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Florida Section Newsletter The Mathematical Association of America October 2003 Volume 25, Issue 1 |
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Florida Section Newsletter The Mathematical Association of America October 2003 Volume 25, Issue 1 |
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President's Message
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Last weekend (September 26-27), I was able to attend the second annual Mathematics in the Sun retreat sponsored by FTYCMA (Florida Two-Year College Mathematics Association) held at the Tarpon Springs campus of St. Petersburg College. Over 100 mathematics teachers from 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities attended the “Celebration of Teaching” and participated in a variety of panel discussions and workshops for the two days. Recommendations for the content of a “bridge course” to connect the developmental algebra course with the college level math courses were presented to the group. Lively discussion occurred during two separate meetings. The competencies for this new course will be refined and eventually should be presented to the state for addition to the current mathematics course list. Panel discussions concerning the use of technology in the curriculum, assessment, and distance learning provided a forum for teachers to update their knowledge about these important areas of math instruction. Several hands-on workshops allowed participants to see how to integrate activities to complement (or replace) instruction for students at the level of the “bridge course”. If you were one of the participants, I hope that you became more excited about teaching because of the excellent presentations. If you did not attend, look for the announcement for next year’s retreat!
Coming up on February 20th and 21st of 2004 will be the annual meeting for the Florida Section of the MAA. The University of Central Florida is hosting the meeting this year and our sessions will be held in the Student Union. The facilities available to us rival those in any of the conference hotels that are used for national meetings. The Program Chair for this year’s meeting is Lubo Markov from Barry College. Information about the program, preregistration, and accommodations in Orlando can be found in another part of the newsletter. This year we have added an incentive to register early. There will be a drawing for $50 awards from the people who register by the registration deadline.
We received word of the untimely death of one of our Section officers this past summer. Shrinivas Dalal was our Student Activities Coordinator and had great plans for the participation of students in the organization. Ben Fusaro has agreed to step in for the rest of this year to develop the program for the students at our February meeting. The position of Student Activities Coordinator will be filled at our annual election at our Section business meeting along with the position of President-Elect, Vice President-Elect for Programs, and Vice President-Elect for Site Selection. We will also be electing our Section Governor this year with a term to begin in July 2004. This election is held through the national office so be sure to vote when you receive your ballot.
There are already two regional meetings scheduled for this year including the Suncoast Region in December and the Central Region in January. See announcements for these meetings in this newsletter and plan to attend any of them that you can.
I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in Orlando in February if not before then at one of the regional meetings.
The Awards Committee is seeking recommendations for two awards to be given at our state meeting in 2004:
The Awards Committee also seeks recommendations for the national Alder Award which is given for distinguished college or university teaching by junior faculty. Criteria for the Alder Award can be found on the MAA website at http://www.maa.org/.Send your nominations by November 15, 2003, to the Chair of the Awards Committee:
Please include the individual’s name and institutional affiliation.Past award recipients can be found at http://www.spcollege.edu/central/maa/archives/. |
The Florida Section is looking for a few good mathematicians to serve in the following capacities:
 | President-Elect |
| Vice-President-Elect for Programs |
| Vice-President-Elect for Site Selection |
| Coordinator of Student Activities |
David Kerr
Eckerd College
kerr@eckerd.edu
The 2004 Joint Meetings will be the traditional annual events which bring together Florida’s dedicated mathematicians – professional and non-professional – for a weekend of exciting lectures, talks, and discussions on a variety of mathematical topics.
The plenary speakers for the conference will be Bruce Palka, Peter Hilton, and Paul Yiu.
Bruce Palka is the editor for the American Mathematical Monthly. He received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Professor Palka is at the University of Texas in Austin, and his area is complex analysis. To learn more visit http://www.maa.org/ and http://www.ma.utexas.edu/.
Peter Hilton, distinguished professor emeritus, received his D.Phil. in 1949 from Oxford University. He has been at SUNY Binghamton since 1982. Professor Hilton’s areas of interest are algebraic topology and algebra. Please visit http://www.abc.net.au/pm/s46302.htm to learn more about an amazing person and his incredible mathematical work, and what an honor it will be for us to have him as a speaker at our meeting. His home webpage is at http://www.math.binghamton.edu/peter/.
Paul Yiu is a professor of mathematics at Florida Atlantic University. He received his Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of British Columbia, and his research area is algebraic topology and quadratic forms. His profound interest in classical geometry prompted him to start his own electronic journal, Forum Geometricorum, which is a must-see for everyone dedicated to the preservation and advancement of this ancient and beautiful part of mathematics. To learn more visit http://forumgeom.fau.edu/ and http://www.math.fau.edu/.
In addition to these three distinguished plenary speakers, there will be invited talks by some of the state’s leading mathematical professionals as well as student presentations.
Other events include:
| a conference banquet and awards ceremony for all attendees on Friday evening, February 20th |
| the annual business meeting of FTYCMA |
| workshops |
| conference luncheon and annual business meeting of FL-MAA |
More information on the program will be available soon.
We invite talks (45 minutes) from mathematicians in the State University System (SUS), the Florida Community College System (FCCS), and the state’s private colleges and universities. Undergraduate students are also invited to participate with presentations (20 minutes).
Those who wish to be considered for the program should e-mail their name, institutional affiliation, category of the presentation (research, exposition, pedagogy, student paper, etc.), title, and an abstract of fifty words or less to the Vice-President for Programs:
Lubomir Markov
Barry University
lmarkov@mail.barry.eduPlease submit the requested information by December 1, 2003.
We will be publishing an electronic Conference Proceedings for the 37th Annual Meeting of the Florida Section of the MAA. These Proceedings will be similar in format to the ones that were created for the 2001-2003 meetings. All presenters at the sectional meeting at the University of Central Florida are invited to write-up their presentation and submit it for consideration. We will accept submissions through April 30, 2004. Please direct any questions you might have to David Kerr at kerr@eckerd.edu.
Herewith the instructions:
- There is no minimum or maximum length to your paper.
- Your paper should be prepared camera ready on 8½ by 11 paper with a minimum of 1 inch borders on each edge.
- At the top of the first page of your paper, please center in bold font, using at least three separate lines, the title, your name, and your institutional affiliation.
- Your paper may be either single-spaced or double-spaced and a type font of 12, 13 or 14 count is preferred.
- Submit two copies of your paper and a PDF file to:
David Kerr
Editor, Proceedings of the Florida Section
Eckerd College
P.O. Box 12560
St. Petersburg, FL 33733Be sure to label the diskette you send with your name.
Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA
University of Central Florida
February 20-21, 2004Accommodations
Note: To receive quoted rates, mention the "FL-MAA Conference at UCF" when making reservation.
Suggested Hotels
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Other Hotels
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Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA
University of Central Florida
February 20-21, 2004Food Service
Conference Banquet: Friday, February 20, 2004
Menu
Caesar Salad
Chicken Marsala
Pasta Primavera
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Seasonal Greens
Rolls and Butter
Assorted Desserts
Iced tea, Water, Coffee, and Hot TeaCost: $15.00
Conference Luncheon: Saturday, February 21, 2004
Menu
Tossed Salad
Turkey, Roast Beef and Veggie Wraps
Deli Salad
Chips
Cookies
Iced Tea, Water, and CoffeeCost: $9.25
From Orlando International Airport
Exit airport onto 436 North. Exit onto Bee Line Expressway East (Toll Road 528). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (North). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling East on I-4
Exit onto Toll Road 417 (near Disney). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling West on I-4
Exit onto Toll Road 417 (near Sanford). Go south. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling North on Florida Turnpike
Exit onto Bee Line Expressway East (Toll Road 528). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (North). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling South on Florida Turnpike
Exit onto East-West Expressway (Toll Road 408). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (North). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling North on I-95
Exit onto Highway 520 (West). Go west. Exit onto Highway 50 (West). Go west. Exit onto Alafaya Trail (Highway 434) (North). Go north to UCF.
Traveling South on I-95
Exit onto I-4 (East). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (near Sanford). Go south. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling North on I-75
Exit onto I-4 (East). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (near Disney). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Traveling South on I-75
Exit onto Florida Turnpike (South). Go south. Exit onto East-West Expressway (Toll Road 408). Go east. Exit onto Toll Road 417 (North). Go north. Exit onto University Boulevard (East). Go east to UCF.
Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA
University of Central Florida
February 20-21, 2004Orlando Area
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Governor's Report
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The following are some of the items of interest from the meeting of the Board of Governors in Boulder on July 30, 2003.
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It is difficult to condense all of the material provided to and by a very active Board of Governors. Please read Focus for other details.
All secondary and college mathematics teachers are invited to attend this luncheon and conference. There is no registration fee and MAA membership is not required.
| Directions |
| Map |
From Floriada's Turnpike:
Exit at the Winter Garden/Hwy 50 exit (#272).
Proceed west on highway 50.
Turn right at the Hancock Rd. intersection.
(There is McDonald's and Super Target on this corner.)
LSCC will be on left.From Hwy 27:
Exit at highway 50.
Proceed east on highway 50.
Turn left at the Hancock Rd. intersection.
(There is McDonald's and Super Target on this corner.)
LSCC will be on left.
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Suncoast Regional Meeting
Hillsborough Community College
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There are a number of exciting topics for the Suncoast's "Perfect Meeting". The plenary speaker is John Whitlock, a biology instructor at Hillsborough Community College. The title of his presentation is "Bacteria, Biostatistics and Biological Boundaries: Tracking bacteria through time and space." For other exciting presentations, see the program below.
| Program* | ||||
| Call for Presentation* | ||||
| Dinner Reservation Form* | ||||
| Maps
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| Pre-registration Form* |
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Free Copy |
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Faculty News
We welcome Jianqiang Zhao to the department as our newest member of the faculty. Jianqiang taught previously at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his Ph.D. degree from Brown University. Jianqiang’s specialties are algebraic geometry and number theory. This past summer, his article entitled "Goncharovs relations in Blochs higher Chow group CH3(F,5)" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Number Theory.
Eduardo Fernandez will be attending an APS meeting in Albuquerque this semester and presenting a paper on his work with Hall Thrusters.
Jerry Junevicus attended an international applied math conference in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in August and presented a paper on rock fracturing.
David Kerr served as a delegate to the national meeting of the AAUP in June.
Walter Walker served as a table leader for grading the AP Statistics exam this past summer, and last spring, he was invited to NSF to evaluate proposals for the CSEMS (Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics Scholarships) program.
Student News
John Villalpando, class of 1995, completed his Ph.D. degree from Clemson University (in Graph Theory) and has accepted a tenure-track position at Gonzaga University.
Ambar Rao, class of 2003, was this years recipient of the Meacham Mathematics Memorial - the M3 Award - for outstanding achievement in mathematics. Ambar is now enrolled in the mathematics graduate program at the University of Florida.
Daryl L. Schrader, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, was given the Faculty Scholar Award from Phi Theta Kappa on April 22, 2003. Since 1990, he has written a popular monthly Astronomy column for the St. Petersburg Times. For the closest approach of Mars in 60,000 years, Professor Schrader gave a lecture to over 200 people at the Science Center of Pinellas County on July 25th and to over 250 people at the Gulfport Casino on August 29th. The local Astronomy Club with his help have organized various Mars Watches where over 3,000 people were able to view Mars through telescopes. For addition information on Professor Schrader, visit http://www.geocities.com/wizardofbudo/.
New Faculty
Mourad Ismail has joined the Mathematics Department as Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from the University of South Florida. He holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Alberta. His research interests include orthogonal polynomials, special functions, approximation theory, combinatorics, and mathematical physics.
Ziad Musslimani has joined the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He holds a PhD in applied mathematics from the Technion. His research interests include nonlinear optics, asymptotic, and perturbation methods.
Yvonne Ou has joined the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. She comes to UCF from the University of Minnesota. She holds a PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Delaware. Her research interests include direct and inverse acoustic scattering and homogonization methods.
Yuanwei Qi has joined the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Oxford University, U.K. His research interests include partial differential equations with applications to biology and mathematical finance.
Michael Reid has joined the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from University of Arizona. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Brown University. His research interests include algebraic number theory and combinatorics.
Qiyu Sun has joined the Mathematics Department as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from the University of Houston. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Zhejiang University, P.R. China. His research interests include harmonic analysis, wavelets, and computational mathematics.
Jiongmin Yong has joined the Mathematics Department as Professor of Mathematics. He comes to UCF from Fudan University. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Purdue University. His research interests include stochastic analysis, mathematical finance, and control theory for PDE.
Sabbaticals
Alexander Tovbis will be on sabbatical for the Academic Year 2003-04.
Gary Richardson will be on sabbatical Spring Semester 2004.Retirements
Robert Brigham
Roy C. Jones
Frank Salzmann
Michael TaylorPromotions
Yue Zhao has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Mathematics and awarded tenure.
Other Department News
PROFESSOR MOURAD ISMAIL NAMED 'HIGHLY CITED RESEARCHER'
Professor Mourad Ismail was recently named a "Highly Cited Researcher" in the field of Mathematics by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI).
In compiling the list, ISI analyzed some 19 million published papers to determine the most highly cited researchers in 21 broad categories in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences, mathematical sciences, engineering, and social sciences. Researchers are selected for inclusion based on the total number of citations received by their articles within their respective disciplines.
ISI's new web service -- ISIHighlyCited.com -- enables researchers from throughout the world to identify individuals, departments, laboratories, and universities in the list. The researchers selected for inclusion in ISIHighlyCited.com comprise less than one half of 1 percent of almost 5 million researchers in the ISI Citation Database from 1981 -1999.
In the category of mathematics (including applied and computational mathematics, probability, and statistics), ISI released last March a list of 235 Highly Cited Researchers. Professor Ismail was the only mathematician in this list from the state universities of Florida. Additional information may be found in the free online database ISIHighlyCited.com.
A Florida Workshop on Turbulence was organized and hosted by the UCF Mathematics Department in May 2003. This international conference was co-sponsored and supported by several universities in Florida. The conference was highly successful, thanks to John Cannon and Sen Shivamoggi (who chaired the program and local organizing committee), the speakers, and all those who helped.
The UCF Mathematics Department will host the 8th International Conference on "Integral Methods in Science and Engineering," on August 2-5, 2004. The Call for Papers and other information may be obtained from Zuhair Nashed, the Chair of the Program: znashed@mail.ucf.edu.
Three graduate students have completed their PhDs and are currently employed as follows:
Idra VanDeCar - Valencia Community College
John Boncek - Troy State University, Montgomery, Alabama
Robert Muse - Lockheed Martin, Orlando, FloridaThe UCF Mathematics Department will host the MAA Florida Section's Annual Meeting on February 20-21, 2004.
Retirements
Edwin Clark arrived at USF in 1970, six years after receiving his Ph.D. from Tulane University. Initially and perhaps ultimately an algebraist (rings and semigroups), he also worked in physics and various areas in combinatorics, especially graph theory and coding theory (he spent a year visiting the National Security Agency). He had seven doctoral and two masters students, and his Erdos number is 2. He was active in the upper division of the undergraduate program, and designed the MAPLE class here.
Samuel Isaak arrived at USF in 1968, three years after receiving a Ph.D. from Indiana University. Initially working in differential geometry, tensor analysis, and related fields, he turned to undergraduate education, where he has taught all courses in the line from pre-calculus to differential geometry. He received a Teaching Incentive Program award, and was the mathematics representative to the USF teachers' program for the Peace Corps.
Joseph Liang arrived at USF in 1970, a year after receiving a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He worked in algebra, number theory, and several applications of mathematics to computer science. He had seven doctoral students, and was Associate Director of the Institute for Constructive Mathematics. He was also active in mathematics education, helping bring nearly a million dollars in educational grants to USF, and serving as Program Director of the Hillsborough County/USF Summer Program for the Gifted.
Fredric Zerla arrived at USF in 1963, four years before getting a Ph.D. from Florida State University. He was one of the principal organizers of the lower division of the undergraduate program, and was Undergraduate Advisor for many years. He also organized and ran the USF Chapter of the national mathematics honor fraternity Pi Mu Epsilon, and the USF Chapter of the Mathematics Association of America. He has been interim Department Chair, Speaker of the Faculty Senate, and President of the Florida Section of the MAA. He also ran the Suncoast Region of the MAA for many years. He has held many other positions, and has won many honors, including a Distinguished Service Award for the Florida Section of the MAA.
Departures
One of our senior professors is leaving us for greener pastures. Mourad Ismail arrived at USF in 1987 as a full professor, from Arizona State University. He had been awarded his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1974, and works in approximation theory, asymptotics, combinatorics, integral transforms and operational calculus, orthogonal polynomials and special functions. He is on eleven editorial boards, won 22 grants, edited or co-edited seven books and journal special issues, published about two hundred papers, made over forty invited addresses (he is always traveling) and supervised six Ph.D. dissertations and three M.A. theses. He will be moving to the University of Central Florida.
New Faculty
Thomas Bieske came to USF from the University of Michigan, where he was an NSF-VIGRE Postdoctoral fellow. He majored in mathematics at Purdue University and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999. He works in geometric function theory, non-linear PDEs, and sub-Riemannian spaces.
Arthur Danielyan came to USF from the University of Central Florida, where he was a Visiting Instructor. He received a Summa cum laude Diploma from Yerevan State University in Armenia and received a Ph.D. from the Institute of Mathematics of the Armenian Academy of Sciences in 1987. He works in several areas of analysis, including complex analysis and approximation theory.
Arcadii Grinshpan has been visiting USF for several years. He received a Diploma in Mathematics with Distinction from St. Petersburg University and a Ph.D. from St. Petersburg University/Donetsk State University in 1973. He works in complex analysis and engineering problems. He is the founding director of the Mathematics Umbrella Group at USF (see <http://www.math.usf.edu/mug/>) and also the USF Director of Industrial Mathematics.
Xiao-Dong Hou came to USF from Wright State University, where he was a Professor. He received a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Science and Technology of China and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1990. He works in algebra, combinatorics, coding, and cryptography.
Leslaw Skrzypek came to USF from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where he was a Lecturer. He received his Master of Science with first class honors and his Ph.D. in mathematics from Jagiellonian University in 2001. He works in approximation theory.
Other Department News
A.N.V. Rao and Chris Tsokos won the Time Warner Humanitarian Award for the Urban Scholars Program. This program brings disadvantaged youngsters to USF on Saturdays for extra lessons.
In the midst of buying a house and playing with his two-year old son, Brian Curtin won the NSA Young Investigators Grant.
Six faculty members won the USF Presidential Excellence Award last winter: Mourad Ismail, Natasha Jonoska, Boris Shekhtman, Vilmos Totik, Chris Tsokos, and Yuncheng You.
The Institute for Scientific Information listed Mourad Ismail as one of the most cited scientific researchers; he is the only USF researcher on the list. Check it out at <http://www.isihighlycited.com/>.
The Department got "The Memorandum of Agreement" for cooperation with Beijing Institute of Technology, and we hope to continue to develop our ties with universities in Asia and Europe.
Valencia Community College
Judy Jones, President of the Florida Section of the Mathematical Association of America, is retiring in June 2004 from the Mathematics Department at Valencia Community College, East Campus.
Florida Atlantic University
The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University invites applications for one full-time tenure-track position in Mathematics at the Assistant Professor level to begin in the fall of 2004. Area of specialty is open. The successful candidate will teach an average of 5 introductory and advanced undergraduate courses per year, direct honors theses, and have the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary teaching.
The Honors College is a selective liberal arts college within a state university. A growing institution that opened in the fall of 1999, it currently has 330 students and 30 faculty members. Its four-year curriculum is centered on the traditional disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences in a small-class setting, with an emphasis on critical thinking, community-based internships, and cross-disciplinary programs. The college's location, 5 miles from the beach in Jupiter, Florida, provides many opportunities for cultural and outdoor activities. See http://www.honorscollege.edu.
We seek applicants in all areas of mathematics, but may give preference to candidates with broad interests and experience in discrete mathematics, modeling, computer science, cognitive science, or other areas that interface with natural or social sciences, or humanities.
Required qualifications include a Ph.D. in Mathematics or related discipline, evidence of excellence in undergraduate teaching, and potential for quality scholarship. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, descriptions of teaching philosophy and research plans, copies of graduate transcripts, a one-page description of specific ways in which the applicant could contribute to the Honors College environment, AMS cover sheet and three letters of reference (at least one of which addresses teaching) to:
Chair, Math Search (#268830)
Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University
5353 Parkside Drive
Jupiter, FL 33458Please indicate whether you will attend the Joint Meetings in Phoenix -- the college will have representatives there. Materials received by December 6, 2003, will receive full consideration. The Honors College is committed to diversity in its faculty and student body. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Florida Atlantic University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Institution.
Valencia Community College
Valencia Community College will be advertising for several tenure-track mathematics professor positions beginning either late December 2003 or early January 2004. For more information, please visit http://www.valencia.cc.fl.us/jobs/.
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