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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

Student Connects Math and Languages

Posted on: July 11th, 2011 by erabadie No Comments

For many people, mathematics and a foreign language such as Spanish are two very different fields. However, for University of Mississippi senior Reed Gilbow of Cleveland, MS, they have a common connection.

Majoring in math, physics and Spanish with a minor in chemistry, Gilbow has a unique take on how the study of these disciplines is similar. “Sure, math can be a bunch of numbers and equations, but it is more broadly about logic and rational thinking,” he said. “Like a language, it has a unique vocabulary. In that sense, learning Spanish has been very much akin to mathematics.”

Gilbow’s mathematical thesis subject, generalized Boolean algebra, may contribute to his foreign language studies, too. Gilbow’s advisor and professor of mathematics, Gerald Buskes, sees the connection. “Boolean algebras were invented by Boole to provide a language of algebra for all of human thought,” Buskes said. “The mathematical idea invented as a model language might still have some weak connection with each and every language.”

Gilbow plans to return to UM after graduating in May with a degree in mathematics for a second degree in Spanish and a third in physics. His ultimate plan is to attend medical school. The UM math department is fully supportive of Gilbow’s other academic pursuits. “Mathematics is useless if it is not communicated with others,” Gilbow said. “The math department has always encouraged me to learn Spanish because it allows me to communicate with a greater number of people.”

“From my perspective as a linguist, there is a clear connection: math and also music are like language; they all utilize symbols for the expression of ideas, although most people don’t think of it this way, “said Donald Dyer, professor and chair of Modern Languages. “At their core, all three disciplines attach meaning to the symbols, whatever form they may take (sounds in language, for example), and then arrange these symbols into higher systems that are used for the communication of ideas. In language, these ideas take the form of information. I will leave it to the mathematicians and musicians to explain what that means for their disciplines, although I suspect for the former it means trying to explain the physical world and for the latter it means communicating one’s artistry and emotions.”

Sam Watson Wins Prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Posted on: February 12th, 2009 by erabadie No Comments

The word “mathematics” comes from the Greek word “mathema,” which means learning, study and science. Sam Watson doesn’t need to be told the definition of mathematics, though, because his intrinsic knowledge of the subject has already garnered him several accolades.

Watson, a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Mississippi, can add one more award to his resume as recipient of a prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

The Gates Cambridge Trust has awarded 37 new Gates Cambridge Scholarships to American students to pursue master’s or doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge in England. Watson is the first recipient from UM, and one of three from the SEC.

He said winning the Gates scholarship is meaningful to him on many levels.

“It means a lot to me to receive this award as an Ole Miss student,” Watson said. “Several times, when recruiting high school students to Ole Miss, I have been met with skepticism about the opportunities available to students who choose a public school in the South over more prestigious institutions. I think laying the groundwork for more Ole Miss students to get the Gates Cambridge scholarship in the future is a good step, because it really shows that you can take advantage of those opportunities no matter where you come from.”

Watson, an Oxford native, is a graduate of UM as a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, finishing in May 2008 with a B.S. in math and physics, and a B.A. in classics. He is a Taylor Medalist, a 2006 Goldwater Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.

He graduated high school from the Mississippi School for Math and Science in Columbus and has taught math at the Regents School of Oxford since he was a college sophomore.

Debra Young, associate dean of the Honors College, said the Gates Cambridge is a relatively new scholarship, but it began as one the most prestigious programs in the world.

“It’s not just modeled on the Rhodes, it is the Rhodes equivalent,” Young said. “I’m delighted for Sam and very proud of him, but I’m equally proud of what the scholarship says about the University of Mississippi: Our students compete with the best of the best.”

Founded by Bill and Melinda Gates to honor Bill Gates’ father, the scholarship program was designed to bring to Cambridge the quality and prestige of the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford. For October 2009 entry, 752 U.S. students applied for a Gates Cambridge Scholarship.

“Gates considers intelligence a privilege, and the Cambridge education a privilege, and they want to be sure they select scholars who feel the same way and who intend to use their privileges to create a better world,” Young said. “Sam’s record and behavior clearly indicate that he feels the same way; he’s a superb choice for the Gates.”

The Gates Cambridge funds two to four years at Cambridge University, the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, for study in any field. Applicants must be under 30 and demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, service and leadership. The program emphasizes potential to make a lasting contribution to one’s field, and a commitment to use that work toward the betterment of the world. Competition is open to applicants from any country, and roughly 100 scholarships are awarded each year.

The opportunities provided at the SMBHC caused him to think about the world in a real and immediate way, Watson said. Since the honors college requires students to contribute and give back to the community as part of their community action component, it inspired him to be interested in life outside of equations and formulas.

The young mathematician also credits former mathematics professor and department chair Tristan Denley with planting the seeds of interest in Cambridge, since Denley earned his doctorate there.

“Sam has worked tremendously hard to get to this level of mathematical ability,” said Denley, who recently left UM to become provost and vice president of academic and student affairs at Austin Peay State University. “But it has also been wonderful to see the generosity with which Sam has been willing to share his time with young people who too have an interest in mathematics. I am so thrilled about Sam’s well deserved success.”

Denley said the intensity of his own experience at Cambridge left his mathematical career forever transformed.

“The program that Sam will be beginning in Cambridge is one of the premier programs worldwide for young mathematicians,” Denley said. “Looking back on my days as a young graduate student, fresh to Cambridge, I can remember the excitement of seeing the breadth and depth of the courses on offer. It seemed that there was no corner of the mathematical universe left unrepresented.”

Watson said the selling point of his scholarship interview was that he wanted to make a difference in math education. “I want to improve the quality of mathematics education at the university level, by bringing sound pedagogical principles to bear in the university classroom, and, as Dr. Denley has done at this university, by rethinking course format to incorporate technology. Also, I want to influence policy to make math education more effective for students in public schools all across the country.”

Gerard Buskes, professor of mathematics who has been on the UM faculty for 24 years, said Watson is the brightest, most personable and most promising student he has taught.

“Mr. Watson is extraordinarily precise and has an insatiable curiosity as well as a balanced personality,” Buskes said. “He also is very conscientious, frequently asks questions that go beyond what is taught in class or books and, most importantly, makes highly non-trivial connections between the various parts of mathematics that he has an interest in.”

Watson’s enjoyment and enthusiasm for math radiates to his peers and his teachers, and the Gates Cambridge Scholarship is an extraordinary first step on the path to success, Buskes said.

Watson said he is interested in seeing how his time in England will affect his Southern accent, and he is excited about student life at a great European center of learning. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the other Gates scholars in England, as well as discovering the ways that this experience will broaden my perspective.”

Watson is the son of Marvin and Jean Watson of Oxford and is married to Nora Watson.

Learn more about the Gates Cambridge Scholarships at http://www.gatesscholar.org/ . For more information about mathematics education at UM, go to https://www.olemiss.edu/depts/mathematics/ .