2003 K-State Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics
Lectures by a visiting mathematician, a visiting finance professor, ten alumni, an actuary, and two of our faculty and staff were the highlights of the 2003 Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics at Kansas State University.Bob Williams, a distinguished mathematician from the University of Texas at Austin, visited Kansas State and gave a mini-course on Knots, doughnuts, and chaos. Professor Williams described the various geometric shapes that may be found in the solutions to systems of differential equations. The funky geometry included torus knots, the Lorenz attractor, a double pendulum, and the Jones polynomial. 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.
Karl Simecka, class of '61, gave a presentation entitled Accreditation of models and simulations in which he described some accreditation projects for aircraft survivability and munitions effectiveness. He has worked as a technical consultant for Computer Sciences Corporation, as a technical director for the United States Air Force and as an operations research analyst for the Naval Weapons Center. Karl now works as a senior analyst for SURVICE Engineering Company. He was awarded 1999 elder of the year by the Las Vegas Indian Center for his assistance to the Indian community.
Daniela Mihai, class of '00, gave a talk entitled From cracking codes to black holes - the adventure of mathematics in which she presented some of the fundamental coding techniques and current black hole theories. Daniella is in the doctoral program at the University of Pittsburgh.
Brandon Grossardt, classes of '01 and '03, spoke on Survival and expectations after graduation. He described the route he took to get where he is and how mathematics and statistics are used in his work as a biostatistician at the Mayo Clinic.
Bruce Merrill, classes of '01 and '03, described A strategy for 3-D modeling challenges. He showed how mathematics was an indispensible tool for his research in mechanical engineering. Bruce is a professor at Tulsa Community College.
Bharath Narayanan, classes of '96 and '02, presented Mathematics for business decisions. He showed how to use computers to master mathematical concepts like compound interest, expected values, randon variables, and basic stock market analysis. Bharath is on the post-doctoral faculty at the University of Arizona.
Peter Pauzauskie, class of '02, gave a talk entitled Symmetry in crystallography and semiconductor nanotechnology in which he showed how group theory and symmetry operations could be applied to crystallography and semiconductor nanotechnology. Peter is in the doctoral program at the University of California at Berkeley.
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.
Trevor Fast, class of '02, and Ali Mohammad, class of '03, spoke on Putnam for dummies. They presented some of the fundamental problem solving techniques and exam strategies for the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Trevor is in the doctoral program at the University of Michigan, and Ali is in the doctoral program at MIT.
John Brand, classes of '68, '70, and '72, presented The Lanchester methodology. He described how Lanchester began quantitative attrition modeling with the aplication of differential equations to the analysis of combat power, and he outlined the mathematics behind the Lanchester methodology. John is a physicist working at the Army Research Lab.
Professor Marianne Korten spoke on How to be the best math student you can be, and Assistant Director Dorothy Evans spoke on The career fair, internships, and co-op work experiences.