Week of June 30, 2008 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Department kicks off IMA's Linear Algebra and Applications today
Bryan Shader opened IMA's summer program with, "A graph is an object that describes relationships. A matrix is an array of number or symbols."
Thirty-seven participants representing 23 institutions are enrolled. Shader, professor of mathematics at the University of Wyoming, is one of four principal speakers for the four-week program. Joining him are Fritz Colonius from the University of Augsburg, Chi-Kwong Li of the College of William and Mary, and David S. Walkins from Washington State.
Peters helps author Regents transition guide
Evidence from several sources including Iowa’s Department of Education, the Regent Universities, and
the College Board, indicates that too many Iowa students struggle with the transition from high school to
university mathematics study. Transition difficulties affect decisions about courses, majors, and even careers.
The Regents Mathematics and Science Education Collaborative Initiative was charged by the Council of
Provosts to address this challenge. In turn, Initiative leaders assembled a team of high school and university
mathematics faculty to organize and conduct a Mathematics Transition Congress, and from it, to produce a
guide for successfully navigating the transition.
To respond to this need, during spring semester Justin Peters worked with a group of faculty from UNI and U of I to create a Math Transitions Guide designed to help high school students entering one of the Iowa Regents Universities know what to expect in and prepare for their first mathematics course. Peters said, "We hope that students can learn from the Guide, and that the sucess rate of entering freshmen in mathematics courses rises." The online guide can be accessed from the Department's home page.
Final Defenses
Jaemin Shin will give his PhD final defense on Wednesday, July 2 in 290 Carver Hall at 2:00 p.m. Major professor is Paul Sacks. “Inverse Scattering Problems for First-Order Systems”
Lana Lyddon-Hatten will give her MSM final defense on Thursday, July 3 in 290 Carver at 1:00 p.m. Major professors are Heather Thompson and Elgin Johnston. “Journey in the learning and teaching of mathematics by incorporating technology”
Jun Koo Park will give his MS final defense on Thursday, July 3 in Carver 204 at 1:10 p.m. Major professor is Zhijun Wu. “Normal mode analysis and Gaussian network model”
Conference room scheduling
The new departmental guide to scheduling the conference room is posted online now.
