the Domain Decomposition Method” at the conference. In addition, he refereed a journal paper published in Mathematics and Computers in Simulation. He had the article “Finite Element Approximations of Stochastic Optimal Control Problems Constrained by Stochastic Elliptic PDEs” accepted for publication in the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications.
Keith Mellinger
Keith Mellinger, associate professor and chair of mathematics, and a colleague from Virginia Tech, were presented the Carl B. Allendoerfer Award at the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in Pittsburgh in August. The award recognizes outstanding expository articles in mathematics. Mellinger was honored for the article, “Kirkman’s Schoolgirls Wearing Hats and Walking Through Fields of Numbers,” that appeared in the February 2009 edition of Mathematics Magazine. Read about the award and see the article at http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/22/?pa=content&sa=viewDocument&nodeId=1355.
In addition, Mellinger published two papers, “Classes of Permutation Arrays in Finite Projective Spaces” in the International Journal of Information and Coding Theory, and “On the Number of k-gons in Finite Projective Planes” in Note di Matematica. In addition, Dr. Mellinger gave several talks, “On Blocking Semiovals Containing Conics” at the Discrete Mathematics Seminar at the University of Delaware; “Kirkman’s Schoolgirls Wearing Hats and Walking through Fields of Numbers” at a departmental colloquium at California State University, Fresno; “Coding, Cryptography and Conics: Using What They Know to Introduce Research” at a faculty seminar at CSU Fresno; and “Applying the Stuff We Like: Blocking Semiovals and Cryptology” at a discrete mathematics seminar at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Students Gain Honors for Mathematics Department
Students Andrew Snyder-Beattie and Kevin Groat won an “Outstanding Presentation” award at Mathfest, the national meeting of the Mathematical Association of America. This year, there were over 150 student talks at the meeting and the MAA gave only 20 awards. Their project, “Geometric Brownian Motion, a Safe Assumption?” was completed as part of the Summer Science Institute under the direction of Dr. Julius Esunge. This is a significant achievement for both the students and the faculty advisor. Several faculty from other schools came up to Keith Mellinger after the presentation requesting details about the successful program at UMW.