The River Hawk Prime

Posted on 11 September, 2017 by Kenneth Levasseur

At first glance the 1680 digit number

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111999999911111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111999999999999999999999991111 111111111111111111111111111111119999999999 999999999999999999111111111111111111111111 111111111199999999995555555599999999991111 111111111111111111111111199999999999999555 555555559999999911111111111111111111111999 999999555555555555555555555559999999111111 111111111111199999955555555555555999995555 555555599999911111111111111199999955555555 555555555555599999555555559999911111111111 111999999999999995555555555555555599999555 555999991111111111199999999999999555555555 555555555555997995555599991111111111999999 999999995555555555555555555555597799555559 991111111119999999999999555555599955555555 599795591199999559991111111199991111999995 555999995555555555591179999111995559999111 111991111119999955999999955555555555991197 799999555599999111111111111199999999999995 555555555555599991119799559995999911111111 111199999999999955555555555555591191199991 919999999911111111111999999999999955999999 555555559191119111999999999911111111111999 999999999999999999995555712499999999999999 999911111111119999999199999999999999999955 555555555559999999999911111111119999911199 999999999999999999955555555999991119999111 111111199999111199991111111111999999999999 999999111119999111111111199911111999111111 111111111999999999999111111119991111111111 199111111911111111111111111111111111111111 111199911111111111991111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111199111111111111911111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

would not appear to be remarkable, other than in the preponderance of 1’s and 9’s that comprise its digits. However, there are two interesting observations about this number. First, it is prime. The only integers that divide evenly into it are 1 and itself. Second, if the digits are arranged in a rectangular fashion, 60 digits to a row, we see why it has been dubbed the “River Hawk Prime.”

Cho and Schille recognized for outstanding teaching

Posted on 2 May, 2017 by Kenneth Levasseur

The winners of the 2017 Teaching Excellence Awards in Mathematical Sciences are Min Hyung Cho and Theresa Schille.

Min Hyung Cho

Min Hyung Cho (Ph. D. UNC Charlotte 2005) is completing his second year at UML. He teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses. His research focuses on developing fast computational algorithms for wave scattering such as Maxwell’s equations and Helmholtz equation.

Theresa Schille

Theresa Schille (B. S. UMass Lowell, 1992, M. S. UMass Lowell 1994) is completing her sixth year as a Lecturer in the Mathematical Sciences. She has taught calculus and precalculus courses in the day, evening and industrial settings.

Congratulations to both Min Hyung and Theresa on this well-deserved honor!

Prof. Enrique González-Velasco completes work the definitive work on on John Napier

Posted on 6 April, 2017 by Kenneth Levasseur

Mathematical Science Professor Enrique González-Velasco recently completed a book on the life and works of 16th-17th century Scottish mathematician John Napier. The Life and Works of John Napier, co-authored with a descendant of Napier and an authority on Napier’s life, Prof. González-Velasco has made all of Napier’s mathematical works available in English for the first time.

From the the publisher’s description:

The Life and Works of John Napier, 1st ed. 2017 Edition by Brian Rice, Enrique González-Velasco, Alexander Corrigan, Springer; 1st ed. 2017 edition, ISBN: 978-3319532813.

For the first time, all five of John Napier’s works have been brought together in English in a single volume, making them more accessible than ever before. His four mathematical works were originally published in Latin: two in his lifetime (1550–1617), one shortly after he died, and one over 200 years later. The authors have prepared three introductory chapters, one covering Napier himself, one his mathematical works, and one his religious work. The former has been prepared by one of Napier’s descendants and contains many new findings about Napier’s life to provide the most complete biography of this enigmatic character, whose reputation has previously been overshadowed by rumour and speculation. The latter has been written by an academic who was awarded a PhD for his thesis on Napier at the University of Edinburgh, and it provides the most lucid and coherent coverage available of this abstruse and little understood work. The chapter on Napier’s mathematical texts has been authored by an experienced and respected academic, whose recent works have specialised in the history of mathematics and whose Journey through Mathematics was selected in March of 2012 as an Outstanding Title in Mathematics by Choice magazine, a publication of the American Library Association. All three authors have revisited the primary sources extensively and deliver new insights about Napier and his works, whilst revising the many myths and assumptions that surround his life and character.

Prof. González-Velasco is a member of the UMass Lowell Department of Mathematical Sciences.

2016 William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition

Posted on 12 December, 2016 by Kenneth Levasseur

Twenty-one UMass Lowell students competed in the 2016 William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition on Saturday, December 3. The competition took place concurrently throughout the US and Canada. Last year 4275 students students from 554 colleges and universities competed participated. There were two 3 hour sessions, each with six problems. As usual, the problems were tough. The consensus of students at the end was that this problem was one of the easiest:

Suppose that S is a finite set of points in the plane such that the area of triangle ABC is at most 1 whenever A, B, and C are in S. Show that there exists a triangle of area 4 that (together with its interior) covers the set S.

Thanks to the Honors College for providing refreshments for the students on the day of the event.

Results are normally announced in late March.

Tibor Beke awarded at Fulbright Fellowship for 2016-17

Posted on 19 August, 2016 by Kenneth Levasseur

Prof. Tibor Beke

Prof. Tibor Beke of the Department of Mathematical Sciences has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for teaching and research at Masaryk University, Brno, in the Czech Republic.

During his stay in Brno, Prof. Beke will teach an advanced course on model-theoretic geometry. Model-theoretic geometry is concerned with the geometry of objects defined by equations and inequalities over algebraically closed, real closed and p-adic fields. This subject lies at the intersection of mathematical logic, algebra and geometry. It can be thought of as a high-powered version of “coordinate geometry”, which describes Euclidean geometry in the algebraic language of linear and quadratic polynomials, and trigonometric functions. Model-theoretic geometry extends this algebraic language to higher dimensions, non-Euclidean geometries, and works over structures that “look” very different from the real numbers. In the last decade, the subject acquired algorithmic and computational components too. The goal is, ultimately, to have computers analyze shapes and prove theorems about them.

This is an opportunity for Prof. Beke to continue joint research with Prof. Jiri Rosicky, chair of the Mathematics Department at Brno. Tibor will return to Lowell l in the Fall of 2017.
The Fulbright Scholar Program is administered by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It has been running continuously since 1948, and offers opportunities for US educators and other professionals in more than a hundred countries around the world.

2015 William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition

Posted on 14 December, 2015 by Kenneth Levasseur

Twenty-four UMass Lowell students competed in the 2015 William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition on Saturday, December 5. The competition took place concurrently throughout the US and Canada. Normally, around 5,000 students compete each year. There were two 3 hour sessions, each with six problems. As usual, the problems were tough. The consensus of students at the end was that this was the easiest.

Given a list of the positive integers 1, 2, 3, 4, …, take the first three numbers 1,2,3 and their sum 6 and cross all four numbers off the list. Repeat with the three smallest remaining numbers 4, 5, 7 and their sum 16. Continue in this way, crossing off the three smallest remaining numbers and their sum, and consider the sequence of sums produced: 6, 16, 27, 36,…. Prove or disprove that there is some number in this sequence whose base 10 representation ends with 2015.

Thanks to the Honors College for providing refreshments for the students on the day of the event.

Results are normally announced in late March.

M. Brendan Fleming Scholarship

Posted on 27 October, 2015 by Kenneth Levasseur

We are grateful to the family of Emeritus Professor M. Brendan Fleming for their recent contributions to the department’s growing scholarship funds. Through their generous gifts to the department, theM. Brendan Fleming Scholarship will be awarded to a meritorious mathematics major each year starting in 2017.

Professor M. Brendan Fleming was on the Lowell Tech/ULowell/UMass Lowell faculty for over 35 years,retiring in June 1996. Widely acclaimed as an excellent teacher, he was at theforefront of using statistics software to teach statistical analysis. In addition to his teaching and service to the university, he serveda member of the Lowell City Council for nine terms between the years of 1969 and 1992. He was Mayor of Lowell from 1982 to 1984. He and his late wifeBernice raised seven children to become active successful members of their community.

New Faculty: Min Hyung Cho

Posted on 10 August, 2015 by Kenneth Levasseur

This fall, we have welcomed Dr. Min Hyung Cho to the UML Department of Mathematical Sciences. Min Hyung is an applied mathematician who was most recently atDartmouth College. He holds a Ph. D. from TheUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte, where his advisor was Prof. Wei Cai. The title of his dissertation was ‘Fast Integral Methods in Layered Media with Application in Photonic Devices.’

Dr. Cho’s research interests include

Computational Mathematics
Numerical solutions of PDEs
Fast Multipole Method (FMM) and treecodes
Wave propagation in layered media
High Performance Computing

Among his most recent publications are

M.H. Cho and A. Barnett, Robust fast direct integral equation solver for quasi-periodic scattering problems with a large number of layers, 23, 2, 1775-1799, Optics Express, 2015
M.H. Cho and W. Cai, A parallel fast algorithm for computing Helmholtz integral operator in 3-D layered media, 231, 17, 5910-5925, J. Computational Physics 2012
M.H. Cho and W. Cai, A wideband fast multipole method for two-dimensional complex Helmholtz equation, Computer Physics Communications, 2010

His faculty web page is http://faculty.uml.edu/min_cho/

Five Year Mathematics/Epidemiology Program

Posted on 15 April, 2015 by Kenneth Levasseur

The Mathematical Sciences and Work Environment Departments recently completed the design of a five-year program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology. Juniors can apply to the program and double-count up to nine credits toward the two degrees. A bit of planning is recommended since appliants are advised to take a few courses as undergraduates, such as Anatomy and Physiology I & II.

Details…

FromUS News and World Report – Best Jobs:

With the outbreak of Ebola in the U.S. last fall, epidemiologists have had their work cut out for them. Whether they investigate the triggers of an infection for a public health agency or collect blood samples at an outpatient care center, epidemiologists examine the causes of diseases to prevent them from transmitting and recurring. These medical scientists might work in hospitals, laboratories or universities, or for pharmaceutical companies or health insurers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment growth of about 13 percent between 2012 and 2022. Job prospects look promising, especially for medical scientists looking to work for state or local governments and general medical or surgical hospitals.

Math Alumnus Awarded Sontag Prize in Urban Education

Posted on 2 March, 2015 by Kenneth Levasseur

Congratulations to Central Catholic High School Mathematics Department Chair/Teacher Jarrod Brown (UML Class of ’04) on receiving the Sontag Prize in Urban Education for Mathematics.

http://www.lawrence.k12.ma.us/sontag-about-us

The Sontag Prize in Urban Education recognizes outstanding teaching in Mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA) and other disciplines. Educators chosen for the Sontag Prize will lead classes as part of the LPS Acceleration Academy, a program designed to provide targeted small group support for students.

Any educator from within the city of Lawrence, MA or across the country is eligible to apply for the Sontag Prize. In addition to an honorarium, new Sontag Prize awardees participate in a weekend of professional development at Harvard University February 14th and 15th. The opportunity provides motivated and successful educators like Jarrod the chance to share best practices with their fellow awardees. Most importantly, this award recognizes excellence in teaching and provides students with an extra week of high-quality instruction. This program is generously supported by the Lynch Foundation.

This isn’t the first time Jarrod has been recognized for his teaching, In 2013, Jarrod received a Math Hero Award and grant of $2,500 through Raytheon Corporation’s ‘Math Moves U’ program. He was nominated for this award by current and former students for his instructional creativity and patience, varied use of technology resources, and his ability to share his enthusiasm for mathematics with his students.

http://www.centralcatholic.net/podium/default.aspx?t=204&nid=694750

Jarrod earned a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and a M.Ed from American International College. In his 12th year as a math teacher, Brown’s teaching experience includes leading classes in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 & Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus.

Jarrod has also served as an assistant coach in football and track in addition to being the instructor for the Karate and Martial Arts Club at Central Catholic. Brown and his wife and two children make their home in Dracut, MA.

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