November 14, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Mathematics Faculty Participate in Joint Mathematics Meetings

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Eight members of the Department of Mathematics presented at the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings in Atlanta in January.  The JMM is the largest mathematics conference in the country, with registrations this year exceeding 6,000 participants.  Highlights of the meeting include:

  • Randall Helmstutler, chair and associate professor, presented the talk “Generalized dihedral groups in non-commutative cryptographic protocols,” based on research conducted with former student Chris Lloyd. Dr. Helmstutler also participated in a day-long workshop for mathematics department chairs.
  • Professor Debra Hydorn presented the talk “Small Teaching” in the MAA session on discrete mathematics in the undergraduate curriculum. Dr. Hydorn also exhibited two pieces in the Mathematical Art Exhibition and participated in several committee meetings.
  • Associate professor Leo Lee gave the presentation “DDM for SPDE” in the AMS contributed paper session on numerical analysis and computer science.
  • Professor Larry Lehman gave two talks on his research in number theory, “A Continued Fraction Algorithm for Quadratic Numbers, Forms, and  Ideals” and “A Formula for the Number of Solutions of an Arbitrary Quadratic Congruence.”
  • Lecturer Jennifer Magee presented the talk “Cryptology for first-year students” in the MAA session on cryptology for undergraduates, providing an overview of the department’s unique FSEM course in the field.
  • Professor Keith Mellinger delivered “The ingredients for a successful liberal arts course in quantitative reasoning,” a talk addressing the department’s innovative approach to a recently developed course offering, Math 120: Quantitative Reasoning for the Sciences.
  • Professor Marie Sheckels presented “Enhancing Quantitative Reasoning and Skills through Exploring Scientific Applications” in the session Innovative Strategies to Inspire and Prepare Potential STEM Majors.
  • Professor Suzanne Sumner gave the talk “Environmental Applications: Introduction to Mathematical Modeling” in the session Meaningful Modeling in the First Two Years of College.

Lee Publishes Research Article in KSIAM

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Associate Professor of Mathematics Leo Lee saw the recent publication of his paper “The h x p Finite Element Method for Optimal Control Problems Constrained by Stochastic Elliptic PDEs” in the Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.  Dr. Lee presented a talk on the results of this article at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle in January.

Mathematics Students Present at Joint Mathematics Meetings, Lawhorne Earns Recognition

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In January three mathematics majors presented their research at the annual AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, Md., which is the largest mathematics conference in the world. Kim Hildebrand presented “Using Independent Bernoulli Random Variables to Model Gender Hiring Practices” (advisor:  Dr. Debra Hydorn), Casey Howren presented “A Numerical Analysis of the SIR Model for Modeling Epidemics” (advisor:  Dr. Leo Lee), and Dane Lawhorne presented “The Fundamental Groups of the Digital Line and Circles” (advisor:  Dr. Randall Helmstutler). The students presented as part of the MAA’s undergraduate student poster session, and Dane Lawhorne was given special recognition as an outstanding presenter in the session.

Randall Helmstutler Publishes in PRIMUS

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Associate Professor of Mathematics Randall Helmstutler recently co-authored an article published in the journal PRIMUS – Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies.  The article, “Finite Topological Spaces as a Pedagogical Tool,” looks at the use of finite topological spaces as examples in a point-set topology class especially suited to help students transition into abstract mathematics.

Mathematics Students Present at Regional Meeting

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Three UMW students presented results of their research projects at the fall regional meeting of the Mathematical Association of America held at Christopher Newport University in November.  Catherine O’Doherty presented “Explanation of the Matrix Exponential,” a work based on her project under the direction of Dr. Julius Esunge.  Ryan Vaughn’s presentation, titled “On the Contractibility of Finite coH-Spaces” extends his work with Dr. Randall Helmstutler which began during the Summer Science Institute of 2011.  Finally, Kelly Scott presented “Anti-Blocking Sets” based on her honors project currently in progress under the direction of Dr. Keith Mellinger.