Positive Outcomes of Mathematics Department’s Research Priorities
While the focus of many a summer term is decompression from a strenuous academic year, Gonzaga’s Mathematics Department was hard at work in summer of 2017. Stimulated in part by funding from the College of Arts & Sciences, last summer’s activity has led to some notable accomplishments throughout the 2017-18 academic year, beginning with a strong showing at the Pacific Northwest Mathematics Association of America (PNW MAA) conference in June and culminating most recently with the successful funding of a collaboration with Central Washington University.
At last summer’s GU-hosted PNW MAA meeting, two of Gonzaga’s three student presenters—Trent DeGiovanni (’18) and Joseph Kincanon (’18)—represented the Mathematics Department. DeGiovanni went on to deliver the same talk on “Most Economical Common Dissection of a Square and Equilateral Triangle” at MathFest in Chicago, where he won the Council on Undergraduate Research award for the best student research talk and was invited to submit his paper for publication in both an academic journal and a book.
At the same PNW MAA meeting, Dr. Richard Cangelosi and his collaborator, Dr. John Milton of the Keck Science Center, presented a workshop on delay differential equations. Afterwards, Central Washington University’s Dr. Sooie-Hoe Loke reached out to Cangelosi to explore a possible collaboration between Gonzaga and CWU, and together they submitted a winning grant proposal to the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM) worth approximately $40,000, with each principle investigator receiving $20,000.
The prime elements of the grant, which kicks off in September 2018, are the collaboration between universities and the focus on student participation. Cangelosi’s previous work with student researchers played a part in the funding decision. “What I really enjoy about working with students is getting to know them well and watching them get excited when they make a discovery,” Cangelosi says. “I have a student this semester I’ve really enjoyed watching evolve. The progress she’s made and the enthusiasm she brings are so impressive.”
Cangelosi and Loke will each identify four students from his respective university to learn about the theoretical component of research and mathematical computation. The students will then work together on their research problems, ultimately presenting the results and outcomes of their findings in the form of posters, oral presentations, and papers to be submitted for publication.
“The challenge is finding a project that is accessible, or at least has meaningful components that are accessible to students,” says Cangelosi. The inspiration for the one presented in the grant proposal evolved from an idea that could have gone in two different directions; Cangelosi’s current students are working on one option, and next year’s research team will tackle the other.
By contrast, Dr. Vesta Coufal’s work centers on ongoing research on Klein links and braids. Last summer, Bailey Englin (’18) and Rusty Ford (’19) dove into the existing project under Coufal’s mentorship, learning about the headway already made on the project and bringing new ideas to its evolution. Joined this fall by Rachael Kuhn (’18), the threesome has developed a conjecture about a specific pattern and has made good progress down the path to proving it.
“This is slow work,” says Coufal. “These students are experiencing and engaging in mathematical research, with all its joys and frustrations. They have grown from having little knowledge, few ideas, and no confidence, to a wealth of knowledge, excellent ideas, and immense confidence. Last fall, one of them in particular was somewhat terrified by the idea of giving a talk, but this spring, when asked if they’d like to present a poster or give a talk, was adamant that they should give a talk.”
The students will present their research at the Pacific Inland Mathematics Undergraduate Conference Gonzaga is hosting this spring along with the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference at Whitworth University, and are on track to a result they hope to publish in a peer-reviewed journal.
At last summer’s GU-hosted PNW MAA meeting, two of Gonzaga’s three student presenters—Trent DeGiovanni (’18) and Joseph Kincanon (’18)—represented the Mathematics Department. DeGiovanni went on to deliver the same talk on “Most Economical Common Dissection of a Square and Equilateral Triangle” at MathFest in Chicago, where he won the Council on Undergraduate Research award for the best student research talk and was invited to submit his paper for publication in both an academic journal and a book.
At the same PNW MAA meeting, Dr. Richard Cangelosi and his collaborator, Dr. John Milton of the Keck Science Center, presented a workshop on delay differential equations. Afterwards, Central Washington University’s Dr. Sooie-Hoe Loke reached out to Cangelosi to explore a possible collaboration between Gonzaga and CWU, and together they submitted a winning grant proposal to the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM) worth approximately $40,000, with each principle investigator receiving $20,000.
The prime elements of the grant, which kicks off in September 2018, are the collaboration between universities and the focus on student participation. Cangelosi’s previous work with student researchers played a part in the funding decision. “What I really enjoy about working with students is getting to know them well and watching them get excited when they make a discovery,” Cangelosi says. “I have a student this semester I’ve really enjoyed watching evolve. The progress she’s made and the enthusiasm she brings are so impressive.”
Cangelosi and Loke will each identify four students from his respective university to learn about the theoretical component of research and mathematical computation. The students will then work together on their research problems, ultimately presenting the results and outcomes of their findings in the form of posters, oral presentations, and papers to be submitted for publication.
“The challenge is finding a project that is accessible, or at least has meaningful components that are accessible to students,” says Cangelosi. The inspiration for the one presented in the grant proposal evolved from an idea that could have gone in two different directions; Cangelosi’s current students are working on one option, and next year’s research team will tackle the other.
By contrast, Dr. Vesta Coufal’s work centers on ongoing research on Klein links and braids. Last summer, Bailey Englin (’18) and Rusty Ford (’19) dove into the existing project under Coufal’s mentorship, learning about the headway already made on the project and bringing new ideas to its evolution. Joined this fall by Rachael Kuhn (’18), the threesome has developed a conjecture about a specific pattern and has made good progress down the path to proving it.
“This is slow work,” says Coufal. “These students are experiencing and engaging in mathematical research, with all its joys and frustrations. They have grown from having little knowledge, few ideas, and no confidence, to a wealth of knowledge, excellent ideas, and immense confidence. Last fall, one of them in particular was somewhat terrified by the idea of giving a talk, but this spring, when asked if they’d like to present a poster or give a talk, was adamant that they should give a talk.”
The students will present their research at the Pacific Inland Mathematics Undergraduate Conference Gonzaga is hosting this spring along with the Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference at Whitworth University, and are on track to a result they hope to publish in a peer-reviewed journal.