Cached copy here: Applied Mathematics Department News University of Colorado at Boulder Fall 2003 From the Chair Over the past year I, with several other faculty members, have been working on the department’s seven-year strategic plan. What I learned, in fact reminded myself of, was that the department has excellent students and a superb faculty. The main conclusions of the review were that the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado teaches its students well, has cutting edge research, and has been effectively meeting its duties and responsibilities at all levels. As Chair, I am very pleased. Because of several strategic initiatives, in Mathematical Biology, Computational Science and Engineering, and Statistics and Probability, we are planning for growth. We plan to strengthen our interdepartmental ties to related disciplines. And along with these efforts, we intend to maintain our cutting edge computer laboratories. However, and possibly most importantly, the department plans to continue to involve undergraduates in research projects and its teaching mission. Students are our greatest product and both our undergraduates and graduates are truly among the most outstanding in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the University. As you may expect, we are working with the University to create opportunities for growth in the areas of strategic importance, by adding faculty lines, and providing infrastructure support. We are also pursuing funding from federal and state granting agencies to help meet our goals for student funding and involvement. In addition, we are appealing to you, our alumni and friends, to play a role in accomplishing our vision and objectives. On the back page of this newsletter is a coupon that you may use to make a tax-deductible contribution to the department. Money raised in this year’s fund drive will be used for funding department specific undergraduate scholarships and research projects, graduate fellowships, visits for seminar and colloquium speakers, and general departmental support. Please feel free to contact me about the use of your gift to the department. Because we value your perspective, we encourage you to get involved, not only through giving, but also by helping us to see ourselves more clearly. Sincerely, Jim Curry Chair and J. R. Woodhull/Logicon Teaching Professor of Applied Mathematics Curry@colorado.edu 303-492-6901 From The Editor As I am sure many of you noticed, the departmental newsletter took a sabbatical during 2002. We are pleased to present this latest edition, and hope to produce yearly notes in the future. The past two years have been extremely busy (when hasn't that been true?!) in terms of research, teaching and personnel changes. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs have grown. We now have nearly 80 majors and 50 minors! Enrollment in upper division and graduate courses are at unprecedented levels for our department--a result of the increasing need for mathematically trained scientists and engineers. (More math is better!) We also have 73 graduate students who are working towards either the MS or the PhD degree. As you can see from our alumni news section, the applied math degree leads to many career directions. Our faculty have continued their high level of teaching and research, and have numerous collaborations and publications. In addition, we have several projects within the department that may be of interest: “Students are our greatest product and both our undergraduates and graduates are truly among the most outstanding…” --Jim Curry Applied Mathematics Department News 2 VIGRE research: Last year, the department's VIGRE grant supported 21 undergraduates, 12 graduates and four post-docs. The research projects ranged from image analysis to numerical methods to statistics. The NSF-funded VIGRE grant has fundamentally changed our approach to research. CU/Dillard collaboration: In 2002, the Carnegie Foundation funded collaboration between CU and Dillard University in New Orleans with the goal of revitalizing several core, liberal arts classes in a technological age. For Applied Math, this has meant working with faculty at Dillard on several computer modules for calculus. The goal is to use the visual and dynamic capabilities of the computer to enhance conceptual understanding. We are also working on increasing contacts between students in the two departments. Dillard is a private, historically black university that encourages its students to seek admission to graduate programs. Several of the Dillard students have already participated in summer research projects at CU in other disciplines--and we hope this will continue and expand to applied math. Outreach: The department’s outreach efforts are an extension of its mission to provide education and training in applied mathematics and a response to the needs of the educational community. For the past four summers, we have invited secondary teachers to participate in two-week workshops in calculus, probability and statistics, discrete math and algebra. We hope that the participants from these, and other outreach efforts, enjoy the focused time thinking about mathematics. As always, we look forward to hearing from our graduates, both recent and not so recent. If you’d like to provide up-to-date information about your whereabouts, you can do so online at http://amath.colorado.edu/alumni, or by calling Laurie Conway at 303-492-1238. Best wishes to you all, Anne Dougherty, Editor P.S. Thank you to Robyn Sandekian, our temporary Outreach Coordinator, without whose hard work this newsletter would still be on sabbatical! And, welcome to Marissa Contreras who works in the main office as the Faculty Coordinator and Accounting Tech. Mathematical Contest in Modeling 2002/2003 In each of the past two years, a team of CU- Boulder undergraduates was named an Outstanding Winner in the prestigious Mathematical Contest in Modeling sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications. This is the highest designation possible and we are extremely proud of our students. In 2003, the team consisting of Applied Math majors Darin Gillis and Aaron Windfield, along with Electrical Engineering major (and Applied Math minor) David Lindstone, was one of only 16 Outstanding Winners among 638 teams from nine countries. The team selected a problem about cancer treatment because they “thought it would be rewarding to choose a problem that seemed sophisticated and thought provoking." Their paper was also selected as the SIAM Award winner. As part of this designation, the team traveled to the 2003 SIAM meeting in Montreal to give a presentation on their solution and they each received a cash award. Plus, their solution paper was published in the UMAP Journal (Fall 2003). Congratulations are also due to Moorea Brega, Alejandro Cantarero and Corry Lee (all Applied Math majors) who received a Meritorious designation on one problem and Joe Carrafa (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Kimi Kano (Mechanical Engineering) and Ian Derrington (Applied Math) who received an Honorable Mention on another problem. Both problems were quite challenging and involved practical applications of mathematics and computing. One involved finding an optimal strategy for treating brain cancer using gamma knife radiosurgery. The other treated issues regarding purchase and optimal placement of baggage screening machines at airports. In 2002, the paper submitted by the team consisting of Saverio Spagnolie, Stefan Wild and Kevin Leder (all Applied Math majors) was designated as one of the six Outstanding Papers for Problem B. The problem they worked on involved building a mathematical model that examines the effects that different overbooking schemes have on airline revenue with the goal of identifying an optimal More information about these, and other departmental activities can be found at http://amath.colorado.edu/. Applied Mathematics Department News 3 strategy. Their solution paper was published in the Fall 2002 issue of the UMAP Journal. Three additional teams also participated: Darin Gillis, Geoff Goehle and Aaron Windefield (all Applied Math majors); Moorea Brega and Alejandro Cantarero (Applied Math); and James Barron (Math and Physics double major), Jill Kamienski (Computer Science) and Olivia Koski (Physics). Each of these three teams worked on a mathematical model to control the water spray from a fountain based on wind speed and direction. All three teams received a “Meritorious” designation--the second highest rating! It is very unusual that all of our teams would be rated so highly. We have had absolutely outstanding groups of students participate in the modeling contest. Congratulations to all of them! For those who don’t know much about the MCM, here’s a primer: Necessary Materials for Success in the MCM * 1 Computer Scientist type * 1 Analytic Mathematician type * 1 Math-English hybrid type * Unlimited checkout permission from library * 8 computers running MATLAB simulations * Empty conference room with alarm clock * 1 sleeping bag per team member * Variety of take-out menus The intense four-day ordeal known as the MCM begins with fresh optimism and lofty goals. The contest ends with frantic writing inspired by little rest and nervous energy. Everything in between is, well, something that one has to experience firsthand. The key to victory is a solid, balanced team. One person takes the reins on research, always looking for that one paper that will give the team an "edge" that will impress the judges. Another person must slave over the computer, creating and running the simulations that will become the central topic of the paper. The third member has the difficult task of producing a clear and concise paper that will be accessible to all. By working in parallel, the team can optimize the use of its time; but in the end, each person must contribute to find that one creative thing to add to the paper that makes it unique. On Day 1, we began to research the problem-- reading countless journals and publications until we had found the paper that yielded "grassfire": the algorithm that became the basis for our first model. Day 2 consisted of coding the first model and dreaming up new ideas for more complicated models. (Note that there is no quality sleep to be had between days 1, 2, 3 and 4-- except for what can be gained in a sleeping bag in the nearest conference room.) Day 3 and Day 4 consist of refining the models, finishing up the code, and crystallizing our thoughts in the paper. The last day is the crucial period--we ran the final simulations (on at least eight computers) and revised and reorganized the paper (at least 10 times). We spent the last hour writing the abstract as a group, on a blackboard. By the time the whole paper came together (five minutes prior to the 6pm deadline), the great feeling of satisfaction motivated us down the hallway to the copy room, where the paper was submitted. We were lucky enough to have the right ingredients to attract the SIAM prize, and are very grateful that our hard work was rewarded. And yes, it was definitely worth it. —Aaron Windfield, Darin Gillis, and David Lindstone. Editor’s Note: The international contest in modeling is sponsored by COMAP (The Consortium for Mathematics and its Application). Approximately 630 teams representing institutions from around the world participated in each of the 2002 and 2003 contests. The categories of papers were: Outstanding Winners (top 2-3%,), Meritorious Winners (next 14-17%), Honorable Mention (next 23-33%), and Successful Participant (remaining 50-58%). Contest problems and prior years’ results are available by going to the “Previous Contests” section of the MCM website http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/. “Note that there is no quality sleep to be had…except for what can be gained in a sleeping bag in the nearest conference room.” “The key to victory is a solid, balanced team...including: 1 Computer Scientist 1 Analytic Mathematician 1 Math-English hybrid” Applied Mathematics Department News 4 Student Activities and Awards Jocelyn Renner was selected as the May 2003 Outstanding Graduate for the College of Engineering and Applied Science and was awarded the Silver Medal by the Colorado Engineering Council. The outstanding graduate award is given to a graduating senior in recognition of achievements in academics and service, and the CEC Silver Medal is awarded to a single engineering student in recognition of overall achievement. Jocelyn was a double major in Applied Math and Russian Studies and was the President of the undergraduate SIAM chapter. She worked on a VIGRE- sponsored research project with Professor Keith Julien. She was also a volunteer with several off- campus organizations. Jocelyn is currently continuing her education at Northwestern University. Congratulations! Corry L. Lee was named a 2003 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The Goldwater scholarship is a prestigious national competition for undergraduates in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering. The scholarship funds up to $7,500 per year for approximately 300 sophomores and juniors from across the country to complete their undergraduate degrees. Corry is a double major in Applied Mathematics and Engineering Physics. She has conducted undergraduate research in particle physics, both through the Physics department at CU-Boulder and at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. She is writing an honors thesis in particle physics and contributing to a research paper in Applied Mathematics. This year's Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,093 students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. Saverio Spagnolie received a 2002-2003 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. There were over 2000 applicants for this prestigious fellowship. He is currently a PhD student at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Mary Kindel Van der Heijde graduated “with high distinction” (cumulative GPA must be at least 3.90) in May 2002 and was selected by the department as the Outstanding Senior for Service. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, who prefers to be called “JHK,” also graduated “with high distinction” in May 2002 and was selected by the College of Engineering as Outstanding Graduate in Research. (This was a joint award with Mariah Mason of Chemical Engineering.) As a member of the University of Colorado at Boulder cycling team he earned four straight collegiate national cross-country championship titles. Since graduating, Jeremy has been collecting professional mountain biking championships! In August 2003 he earned the NORBA Men’s Cross Country and Short Track Cross Country National Championships by placing third in the series’ final event at the USA Championships in Durango, CO. He placed second in the race for the NORBA Overall Points Championship. Jeremy’s next goal is to earn a spot on the 2004 Olympic cycling team! Faculty Happenings Two faculty members have retired, or shall we say, received a promotion to emeritus status. Jerrold Bebernes retired in May 2002. He grew up in Cotesfield Nebraska, population 134. Cotesfield couldn’t quite contain his active mind so he migrated to the University of Nebraska where he received his PhD under the direction of Lloyd Jackson. Jerry came to CU in the fall of 1962 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics (which merged with Mathematics in 1966, and later separated as the Program in Applied Mathematics). He served as Associate Chair of the Mathematics department under Stan Ulam from 1966 to 1968. Jerry “learned chairmanship in a hurry,” because Ulam, although a genius, wasn’t interested in the day-to-day running of a Jocelyn at the graduation party JHK in action Applied Mathematics Department News 5 department. At that time Jerry founded the joint Applied Mathematics/Mathematics Kempner Colloquium. He later served as Chair from 1976 to 1978. His research included boundary value problems, and later, ignition equations from combustion theory. You could say his research was explosive! Jerry was recently awarded a Research Professorship by the Italian government at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy. He and his wife Sharleen will visit there over the next several years. Way to go Jerry! Bring us all back some wine and stories. John Williamson retired in December 2002. John came to the University of Colorado in 1967, as Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics. He became Professor of Mathematics in 1979, and joined the Program in Applied Mathematics in 1991. He was our department’s only probabilist for some years, and he helped to set up the (still growing) research group in statistics/probability. During John’s long and interesting career, he taught high school in Minnesota, and he also taught in Zambia (1956- 57), England (1972-73), Italy (1979-80), and France (1989-90). Many of us lucky enough to have worked with John were inspired by his impressive example. We wish him and Valerie well in their richly deserved retirements. The group in statistics/probability that John helped to form added a new member in 2002-03: Philippe Naveau became Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics in August 2002. Philippe’s expertise is in extreme value theory (i.e., the statistics of rare events). Our other faculty members in statistics/probability are Jem Corcoran and Anne Dougherty. As this research group has grown, student demand for courses in statistics has grown even faster, so we have been consistently short-handed in this area. We hope to hire a senior statistician to lead this group as soon as budget constraints permit. Meredith Betterton, who uses mathematical models to study processes in molecular biology, joined the department as Assistant Professor in January 2003. Her arrival fits nicely with the department’s new graduate program in Mathematical Biology, jointly administered by APPM and MCDB (Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology). It also augments a campus-wide initiative to develop more scientific expertise in modern biology. This is an exciting new area of applied mathematics, and we are happy that Meredith will represent us in it. Keith Julien, who first joined the department in 1997, was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2003. Keith uses numerical computation and analysis to study problems in geophysical or astrophysical fluid dynamics. These subjects have widespread interest in Boulder, and Keith worked as a scientist at JILA (Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics) and at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) before moving to our department. Congratulations, Keith! Jim Curry became Department Chair in July 2003. (Harvey Segur, the previous Chair, is thrilled!) Anne Dougherty will continue in her role as Associate Chair (and Jim is thrilled). Tom Manteuffel received a highly competitive 2003 IBM Faculty Award recognizing the quality of his program and its importance to the industry. Tom was President in 2002 and is currently Past- President of SIAM, an international organization of scientists and mathematicians with more than 9,000 members. Amy Biesterfeld and Adam Norris received Faculty Appreciation Awards from CU’s Multicultural Engineering Program. MEP students selected the two recipients, citing Amy and Adam’s personal commitment and dedication to teaching, especially in their calculus courses. The awards were presented at MEP’s annual banquet on April 19, 2002. Both Amy and Adam thought they were attending the banquet as Applied Math’s representatives – both were surprised to learn that they would receive this honor. Amy has since left the department to spend more time with her young and growing family. She and her husband Bryan are expecting another small addition to their family any day now! Jem Corcoran, Assistant Professor of Applied Math, won the gold medal in the “US Open” in karate at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas on January 4, 2003. Jem said it was a gamble–one that paid off! Jem is standing on the left Applied Mathematics Department News 6 Where Have Our Recent Graduates Gone? Luke Olsen (PhD 2003) accepted a VIGRE Post- Doctoral position at Brown University. Cristina Perez (PhD 2003) is conducting research at Columbia University. Kristian Sandberg (PhD 2003) is conducting research on the CU- Boulder campus with Applied Math Professor Greg Beylkin. Uli Schneider (PhD 2003) is a Geophysical Statistics Project Post-Doc conducting research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Grady Wright (PhD 2003) accepted a VIGRE Post-Doctoral position at the University of Utah- Salt Lake City. Stefan Wild (BS/MS 2003) is a PhD student in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering at Cornell University. Elizabeth Siewert (MS 2003) is conducting research with Meredith Betterton at CU-Boulder. Roberto Munoz Alicea (MS 2003) is an instructor at Metro State University in Denver. Ryan Girard (MS 2003) is working on his teaching certificate in math here at CU-Boulder. Darin Gillis (BS 2003) is working at National Instruments in Austin, TX. Edith Hand (BS 2003) works at Lockheed Martin. Kristine Henderson (BS 2003) is a Financial Analyst with Smith Breeden. Holly Lewis (BS 2003) is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering here at CU-Boulder. Joshua Lopez (BS 2003) is a Senior Programmer with the CU-Boulder Web Development Team. Joshua Nolting (BS 2003) is a Master’s student in our department’s graduate program. Eric Wright (PhD 2002) accepted an Assistant Professorship at the University of Akron, OH. Rian Bogle (MS 2002) works for the US Geological Survey (USGS), Earth Sciences Department, in Flagstaff, AZ. Eun Kim (MS 2002) is a PhD student in CU-Boulder’s Physics Department. Brian Krause (MS 2002) is a Research Engineer at Data Fusion Corporation. Alexander Villacorta (MS 2002) is pursuing a PhD at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Marya Hillesland (BS 2002) is a Legislative Assistant for the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC. Geoff Goehle (BS 2002) is pursuing a graduate degree at Portland State University. Curtis Higgins (BS 2002) is a student in CU- Boulder’s Physics Department. Deborah Hinck (BS 2002) works at Microsoft. Kevin Leder (BS 2002) is a graduate student in Mathematics at Brown University. Adam Thede (BS 2002) works at Lehmann Bros. Robert Thornton (BS 2002) is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech. Mary Van der Heidje (BS 2002) is an Actuarial Consultant for Milliman USA in Denver. Leslie Leininger (BS 2002) works at TRW. Congratulations also to 2003 BS recipients Derek Bendixen, Seungki Cho and Grant Macklem, and 2002 BS recipients Matthew Hayden, Anaa Mansouri, Nancy Mezo, Michael Ninomiya, Kenzi Parton, Benjamin Sukow, and Michael Walters. Grady Wright and his family celebrate after commencement 2003 MS grads Ryan Girard, Matt Carroll, Keith Wojciechowski, Matt Nabity, and David Beltran del Rio |