CST Department Newsletters

outstanding calculus teaching Mathematics

Mathematicians develop and employ models that can be applied to solve problems in the scientific world. CMU provides a solid foundation for students interested in specializing in mathematics or other fields. Courses develop logical thinking and quantitative abilities, and enable students to become analytical problem solvers. Learn more about the Department of Mathematics by visiting www.mth.cmich.edu

Fall 2008 Highlights

  • Professor Carl Lee was chosen as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association
  • Lisa DeMeyer, associate professor, is the recipient of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA)'s Michigan Section Award for Distinguished Teaching of College or University Mathematics. DeMeyer was recognized for her extraordinarily successful track record in teaching, having had influence in teaching beyond CMU, and for fostering her students' curiosity and excitement about mathematics. She will receive her award at the association's annual spring meeting. DeMeyer now becomes the MAA's Michigan Section nominee for the national MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching.
  • Chin-Yi Jean Chan (Ph.D., University of Utah), Kahadawala Cooray (Ph.D., University of Nevada, Las Vegas), Yeonhyang Kim (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin), and Brad Safnuk (Ph.D., University of California-Davis) have joined the department as new faculty members.
  • The doctoral program in mathematics began in 1994. Since 2000, 23 students have received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from CMU. Currently, there are 3 students in the Data Mining Certificate program, 17 students in the Master's program, and 31 students working towards a Ph.D. degree.

    In the past academic year alone, five students received their Ph.D. in mathematics:
    - Tariq Alraqad received his Ph.D. in May 2008 under the supervision of Dr. Mohan Shrikhande, and will teach at Northern State University in South Dakota this fall.
    - PalRamani Karthikeyan received her Ph.D. in May 2008 under the supervision of Dr. Sivaram Narayan, and will teach at Bradley University in Illinois this fall.
    - Shubiao Li received his Ph.D. in December 2007 under the supervision of Dr. Felix Famoye and Dr. Carl Lee. Li currently works at Comerica Bank in Detroit, Mich.
    - Soloman Osifodunrin received his Ph.D. in May 2008 under the supervision of Dr. Ken Smith, and will teach at Georgia Southern University this fall.
    - Animesh Sarker received his Ph.D. in May 2008 under the supervision of Dr. Sivaram Narayan, and will teach at the University of Windsor, Canada, this fall.
  • The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at CMU began in the summer of 2002, with the goal of stimulating talented undergraduates to learn new mathematics by working on challenging, unsolved research problems. Including the summer of 2008, the CMU NSF-REU program has worked with 81 students (39 men, 42 women), of which 56 have been supported by the NSF, 21 supported by CMU Summer Research Scholarships and funds from the Dean of the College of Science and Technology, and 4 international students supported by their own institutions. The 2008 participants were from Haverford College (PA), Harvey Mudd College (CA), Wartburg College (IA), CMU, University of California (Berkeley), University of Pittsburgh (PA), Purdue University (IN), University of Arizona, Hiram College (OH), and Harvard University (MA).
  • The CMU Long-term Undergraduate Research Experience (LURE) program supports teams of CMU students for up to two years to collaborate with mathematics faculty on undergraduate research. Through closely supervised research and independent study activities spanning two summers (10 weeks each) and two academic years, students experience all steps in a research project, from background reading to professional presentation of results. Including the summer of 2008, the CMU NSF-LURE program has worked with 12 students (2 men, 10 women). There were 10 participants in the summer of 2008. The department hosted the second annual LURE conference on July 28-29, 2008, where 65 participants from CMU and four other institutions attended.
  • 2008 Edward H. Whitmore and Richtmeyer-Foust Mathematics Award recipients:
    Richtmeyer-Foust Award: Amy DeLine
    Finalists: Brian Keinath, Jeremy Miller, Kathryn Pavel, Vicki Schaefer, Elise Waun
    Edward H. Whitmore Award: Sara Teasdle
    Finalists: Elizabeth Birtles, Rachel Feldpausch, Leslie Hacker, Chelsea Siegmund, Jeremy Webb
  • 2008 Mathematics Scholarship recipients:
    Jozefaciuk & Rutkowski Recipient: Karl Gregory
    Miller Recipient: Eileen Radzwion
    Richtmeyer Recipients: Stacey Blemaster, Pratik Chhetri, Amy DeLine, Sara Rimer, Amanda Smith, Rachael Tomasion, Elise Waun, Jennifer Wolfe, and Philip Zerull
    Serier Recipient: Anna Pascoe
    Whitmore Recipients: Katie Bailey, Sarah Keift, and Sarah Harubin