2002 K-State Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics
Lectures by two visiting mathematicians, six alumni, a visiting finance professor, an actuary, and two of our faculty were the highlights of the 2002 Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics at Kansas State University.Edward Burger, a distinguished mathematician from Williams College, visited Kansas State and gave a mini-course on Exploring p-adic numbers. Professor Burger was named the 2001-2002 George Polya Lecturer by the MAA and was the recipient of the 2001 MAA Doborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. He is the author of The Heart of Mathematics: An invitation to effective thinking (1999), for which he was awarded the 2001 Robert W. Hamilton Book Award, as well as Exploring the Number Jungle: A Journey into Diophantine Analysis (2000). He is an Associate Editor of The American Mathematical Monthly, and he is a contributing writer, reviewer, and referee for a variety of publications. Josefina Alvarez, a distinguished mathematician from New Mexico State University, visited Kansas State and gave a lecture on The life of Lolina. Roger Bey, Chairman of the Department of Finance and Operations Management at the University of Tulsa, visited Kansas State and gave a lecture on Careers and graduate studies for math majors. These lectures were well received, attracting visitors from Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita.
Bob Cell, classes of '48 and '50, gave a talk entitled Simpson's paradox in the business world in which he presented examples and the statistical concepts behind paradoxes involving weighted averages. Bob worked for General Electric in plutonium manufacture, for Bendix in atomic weapons manufacture, and for the University of Texas at Edinburgh as a professor of statistics. Since retirment the Cells have traveled on cruise ships giving lectures on the game of bridge.
Gary Clark, class of '67, spoke about Patriotism and citizenship: A mathematician's perspective. He asserted that the war on terror will be a defining moment in the history of the republic and discussed the subject from a mathematician's point of view forged from nearly four decades of experience. Gary is a retired colonel from the United States Air Force. He currently is civil service director for the city of Lakeland.
Gary Gabrielson, class of '68, told how to determine What day is it anyway? He gave a variety of ways in which days are calculated in data processing based on his experience working with calculations in space environmental operational software. Gary is a senior systems engineer at Raytheon Corporation in Colorado Springs. His career includes development of computer based training materials for satellite controllers and operational software for space environment models.
Shanalyn Kemme (Kiger), classes of '84 and '85, gave a presentation entitled Fourier transforms illuminated. She showed how a Fourier transform is an indispensible tool for an optical scientist as it allows calculations to be easily performed in one domain that might be extremely messy in another. Shanalyn is a photonics researcher for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mark Lesperance, classes of '90 and '91, gave A delicious introduction to auto rates. He led the students in an auto ratings game which illustrated the problems actuaries face in setting auto insurance rates. Mark is a Casualty Actuary working for Farm Bureau Insurance in Manhattan.
Bill Townsley, class of '67, spoke on Numbers flying everywhere! He related how his ability to manipulate numbers proved valuable during his career in the United States Air Force including when he served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. Now in retirement, Bill substitutes teaches for York County schools in Virginia, and he is President of the American Independence Foundation.
Professor Lev Kapitanski spoke on Undergraduate Research in Applied Math, and Professor Marianne Korten spoke on How to succeed in mathematics.