erabadie, Author at Department of Mathematics

Author Archive

Mathematics Student’s London Conference Presentation

Posted on: September 21st, 2013 by erabadie

Eleanor Anthony

by Caty Cambron, courtesy of the Daily Mississippian
September 20, 2013

In March, junior mathematics and philosophy major Eleanor Anthony traveled to Vercelli, Italy, and discovered what has become one of her life’s passions.

As part of the Lazarus Project, a group of people specializing in the multispectral imaging of cultural heritage pieces sponsored by the University of Mississippi, Anthony visited the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo.

It was here that Anthony first laid eyes on the Vercelli Book.

While studying the Vercelli Book and conducting spectral imaging on the book’s text, Anthony learned the importance of finding ways to successfully transcribe old data and manuscripts.

“For me, data and narrative has always been fascinating,” Anthony said. “As humans, we think in terms of narrative, and so much of what we do, as humans, is contributing a piece to a larger conversation.”

According to Anthony, going to Italy allowed her to see “a physical instantiation of that conversation that has existed since the 10th century.”

In July, Anthony submitted an abstract, a written summary of her own proposal for how transcription methods can be improved, to the DigiPal Symposium, hosted by the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London.

Her abstract was accepted, and she spent more than a month preparing before traveling to London to give her presentation.

“It serves as a testament that we’ve still got part of the conversation playing into what we’re talking about today,” Anthony said.

On Sept. 16 Anthony spoke for 20 minutes about a correlation and probabilistic-based approach to transcription methods of damaged manuscripts. Her presentation touched on the history of the Vercelli Book and the Archimedes Palimpsest, as well as the basic mathematics behind the system she hopes to extend and implement while addressing the current problems within the data being researched now by the Lazarus Project.

Anthony was the only undergraduate student speaker at the DigiPal Symposium while being among notable paleographers and scholars.

The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the College of Liberal Arts, the English department and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs sponsored Anthony to travel to London to present her abstract.

According to Anthony, her recent presentation serves as the primary research that will lead to the design and implementation for her capstone project and honors college thesis to be called “Archimedes’ Palimpsest to the Vercelli Book: Dual Correlation and Probabilistic Network Approaches to Paleography in Damaged Manuscripts.”

“If anything, I was given great advice about the improvements of my initial start that will be part of my final thesis,” Anthony said. “I’m really thankful for all the support I received.”

Anthony’s ultimate goal is to create a computer program that improves transcription methods through looking at the correlation of the word level and by looking at the cause and relationship of words at the sentence level.

Students Spent Spring Break Digitally Mapping Vercelli Manuscript

Posted on: April 3rd, 2013 by erabadie

Group visited Italy as part of UM’s Lazarus Project

The Lazarus Project team in Vercelli, Italy. Photo by Mary Stanton

Four University of Mississippi students recently traded sunshine and relaxation for ancient manuscripts and the chance of a lifetime.

The three sophomores and one freshman, all students in the university’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, spent spring break in Vercelli, Italy, digitally mapping a 10th century text called the Vercelli manuscript as part of the Ole Miss Lazarus Project. The medieval text is one of four major works of Old English writings and includes sermons and poems such as “Dream of the Rood.” The text was damaged by a 19th century attempt to use chemicals to make the faded text more legible, and the imaging the students performed will help restore some of that lost writing.

The team of young researchers and scholars are using multispectral images and ultraviolet light to study ancient manuscripts such as the Vercelli manuscript (10th century) and the Globe Map of Vercelli (late 12th century). Led by Gregory Heyworth, UM associate professor of English, the team photographs the manuscripts with a 50-megapixel camera, specially designed multispectral lights and filters, and specialized imaging software to recover portions of the text invisible to the naked eye.

“Working with these documents, it’s unreal,” said Leigh Anne Zook, a sophomore international studies and intelligence and security studies major from Huntsville, Ala. “These are priceless artifacts, and thinking of how few people have seen these, and the ones who have are experts in their fields, and me as a sophomore being able to work with these manuscripts – it’s not even a trade-off, it’s an absolutely wonderful experience.”

Other sophomores were Eleanor Anthony, a mathematics and philosophy major from Jackson, and Elizabeth Wicks, a French and pharmacy major from Ocean Springs. Freshman Meredith Oliver, a pharmacy major from Collierville, Tenn., also participated.

While in Italy, the students also were able to assist in imaging a 12th century map of the world, or mappamundi, one of only 12 in existence.

Previously, the Lazarus Project took students to Washington, D.C., where they examined a possible William Shakespeare signature, and to Dresden, Germany, where their efforts revealed writing in another unique medieval manuscript, “Les Eschéz d’Amour” (The Chess of Love), a long 14th century Middle French poem thought until recently to have been too badly damaged during World War II to be recovered.

Since its inception, the Lazarus Project has used its portable multispectral lab to analyze several documents, including the Skipwith Revolutionary War Letters, which were donated to Ole Miss by Kate Skipwith and Mary Skipwith Buie, great-granddaughters of Gen. Nathanael Greene; and the Wynn Faulkner Poetry Collection, 48 pages of early poetry written by William Faulkner between 1917 and 1925 that were donated by Leila Clark Wynn and Douglas C. Wynn.

For more information, visit the Lazarus Project.

Math Major Broom Releases Video Game for Apple Products

Posted on: February 8th, 2013 by erabadie

Most people have little knowledge of what goes into the making of a successful video game, but a team of University of Mississippi students has cracked the code while fulfilling a childhood dream.

University of Mississippi students Ryan Rigney and Jonathan Broom (B.S. in Mathematics) have released their second video game, “Orb Combat Simulator 2019,” through their company, Utah Raptor Games.

Utah Raptor Games, founded in 2011, is a video game studio based in Oxford and is run entirely by its two founders, Rigney and Broom.

The company won the Gillespie Business Plan Competition last year for the plan of their first game, “Fast Fast Laser Laser.”

“It’s a very addictive test of strategic thinking and spatial reasoning designed to improve those skills,” Broom said of “Orb Combat Simulator 2019.”

In short, it is an exciting, strategic puzzle game about space and math.

The game was presented during its release as “the world’s most realistic and prescient simulator of globular warfare” and is already boasting of “trillions of fans.”

Making a video game starts from scratch, like most projects, and many people are brought in to help make it a reality.

“It starts with an idea – either a vision of a game to be made or a concept to build one off of,” Broom said.

“Then you have to assemble a team of people with the skills necessary to create the art and music and code for the game who work together for months building it and reworking things until you have a complete product you’re proud of.”

Rigney and Broom have been friends for well over a decade and attribute their bond to video games.

“Video games have always been our passion,” Broom said. “They’re even how Ryan and I became friends. Making video games is really in a sense fulfilling some childhood dreams of ours.”

The duo has another project in the works at the moment and intends to pursue a publisher for other projects beyond that.

“Orb Combat Simulator 2019” is available for purchase on Apple’s App Store for $1 and is compatible with the iPhone 3GS/4, iPad, iPad 2 and iPod Touch 3rd/4th generations.

From the DM by Kieran Danielson

Grants Help University Boost Number of Minority Math and Science Graduates in Mississippi

Posted on: December 3rd, 2012 by erabadie

UM receives nearly $400,000 to increase number of STEM Ph.D.s

Torina Lewis teaches a mathematics class at the University of Mississippi. UM photo by Kevin Bain.

Business, academic and government leaders warn that the United States must boost its production of professionals trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields to remain competitive in the world economy.

Such an increase will require investments in human capacity across diverse groups, with perhaps the greatest growth potential coming from groups that are underrepresented in the national STEM workforce, including African-Americans and women.

The University of Mississippi is helping to fill this pressing need by recruiting, supporting and graduating more minority doctoral candidates in STEM fields. Two UM departments have received funding under the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, or GAANN, program.

Twelve years ago with the help of a GAANN grant, the Department of Mathematics took on an aggressive initiative to increase the number of minority math professors in the state and nation.

It’s an endeavor that paid off when the university produced four African-American doctorates in mathematics in 2006, setting a benchmark in STEM fields. The achievement is even more outstanding given that only 15-to-30 African-Americans nationally earn Ph.D.s in mathematics each year.

And that’s just the beginning. The U.S. Department of Education has once again awarded the mathematics department a $399,798 GAANN grant to continue its leadership role in producing math scholars. In the same GAANN competition, the university’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry also won its own $399,798 award from the program to recruit and support minority doctoral students.

For each grant, the university contributes matching funds of $99,951 for a funding ratio of 80 percent federal to 20 percent nonfederal.

Gerard Buskes, professor of mathematics and principal investigator of one of the grants, said he is confident the program will help UM increase the percentage of STEM professionals in Mississippi.

“There is a broad, national movement to get more math professionals,” Buskes said. “GAANN has helped our relatively small department be at the forefront of bridging the gap and ultimately helping fill the shortage of STEM professionals in Mississippi and in the nation.”

The GAANN program provides fellowships through academic departments and programs to assist graduate students who have excellent records, demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course of study in a field designated as an area of national need.

Producing more math professors is “truly important for Mississippi as the state continues to grow from an agricultural-driven state to a more technological-driven economy,” Buskes said.

What’s more, a 2011 report from the National Center for Education Statistics notes the percentage of African-Americans earning STEM degrees has fallen drastically during the last decade.

But STEM barriers are not unique to African-Americans, said Donald Cole, UM associate professor of mathematics and assistant provost.

“Across the U.S., we are simply not producing as high a percentage of STEM professionals as before,” said Cole, also a co-principal investigator on the grant. “Women and Latinos also lag behind. Because of GAANN, Ole Miss is able to carve out a unique program that eases the financial obligations of obtaining a Ph.D., and also offers mentoring, traveling and overall professional preparation.”

Since 2001, the UM math department has recruited 25 minorities into its graduate program. Thirteen have graduated with doctorates, while eight of the remaining 12 recruits are still in school.

Pursuing a Ph.D. is a long and arduous process with an average time-to-degree of at least five years, Buskes said.

“The investment pays off when we recruit, mentor, train, retain and graduate our students,” he said. “We are not just educating a group of students. We are investing, mentoring and essentially ensuring they finish this program and go into the field.”

In the chemistry department, associate professor Susan Pedigo is spearheading the effort.

“The department has had an aggressive program to increase the number of minority chemistry Ph.D.s for years, but graduate school can be a financial burden,” Pedigo said. “GAANN recognizes the need to help Mississippi promote excellence, graduate level education that produces and trains future young chemists.

“In Mississippi, we have the lowest household income and what that means is that our students just don’t have the resources to pursue higher level degrees. But GAANN recognizes the need and helps lift some of that financial burden.”

The funding should help UM accomplish its goals of providing accessible and affordable education to a diverse student body and preparing STEM leaders and professionals, especially those from underrepresented groups, said Alice Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs.

“Winning two GAANN awards in the same competition cycle is a first for our institution,” Clark said. “With this great success, Buskes and Pedigo have demonstrated what can be accomplished when faculty collaborate and share their experiences within the competitive funding process.”

The GAANN awards will enhance quality, enrollment and student persistence in core research-based graduate programs, said John Kiss, dean of the UM Graduate School.

“In addition to providing funding for eight or more students to complete Ph.D.s in math or chemistry, these awards serve as a gratifying affirmation of UM’s commitment to quality graduate education and our unique capacity to contribute toward diversity in research and teaching at the national level,” Kiss said.

Torina Lewis, a visiting assistant professor of mathematics, earned her Ph.D. at the university as a GAANN fellow. Before learning about the program, she never thought she would earn a doctorate.

“I was a member of the National Guard and a teacher,” she said. “Obtaining a Ph.D. never entered my mind. But Dr. Cole contacted me and told me about Ole Miss’ wonderful math department. Then he said those magic words, ‘We can get you funding.’”

A 2003 graduate of Southern University at New Orleans, Lewis said that she didn’t have to think long about Cole’s offer.

“I’m glad I came here,” said Lewis, who earned her Ph.D. in December 2010. “They pushed me. They mentored me. Just being around dedicated and respected professionals reminded me once again why I love math so much.”

Lewis, also an assistant professor of mathematics at Bethune-Cookman University, said her job is to introduce a love of math to other minority students.

“Black students lose a love for math so early in life and that’s a sore point for me,” she said. “Maybe, just maybe, the key to getting more students in this awesome field is to produce more professors and teachers. It’s a good starting point.”

UM Math Lab Moves Off Campus for More Space

Posted on: October 30th, 2012 by erabadie

Last year, the decision was made to move the The University of Mississippi’s math lab from Kinard Hall to room A01 in the Jackson Avenue Center, otherwise known as the old Walmart building, due to Kinard having inadequate space for students. Mathematics instructor Robert Hunt said the old lab in Kinard was fine when it first opened about 10 years ago, but due to the university’s growth since then, students have outgrown Kinard.

“During fall 2011 it was common for a line to be out the door and around the corner,” Hunt said. He said more computers were added for fall 2012, which alleviated the long lines, but there was no way to keep expanding in Kinard Hall. The air conditioning in Kinard was another issue. “The air conditioning in that room in Kinard never did work very well; it was always hot,” Hunt said.

At its peak, Kinard had 78 computers available, and it was not uncommon for several to be out of commission due to network problems. In the new lab, there are currently 114 computers avail- able with plenty of room to expand for the future. Students who live on cam- pus without a car will still have access to the math lab because there is an O.U.T. bus that will take students to the Jackson Avenue Center.

Sophomore broadcast journalism major Chandler Lewis said he has no problem with the math lab moving from Kinard, but he said he feels it will affect those without vehicles. “I believe it’s fine if you have a car, it’s convenient, but if you don’t then it’s just a hassle,” Lewis said. Junior geological engineering major Jonathan Pender shared Lewis’ opinion. “It inconveniences people that live on campus,” Pender said. “Many people that live on campus don’t have a car; having to find a way to the math lab or waiting for a bus may conflict with their schedule.”

Along with more space, Hunt said he feels students benefit from the Jackson Avenue Center because it is a more appealing environment and more conducive to learning. “It’s also just more inviting with bright lights and good air conditioning,” Hunt said. “Willie Price (Lab School) is not downstairs, so there are not distractions from children running around outside.”

Courtesy of The DM by Taylor Delandro

Math professor inspired students to teach

Posted on: July 17th, 2012 by erabadie No Comments

A distinguished member of the faculty, Eldon Miller taught in the Department of Mathematics for more than 30 years.

The Colorado native received his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama where he played baseball on scholarship.

“I even played a little professional baseball with the Cleveland Indians,” Miller said. “It was a lot of fun.”

After receiving his doctorate, Miller joined the UM faculty in 1966 where he taught a variety of courses.

“My graduate area was complex analysis,” Miller said. “But I taught anything from calculus to advanced calculus to college algebra and trig—just about everything. I really enjoyed teaching my students, classes were always a favorite for me.”

Serving three times as department chair, Miller definitely made an impact. In fact, he has so many former students that it’s hard for him to talk about just one.

“I have had so many favorite students over the years,” Miller said. “Students still stop by and call just to check in. Some of my students are doctors, some have professional jobs in mathematics and some work for the National Security Agency. A lot went on to teach in schools and colleges.”

Katherine King, a mathematics instructor at Northwest Community College, is one of those students. Miller inspired her to enter the teaching profession she said.

“He is the best professor I’ve ever had,” King said. “He taught such that we all understood the material. I knew that someday I wanted to teach just like him. My whole teaching career was built around Eldon Miller.”

King recalls Miller’s creativity in the classroom.

Donald Cole, assistant provost, assistant to the chancellor concerning minority affairs, and associate professor of mathematics, praises Miller for his lessons beyond the classroom.

“Eldon Miller is a man who has it all: he’s smart and athletic, has a great personality and sense of humor, and he has always wanted what was best for his students. His classes were always among the most popular–even failing students would love to retake his class. In his classes you learned mathematics and a lot more.”

“The first day of calculus there was a puff of smoke and he appeared like a magician,” King said. “That’s the kind of teacher he was—he entertained and taught through the entertainment.”

Miller retired in 2003 and resides in Oxford. In his spare time, he trains Labrador retrievers.

State’s Research Universities, Public to Reap Benefits from New Internet2 Connector Site

Posted on: July 2nd, 2012 by erabadie No Comments

When researchers and faculty members at Mississippi’s research universities and institutions switch on their computers this morning, they have a new direct connection to the ultrafast Internet2 network via the new Jackson Internet2 connector site.

With more than 8 terabytes per second of potential capacity now flowing through Jackson, the Internet2 connection gives Mississippi’s researchers the ability to share large sets of data with collaborators across the country and around the globe. University officials expect the enhanced connection to boost research and economic development efforts statewide.

The switchover moves the high-speed connections used to support research at Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi, UM Medical Center and University of Southern Mississippi from Baton Rouge, La., to Jackson. The start-up and transfer is a joint project between the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and Internet2.

University of Mississippi physicists who work with researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, on projects at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland routinely use Internet2 to share and analyze vast amounts of data produced by experiments at the world’s largest atom smasher.

The project was made possible through expansion funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. The switchover was months in planning with representatives from each institution making a case for the move. Last fall, IHL signed an agreement with Internet2.

“Connecting to the Internet2 network represents a tremendous step for Mississippi public universities, the state and its citizens,” said Hank M. Bounds, IHL commissioner. “Our institutions collaborate very closely on academics and research, and improving our connectivity through Internet2 will strengthen this process. The end result is research and innovation that encourage and support economic growth and opportunities to benefit all Mississippians.”

The Jackson connector site is possible because of the new Mississippi Optical Network, referred to as MissiON.

Former Gov. Haley Barbour worked with AT&T to create the network for the Mississippi Research Consortium, which includes UM, MSU, USM and JSU. The network also serves the UM Medical Center, the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg and NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

“We are delighted that MissiON is now directly connected to the Internet2 Network and that these expanded capabilities of the new Internet2 network are available in Jackson,” said Rob Vietzke, Internet2 vice president of network services. “The new network node dramatically improves Mississippi’s ability to collaborate with hundreds of similarly connected advanced research organizations across the globe.

“MissiON, which is the 21st regional network to become a connector to the Internet2 Network, now makes it possible for Mississippi Research Consortium members to use our newly upgraded 100G network – the nation’s fastest, coast-to-coast network – to implement new technologies that support scientific ‘big data’ and cloud applications to drive innovation involving clean energy, cancer cures, astronomy and other important global collaborative research.”

Research officers shared expectations of how the switchover will improve projects at their respective institutions.

“The quantity of information used for scientific discovery is rapidly increasing,” said Alice Clark, UM vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs. “This direct connection ensures that our researchers have the channels they need to participate fully in 21st century scientific discovery.

“From astrophysicists who are researching the mysteries of the universe to Shakespeare scholars who are using digital imaging to study Renaissance texts, Internet2 will have a broad impact across the diverse research activities at UM and will give all our students faster, more reliable access to a world of information.”

Internet2 supports and enhances JSU’s research mission in particular allowing significantly greater leveraging of its high-performance network.

“With our computational collaborative research projects being carried out with U.S. universities, government laboratories and our international partners, there is a need for fast transfer of large amounts of data,” said Felix Okojie, JSU vice president for research. “Internet2 facilitates such operations, thus making JSU collaborative research efforts more efficient and effective.”

David Shaw, vice president for research and economic development at MSU, said the direct connectivity to the new Internet2 point of presence in Jackson will allow for enhanced collaboration with other research universities and federal labs around the nation and the world.

“By enabling the development of new software applications, providing real-time control of remote instruments and allowing for massive data transfers more quickly and reliably than before, this enhanced capability will allow MSU to engage in new research endeavors, advance scientific discovery and promote economic development activities for the region and the state,” Shaw said.

“Since we frequently use the Internet to send large data sets or hi-def images, an upgrade to Internet2 will certainly benefit us,” said Glen Shearer, USM professor and chair of biological sciences and director of the Mississippi IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence.

Internet2^® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2^® provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research and community service missions

Graduating Senior Discovers Best Educational Option is Close to Home

Posted on: May 16th, 2012 by erabadie No Comments

Caleb Herod

Although Caleb Herod looked at schools as far away as Missouri and Iowa, he eventually decided to stay close to home at the University of Mississippi. And after a college career that has included two Washington internships and dozens of hours of volunteer service, the Abbeville native would make that same decision again, he said.

Herod, a student in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi, is among 3,363 candidates for degrees who graduate Saturday (May 12). He graduates with a degree in public policy leadership and a minor in mathematics.

“When I was thinking about colleges to go to, Ole Miss wasn’t on my radar, but as I started doing campus visits, Ole Miss started to stand out because everyone I met with sold me on the fact that Ole Miss could provide me with the same opportunities I would get anywhere else, plus I would have the Lott Institute and the Honors College,” he said. “I knew I wanted to get into politics and eventually go to law school, and I wanted to have a policy focus and not just study political science. I also wanted to be comfortable and have a feeling of familiarity.”

Herod is a Lott Scholar and a Luckyday Merit Scholar. He has been actively involved in campus activities, including serving as an Honors Ambassador, Associated Student Body chief of staff and an intern in the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. He also was retreat moderator and coordinator for One Mississippi. He was inducted into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame, was a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Class and the Black Student Union. He belongs to Phi Kappa Phi and National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was president of ODK.

His volunteer service includes work with city of Oxford Downtown Safety Task Force, Habitat for Humanity and So Others Might Eat.

Herod grew up understanding the importance of education. His father, James Herod, was principal at Lafayette Elementary School in Oxford and his mother, Ann, who was a fifth-grade English teacher.

He is thankful he was able to have great professors in his time at Ole Miss, including Curtis Wilkie, Cook Chair and associate professor of journalism, and Robert Haws, former public policy leadership chair.

“I was taught by so many different people who are amazing at what they do and really care about you,” Herod said. “I enjoyed Curtis Wilkie’s class because it was great to listen to his stories about the things that he’s done throughout his life. It was around the time he was finishing writing ‘The Fall of the House of Zeus’ and so I look back at that and think, wow, I was right there when he was putting the finishing touches on it.”

John Samonds, SMBHC associate dean, said Herod has been a terrific member of the Honors College and the university community these past four years.

“Through his work with One Mississippi and the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, he has epitomized what it means to be a citizen-scholar,” Samonds said. “He is also just a great guy with a terrific sense of humor. We are proud of what he has accomplished and anticipate celebrating his future successes.”

Last summer, Herod was able to put his political knowledge to the test during two internships in Washington, D.C., with the Department of Defense and with U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s office.

“I was able to go with people who were testifying in front of the House Arms Committee and it was a great opportunity to think on my feet, apply my knowledge and contribute to the conversation,” Herod said. “It cemented in my mind that I wanted to do this in the future.”

William Gottshall, executive director of the Lott Leadership Institute, was especially proud of Herod’s internship at the Department of Defense.

“What a surprise when at an event in Washington, D.C., when I was accompanying Sen. (Roger) Wicker to a hearing for the new Chief of Staff for the Army, to look in the audience and see Caleb with the group from DOD,” Gottshall said. “I was proud to introduce him to Sen. Wicker as a Lott Scholar. In addition to Caleb being an exceptional student he has become a good friend, and friends like to see friends succeed.”

After graduation, Herod is joining Teach for America for two years to teach students in the Mississippi Delta, with plans for law school after that.

When he graduates, he will tie the record for most hours in the honors program, so he knows how to utilize his time wisely. His advice for other Ole Miss students is to make sure they work hard.

“Take classes that are fun, but also challenging, and study as if you are going to fail,” Herod said. “It’s like working out; you need to build muscles you never knew you had.”

For more information on programs in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, go to https://www.honors.olemiss.edu/.

Graduating Senior Already on Mission to Improve Math Education

Posted on: May 15th, 2012 by erabadie No Comments

Mathematics intimidates a lot of students, but Mary Margaret Rich embraces the subject and hopes to inspire others with her knowledge. She’s so passionate about improving math education that she has become involved in the field even before finishing her college degree.

Rich, a student from Madison in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi, is one of the 3,363 candidates for degrees who graduate Saturday (May 12).

She turned her enthusiasm for math into her honors thesis, “Technology Use in High School Mathematics Classrooms in North Mississippi.” She observed four teachers in area teaching two different math classes and interviewed them about their opinions on how technology should be applied in the classroom.

“There are so many new education technologies, and many teachers are not informed about effective technology use or trained in use of educational technology, but some are,” Rich said. “So the reason I wanted to write my thesis (on this) was to see how Mississippi teachers are doing.”

Both of Rich’s older brothers, Tom and David, attended UM, and she discovered that the university offered everything she was looking for in a school. “The University of Mississippi was a great value for their education, and I knew I would be challenged academically in the Honors College,” said Rich, daughter of Neal and Cindy Rich.

She credits William Staton, UM professor of mathematics, with encouraging her career path.

“He teaches with enthusiasm and inspires you to want to learn more,” Rich said. “He is gracious with his time, devoted to his students and his classes are challenging.”

She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board and Pi Mu Epsilon and a volunteer with Leap Frog tutoring. She earned the Alfred Hume Award for Outstanding Senior this spring. Although she has maintained a 3.93 GPA, she said that grades are not the most important part of college life.

“What you learn is the most important part, not just the grade you receive. The learning experience is equally important. I had two physics classes I worked really hard in, and I earned a B, but I learned so much,” Rich said.

During the fall of her freshman year, she joined the Center for Mathematics and Science Education, and was the first Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, double major scholarship recipient, enabling her to pursue both a mathematics and a mathematics education degree. In return, she worked two hours a week at the center.

“While working at the CMSE, Mary Margaret was able to interact with graduate students pursuing their master’s and doctorates in mathematics education, as well as interact with faculty involved in mathematics and mathematics education,” said Alice Steimle, CMSE associate director. “Mary Margaret played key roles in helping us achieve our mission of improving mathematics and science education in Mississippi.

“We have had the opportunity to watch her grow professionally into an outstanding student and someone who is passionate about mathematics and mathematics education.”

After graduation, she plans to relax in Madison for a few weeks, then return to Oxford this summer as a lead instructor of Math Camp before she begins her master’s program in the fall.

Steimle said she is pleased Rich will return after graduation. Rich has been offered a graduate fellowship, which will allow her to become even more involved in the professional learning community that has been created at CMSE.

“Mary Margaret has led the initiative to create a seminar and virtual learning community for Future Math Teachers of Mississippi, and I have been extremely impressed with her,” Steimle said. “Her determination, passion, content knowledge and enthusiasm are to be commended. We feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her thus far and are looking forward to a longstanding relationship and bright future ahead.”

And what is Rich’s advice about math? “Don’t let a past experience with math influence your feelings. Give it a chance, because everything in the world is based on math. It is the most consistent subject we have,” she said