Mathematics Faculty
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Allen, Richard |
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| A native New Englander, Rich graduated from Boston College and received his Ph.D. from Indiana University. During 1984-86 he worked on an intelligent geometry tutor in the artificial intelligence research group at IRISA in Rennes, France. His professional interests subsequently expanded to include use of computer geometry systems in schools both in this country and in France. During 1991-92 and again during 1998-99, he returned to France, to IMAG in Grenoble, to continues his research collaboration on intelligent geometry systems and to participate in interdisciplinary research on the cognitive effects of the use of such systems. His interests have further evolved to include the geometry of Islamic patterns and bioinformatics.His wife, Wendy, is professor of French at St. Olaf. His son, Joshua, and his daughter, Sarah, both graduated from another Northfield college. Rich and Wendy led the Term in the Middle East in 2001-02 and the Global Semester in 2005-06 and again in 2008-09. | |||||||||
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Berliner, Adam |
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| Adam may be new to St. Olaf this year but he is no stranger to Northfield, having earned his B.A. from Carleton College in 2002. After seven cheese curd-filled years, Adam earned his Ph.D. in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Adam's mathematical interests are in matrix theory and graph theory (particularly, the interplay between the two subjects) and issues in undergraduate mathematics education. Despite his tenure in Wisconsin, Adam remains an avid Twins and Vikings Fan. In his "spare" time, Adam enjoys tennis, swimming, cooking & baking, and watching reality television. | |||||||||
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Bolstad, Peder |
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| Peder has taught various combinations of math, music, education, art, physical education, guidance and social science in elementary, secondary, and college settings in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. He has math (1974) and vocal music (1979) majors from St. Olaf and an M.Sc. in discrete mathematics from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. (If you're interested in the Oberwolfach Problem, give Peder a shout.) In addition to teaching calculus and "math for poets," Peder is the Analytical Skills Coordinator in the Academic Support Center which affords him the opportunity to talk with students about studying and with student tutors about teaching. He is an avid (sometimes professional) choral singer who has sung with major choirs and orchestras in Sydney, Adelaide, Vancouver, Duluth, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. His few spare moments are filled with photography, S.C.U.B.A. diving, and tennis. | |||||||||
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Dietz, Jill |
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| Jill earned her B.A. in mathematics from Brandeis University in 1986, and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1991. After graduating, she spent four years at the University of Washington in Seattle and one year at Gettysburg College, then finally returned to her Minnesota roots. Her main mathematical interests are in algebra, algebraic topology, and convincing undergraduates to do research in these and other areas. Jill is an avid vegetarian (since 1987) who enjoys cooking, camping and hiking, throwing pots in her Dad's studio, and crossword puzzles. | |||||||||
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Garrett, Kristina |
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| After earning her S.B. in mathematics from M.I.T. in 1994, Tina spent two years playing amateur rugby and building a non-profit Minneapolis youth center from the ground up. Returning to graduate school at the University of Minnesota, she studied combinatorics and group theory, earning her PhD in 2001. Tina spent four years teaching at Carleton College before coming to St. Olaf. Her main mathematical interests are in enumerative combinatorics (partition theory, basic hypergeometric series and special functions), computational combinatorics, and in encouraging students to participate in undergraduate research. Tina is also an avid racquetball player and rarely misses a Vikings game on television. | |||||||||
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Hanson, Bruce |
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| Bruce Hanson grew up in Duluth, attended St. Olaf College and got his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1982, the same year that he began teaching at St. Olaf. His research interests include quasiconformal mappings and analysis on metric spaces. He has spent sabbaticals in Sweden and Finland, giving him a chance to engage in his passion for learning foreign languages. Bruce has four sons: Shane, Anders, Mats and Leif and in his spare time he loves to sing, play guitar, ride his road bike and watch his sons compete in various sporting events. | |||||||||
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Humke, Paul |
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| Paul came to St. Olaf n years ago as a Visiting Associate Professor, and found he couldn't leave. His 1972 Ph.D. is from the University of Wisconsin and he continues an active research career in real analysis. He also serves as the North American Director of the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program, and is a managing editor for the research journal, Real Analysis Exchange. He, his wife, Bonnie, and three children, Kristi, Eric, and Peter, enjoy classical music and are active outdoor people. Kristi has two children and is a pastor. Eric is in the M.D.--Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan, and Peter attends Vanderbilt University. (2003) | |||||||||
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Matsuura, Ryota |
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| Ryota earned his S.B. in mathematics with computer science from M.I.T. in 1997, his M.A.T. in mathematics education from Boston University School of Education in 2000, and his Ph.D. in mathematics (algebraic number theory) from BU in 2008. In between, he spent two years working as a software engineer and three years as a high school math teacher in the Boston area. His mathematics education interests include mathematical habits of mind, preparation of pre-service teachers, and professional development for in-service teachers. In his spare time, Ryota enjoys spending time with his wife Sarah and their daughter Elizabeth. | |||||||||
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McKelvey, Steven |
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| Steve is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Grinnell College. He completed his Ph.D. at Brown University in operations research---more specifically, in the field of network equilibria. In addition to work in large-scale network equilibria, Steve is involved with the mathematical modeling of biological systems, primarily population levels of endangered species. Before coming to St. Olaf in 1985, he held summer positions with the Washington, D.C. headquarters of NASA and the Internal Revenue Service. He has also spent three summers working as an actuarial trainee. Between college and graduate school, Steve spent a year working with the Illinois Bureau of the Budget as a systems analyst. Steve was recently elected to the position of President of the Resource Modeling Association (RMA), an interdisciplinary, international professional organization using quantitative tools to better manage natural resources of all types. Steve's leisure time is spent canoeing, hiking, skiing, folk dancing, and supporting progressive politics. | |||||||||
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Richey, Matt |
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| Matt is originally from Kentucky and received his B.A. from Kenyon College and his Ph.D. from Dartmouth. He came to St. Olaf in 1986 and has been here ever since. His areas of research are Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Computing, and Bayesian Computational Statistics. In addition, Matt has been designed and implemented software for industry and is a consultant to the college's efforts to redesign the student information system. In his spare time (the little that remains) Matt enjoys running, listening to music, and cooking. He is also involved in a life-long effort to correct the commonly held belief that the sacrifice bunt in baseball is a an effective strategic ploy. So far, he has failed. | |||||||||
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Roback, Paul |
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| Paul is an applied statistician, having attacked problems ranging from clinical trials in panic disorder to population models for bowhead whales to indicators of welfare recidivism to the effects of forest fragmentation on birds. He returns to The Hill after a long hiatus; after graduating from St. Olaf in 1989 with majors in mathematics and economics, Paul earned an M.S. in statistics from Iowa State, worked as a clinical statistician for Eli Lilly, earned a Ph.D. in statistics from Colorado State, and taught for several years at both Bucknell and Connecticut College. In addition to applied statistical consulting, Paul's research interests include Bayesian statistics, nonparametric methods, and statistical education. Paul and his wife Karen have three young children--Samantha, Timothy, and Sophie--who keep his office decorated with fine artwork. Outside of his office, Paul can often be found on some athletic court or field, playing basketball, tennis, soccer, and maybe even broomball. Or, he can be found putting his statistical knowledge to good use--attempting to win the coveted Joe Boe Trophy in the Boe Fantasy Football League. (2004) | |||||||||
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Smith, Kay |
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| Kay Smith received her B.S. from Bucknell University and her Ph.D. from Yale University. Before coming to Saint Olaf in 1980, she taught at Davidson College. Her primary mathematical interests are logic and the mathematics of games. She is married to Arnold Ostebee, another member of the department. When not on campus, she spends most of her time with their children, Kristin and Paul, learning about adolescent development. She also enjoys classical music and baking, particularly anything with chocolate in it. (2003) | |||||||||
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Wallace, Martha |
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| A 1975 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Olaf, Martha earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota. She spent several years teaching secondary school mathematics before she returned to her alma mater. Now she is in charge of the mathematics education program at St. Olaf, and in the summers teaches mathematics to school mathematics teachers. She is active in state and national mathematics education leadership programs. She and her husband, LuVerne, recently retired as an engineer at a local industry, spend their spare time running a crop farm, doing volunteer work for their church, and watching their grown children and their grandchildren play in orchestra and jazz concerts. Their daughters Jennifer and Alison and their husbands are all educators (three of the four are science graduates of St. Olaf). Son Nate, who majored in political science at St. Olaf, served in the Army Special Forces and is now in the National Guards. (2009) | |||||||||
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Woo, Alex |
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| Alex Woo joins us this year from a postdoc at the University of California -- Davis. No stranger to liberal arts education, Alex was an undergraduate at Williams College, then earned his PhD from the University of California –Berkeley. His research interests are in the fields of algebraic geometry and algebraic combinatorics. | |||||||||
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Paul Zorn |
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| Paul's life began in southern India, near the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean. He was educated through high school at Kodaikanal International School, high in the cool, green Palni Hills of Tamil Nadu. He was an undergraduate at Washington University in St.Louis, majoring in mathematics and English literature. He did his Ph.D., in several complex variables, at the University of Washington, Seattle, and came to St. Olaf in 1981. His professional interests include complex analysis, mathematical exposition, and textbook writing. During 1995-2000 he was editor of Mathematics Magazine. Paul and his wife, Janet, a pediatric occupational therapist, have two daughters. Both are named for Austen heroines, and both graduated from (other) liberal arts colleges. | |||||||||