1999 K-State Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics
Lectures by thirteen alumni were the highlight of the 1999 Undergraduate Lecture Series in Mathematics at Kansas State University.Julie Ohmes, a 1995 Kansas State mathematics alumna, gave a talk entitled Biostatistics: The Application of Mathematics and Statistics to Biomedical Research in which she described the kinds of problems biostatisticians solve. Julie is working on a doctorate in biostatistics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Edwin Noyce, a 1957 Kansas State Mathematics alumnus, spoke on Rocket Engines to Silk Scarves, Fun and Games with Mathematics. Now retired, Edwin is enjoying the exploration of fractal imaging and the creation of exciting silk art pieces. Gary Gabrielson, 1968 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, discussed the origin, impact and influence of Mathematical Mosaics and Tessellations, as well as regular, non-regular and artistic forms of tessellations. Gary is working as a senior systems engineer for Raytheon Corporation in Colorado Springs. His career includes development of computer based training materials for satellite controllers and operational software for space environment models. Gan Xiao-Xiong, a 1992 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, described the essential role that Derivatives and Antiderivatives play in calculus. Dr. Gan is a professor of mathematics at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Richard Schelp, a 1970 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, described Doing Research with the Famous Paul Erdös over a Twenty Year Period. Dr. Schelp is a professor of mathematics at the University of Memphis. Mary Yorke, a 1957 Kansas State mathematics alumna, spoke about Paul Erdös, World's Most Eccentric Mathematician. She presented some of his contributions in mathematics and discussed some of the more colorful Erdös anecdotes. Mary is a professor of mathematics at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
Lynn Y. S. Lin, a 1963 Kansas State statistics alumnus, spoke on Modeling Consumer Purchase Behavior and New Product Sales Forecasting and described the math behind simulated test marketing. Dr. Lin is Vice Chairman of ACNielsen BASES-Global Marketing in Covington, Kentucky. Barbara Heiman, a 1981 Kansas State mathematics alumna, described How Radar Works and the Math Used in Radar Signal Processing, including avoiding unwanted detections and detecting in a jamming environment. Dr. Heiman is a mathematician working for Raytheon Corporation in Tucson, Arizona.
Donald Brining, a 1969 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, gave a talk entitled Getting to the Top is More than just Being the Best Mathematician. He described ten factors necessary for success in both business and technical fields. Donald served from 1969 to 1989 in the United States Air Force as a computer systems analyst, Director of Systems Technology, Director of Information Systems Engineering and Commander of a Communications Squadron. He now is the County Administrator for Saint Lawrence county in New York.
Ronald Dutton, a 1963 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, delineated many Connections between Mathematics, Computer Science, Sports, Classical Children's Literature and Religion. He described a problem considered by Lewis Carroll: How many matches must be played in a tournament in order to determine the second best player? Dr. Dutton is the Associate Director of the School of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Bernd Schröder, a 1992 Kansas State alumnus, presented some Constraint Satisfaction Problems in Computer Science. Dr. Schröder is a professor of mathematics at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. Kerrith Chapman, a 1980 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, discussed Liouville Numbers. Dr. Chapman is a professor of mathematics at the State University of New York in Potsdam. Alexander Katsevich, a 1994 Kansas State mathematics alumnus, gave a talk entitled Computed Tomography and Mathematics. He showed how medical applications of tomography lead to some very interesting mathematical problems. Dr. Katsevich is a professor of mathematics at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.