1996 Certificate of Meritorious Service
Donald Bushaw, Washington State University

The third sectional Certificate for Meritorious Service was presented at the January 1996 meeting in Orlando, Florida, to Donald W. Bushaw of Washington State University.

Citation

Professor Donald W. Bushaw attended public schools in Bremerton, Washington, graduating from high school in 1943. His undergraduate studies were done at the State College of Washington (now Washington State University). He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1952. His dissertation, under the direction of Solomon Lefschetz, was a pioneering study which opened up the new mathematical discipline of control theory. He returned to Washington State University in 1952, starting as an instructor and steadily climbing the academic ladder to the rank of full professor in 1962. He has taught a wide variety of mathematics courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, but his interests are not limited to mathematics. He taught a course in Eastern Civilization for the Honors Program at Washington State University and participated in graduate seminars in English and Foreign Languages. He has used his extraordinary linguistic abilities to translate a number of books and research articles in a variety of languages, including Russian and Chinese.

Don has contributed in many ways to the MAA and the mathematics community, serving as a Visiting Lecturer, to both colleges and high schools, and on numerous committees and panels on curricular reform at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. From 1970 to 1973, he was a member of the MAA’s Board of Governors and was nominated three times for the presidency of the Association. He served on the Board of Editors for The College Mathematics Journal, has been a consultant to many colleges and universities, and has been a member of accreditation teams for as many as five institutions. Don has contributed extensively as a referee and reviewer of books, articles and grant proposals. In 1987 he was named honorary member of the Polish Mathematical Society, and later led a delegation on University Mathematics Education to China.

Professor Bushaw is widely recognized as an exceptionally gifted writer and speaker. Among his writings are research papers on control theory, differential equations, topology, and mathematical economics as well as many papers dealing with mathematics education, the history of mathematics and mathematical biographies.

The Pacific Northwest Section is honored to recognize Professor Bushaw with the MAA Certificate for Meritorious Service.

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