Musical Chairs
by Ken Luther
What
a difference a month makes! The writing
had been on the wall for a while now in terms of the likelihood of me
succeeding Rick Gillman as Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer
Science. Starting next year, I had
assumed. Fall 2012. And then one day in mid-July, Rick strolled
into my office and announced that he had news for me. And then as of August 1, he was Associate
Provost for Faculty Affairs, and I was appointed Chair of the department. more...
A Transition in Research
by Mindy Capaldi
Last year I completed my first year here
at VU as a visiting professor. During
that time, I worked on revising and submitting a paper on algebraic topology
that included topics from my dissertation. This year I have transitioned to a
tenure-track position while also moving into the field of mathematics education research. During this
hiatus from topology research I hope to analyze the language and content of
abstract algebra textbooks, investigate methods of teaching proofs, and delve
into the pedagogy of inquiry-based
learning (IBL). more...
Introducing New Faculty Member
by David Chapman
I am thankful for the opportunity to
return to the Midwest and serve as a visiting professor at Valparaiso
University. The last 5 years I spent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, completing my
Ph.D. in pure math at LSU.
I completed my undergraduate work at Iowa State University (my family is from Eastern Iowa) where I marched in the Cyclone marching band. Following college, I taught in public schools including teaching high school algebra and geometry in the inner city of Chicago. I then received my master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and was privileged to complete my thesis under Dr. Mario Somodi. I received my Ph.D. under Dr. Robert Perlis, who was Dr. Somodi’s former advisor. more...
Introducing New Faculty Member
by Hui Gong
My name is Hui (Hugh) Gong and I am a new assistant professor at the Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science. I obtained my PhD in Statistics at Temple
University in August 2010. I also have a Master of Applied Statistics from
Villanova University in 2004. From December 2009 to August 2011, I worked as a
Statistician in a consulting company in Maryland. So I have very good sense of
business rules and of handling actual data analysis. My research mainly focuses
on modeling volatility and its application in financial areas. I expect to stay
on this field and look forward to collaborating with faculty from the other
departments.
Over the past few years the primary responsibility for the administration of the Information Technology Management (ITM) Program has migrated from the Information Technology department to our department. With Rick Gillman moving to the Provost’s office, Zsuszsanna Szaniszlo, who recently returned from her two year appointment as director of the Reutlingen Study Center in Germany, is now the director of the ITM program. There are some notable alumni involved in the program. Adam Stradtner and Tara (Mork) Teeple are students and Brian Sokol, who graduated from our Master of Engineering Management program, teaches in ITM.
Introducing New Faculty Member
by Kelly Jabbusch
I'm
Kelly Jabbusch and for the next year I have joined the department as a
Visiting Assistant Professor. I grew up in Seattle, Washington, and
attended Willamette University in Salem,
Oregon where I earned a Bachelor's degree in mathematics and German. I
returned to Seattle to attend graduate school at the University of
Washington, and
received my PhD in mathematics in
June 2007. Just three weeks after
defending my thesis, and even before the
official graduation, my husband, Chris and I packed up all our
belongings, put most into storage and moved
the rest with us to Cologne, Germany, where I began a post-doc at the
University of Cologne. The idea was
to be there for two years and then return to the United States, but we
didn't quite follow the plan. more...
IMMERSE Program Summer 2011
by Daniel Maxin
I spent two
months this summer as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln. I was one of two Early Career Faculty selected to
participate in the IMMERSE program which stands for: Intensive Mathematics:a
Mentoring, Education and Research Summer Experience. http://www.math.unl.edu/programs/mctp/immerse/
This program is the
centerpiece of the NSF grant MCTP (Nebraska Mentoring through Critical
Transition Points). more...
Counting All Summer Long
by Lara Pudwell
As you read this year’s newsletter you’ll
hear about the varied things that department members did with their summer
vacations. For me, summer means lots of
extra time for research, and research means lots of counting.
This summer the department ran our fifth Valparaiso Experience in Research by Undergraduate Mathematicians (VERUM) program. The primary goal of VERUM is to give talented undergraduates exposure to conducting mathematics research. Students from schools all over the country apply to work on interesting problems and spend 9 weeks on campus working under the guidance of a Valpo faculty member. more...
2011 Awards Dinner
by Pat Sullivan
Our department awards dinner was held on April 18, 2011 in
the Harre Student Union. We enjoyed a delicious meal from the University’s
catering service and a rousing contest of Math Jeopardy. Several students were
recognized for their achievements.