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Congratulations to Kellie Forsythe on graduating with University Honors this spring.  Kellie was recognized at a special Honors Program Ceremony.  As part of the Honors Program, Kellie took honors interdisciplinary courses designed to show the overlap between various topics in the humanities, social sciences, art and science.  She also participated in a study abroad experience.  Kudos to Kellie on this fine accomplishment!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”  – Henry David Thoreau

With best wishes to our graduates from everyone in the Math Department.

The School of the Sciences celebrated our seniors at the annual May Celebration.  Food, awards, slide shows and presents made the event spectacular!  Congratulations to all of our May 2013 applied math, biology, biotechnology, chemistry and medical technology graduates!

This blog was written by Hassan Zaheer, Junior Math Major

Applied Mathematics employs numerical methods to solve problems in specialized situations. These specialized areas can be science, engineering, business or industry, to name a few. Thus, Applied Mathematics is a great field to pursue for those who not only have a strong aptitude for the fundamentals of Mathematics, but also an interest in any of its specialized areas. Below is a list of popular research topics in Applied Mathematics:

  • Acoustics: The study of mechanical waves in solids, liquids and gases
  • Bioelectrics: The use of stimuli generated through electrical means on biological systems
  • Computational biology: The use of mathematical modeling and computer simulations in biological sciences.
  • Finance: The use of mathematical techniques to manage risk, very trends and predict the future.
  • Image processing: A kind of signal processing in which the input is an image, while the output is either an image or a characteristic of the image.
  • Mathematical physics: Development of mathematical methods for application to problems in Physics.
  • Wireless networks: Computer networks that use wireless technology for network connections.

Apart from these, there are many other opportunities for research in Applied Mathematics, depending on the underlying problem and one’s chosen area of interest. These highlight the importance of Mathematics in solving real world problems.

Congratulations to applied math senior, Kellie Forsyth, on her induction to Who’s Who Among America’s Colleges and Universities this spring.  Kellie was chosen for this honor based on her academic success as well as her service to others.  She is pictured here with SU President, Dr. Kevin Manning.

Notwithstanding its usefulness to society, Mathematics can be intimidating as an academic discipline for many college students. This is not surprising: a recent study found out that Mathematics is one of the hardest college majors as measured by the average GPA of students. Mathematics is also not among the common choices when picking a college major. Whenever I tell someone that I am a math major, they are often impressed, surprised and then curious (often in the same order). Here are some of the many reasons I give them for choosing to major in Mathematics:

  • I enjoy working with numbers.
  • A degree in Mathematics helps hone one’s analytical and problem solving skills which can then be of great value in many other career paths.
  • Those who major in Mathematics can choose a variety of other academic disciplines in graduate school because of their superior quantitative skills.
  • Recent job surveys and reports show that those who have math-intensive careers are not only paid very well, but also have a high degree of job satisfaction.

I am always willing to attract more people to our department by providing information about the value of a degree in this awesome discipline and also by sharing my own experiences. I encourage my fellow students to contact me at hzaheer@stevenson.edu for any questions or comments.

Peter Hoblitzell was “pleasantly surprised” to see how much material he understands in precalculus this semester. “Mrs. Beemer is just awesome at explaining material.”  It should be noted that Peter was quick to assure everyone that a tie is not needed for Mrs. Beemer’s math class.  He wore it for a presentation in another course which took place right before this math course!

The Department extends warmest wishes to Mrs. Vallory Shearer on her upcoming retirement from fulltime teaching.  Mrs. Shearer is currently completing her 31st year at SU and has served the department in many ways, teaching both majors and nonmajors courses, developing and teaching many online math courses, and serving as department chair for several years. We thank Mrs. Shearer for her many years of service and wish her well as she moves on to parttime teaching of online courses in the fall.

Ally Koron (left) and Sherrie Wallace are having a great semester in MATH 125!  They can follow what goes on in class and find the review sessions particularly helpful.  They love having Mrs. Beemer as an instructor.

Math freshman, Chris Heeman, is having a great first year at SU.  He’s enjoyed his coursework and getting to meet many new people. This summer, he plans to work, vacation with his aunt, uncle and cousins at the beach, and enjoy the break from school.  He looks forward to new courses and new professors in the fall.

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