Albion College Math/CS

Journal of Metals. Darren's co-authors were T.R. Bieler, M.A. Crimp, Y. Yang, L. Wang (Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science); P. Eisenlohr (Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung — Düsseldorf, Germany); W. Liu (Argonne National Laboratory); G.E. Ice (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The official citation is Int. J. of Metals, 61 (12), p. 45 - 52, 2009. ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

November 18, 2009

Michigan Autumn Take-Home Challenge have arrived, and both Albion teams landed in the top half of the field. The team of Chen Chen, Yang Chen, and Mingjia Yang finished 4th with a total of 66 points out of a possible 100. Becca Putans, Rachel Kamischke, and Kathryn Wagner finished 25th with 30 points. Fifty teams completed the competition. The top ten teams were: 1. Calvin College & Taylor University: 78 pts. 3. Hope College: 73 pts. 4. Albion College: 66 pts. 5. Lawrence Technological University & Kalamazoo College: 63 pts. 7. Kalamazoo College: 60 pts. 8. Grand Valley State University: 53 pts. 9. Merrimack College & Calvin College: 52 pts. Congratulations to both teams! ]]>

Mark E. Bollman

November 16, 2009

Front row, left to right: BJ Konkle, Nate Ross, Dustin Peterson, Nick Tombrella, Andrew Hurrle, Eric Ondrus, Matt Sowa, Kameron Sibert, Alex Archer, Dr. Mark Bollman.
Back row, left to right: Sining Gu, Courtney Malpass, Amanda Klage, Taylor Peruchietti, Krysta Schroeder, Megan Heyn, Samantha Bowditch.

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Mark E. Bollman

October 31, 2009

th Michigan Autumn Take-Home Challenge, held at colleges across the greater Midwest on Saturday, October 31. Competing for Albion were Chen Chen, Yang Chen, Rachel Kamischke, Becca Putans, Kathryn Wagner, and Mingjia Yang. The MATH Challenge is a 10-question, 3-hour exam taken by undergraduate students in teams of two or three. The 2009 MATH Challenge included 53 teams from 20 colleges in 6 states. Mark Bollman coordinated the students' participation in the contest. Results of the MATH Challenge are expected by the end of the semester.

Left to right: Rachel Kamischke, Kathryn Wagner, Becca Putans.

Left to right: Mingjia Yang, Yang Chen, Chen Chen.

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Mark E. Bollman

August 27, 2009

David A. Reimann

August 19, 2009

David A. Reimann

July 27, 2009

12th Annual Bridges Conference held July 26-30 2009 in Banff, Alberta, Canada. His paper appears on pages 325-6 in the printed proceedings. The Bridges Organization fosters the mutual exchange of ideas among practicing mathematicians, scientists, artists, educators, musicians, writers, computer scientists, sculptures, dancers, weavers, and model builders. A nice article about the conference appears on the AMS website.

An example of a random Truchet tiling containing the text "Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science" is shown above. A darker color has been used for the text to increase its contrast.

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David A. Reimann

June 25, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

June 15, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

June 1, 2009

Max-Planck Institut für Eisenforschung in Düsseldorf, Germany and will remain its guest until June 30, 2009. During his visit Professor Mason will be working with colleagues from the Microstructure Physics and Metal Forming division of MPIE and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science from Michigan State University on fundamental problems that arise in modeling microcrack/damage nucleation in textured metals. The research program is a fusion of experimental, numerical modeling, and mathematical modeling of material behavior across multiple length scales. This international and interdisciplinary project is funded by a three-year joint grant from the National Science Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation). ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

May 29, 2009

"The Role of Heterogeneous Deformation on Damage Nucleation at Grain Boundaries in Single Phase Metals" in the International Journal of Plasticity. Darren's co-authors were T.R. Bieler, D. Kumar, and M.A. Crimp (all of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University), and P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters and D. Raabe (all of Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung — Düsseldorf, Germany). The official citation is Int. J. of Plasticity, 25 (9), p. 1655 - 1683, 2009. ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

April 28, 2009

Squeller.com to serve as a home page for the Albion College community. You can read about his venture in an April 17 Pleiad article. ]]>

Harold Connamacher

April 23, 2009

Yang Chen, '11, dual economics and financial engineering (combined course) major with an applied mathematics minor, gave a talk entitled "Factors of China's Rapid National Saving Growth." Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Kotaro Yoshida (Economics and Management).
Ryan Graham, '09, gave a talk entitled "Quantifying the Influence of a 4.8-Tesla Magnetic Field on the α↔γ Phase Transitions in Fe-0.75C Steel." Ryan is a Physics major with an applied mathematics minor. His faculty sponsor was Dr. Aaron Miller (Physics).
Whitney Patton, '09, a mathematics major, gave a talk entitled "The Biangular Coordinate System as Seen Through Complex Numbers". Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Mark Bollman.
Tim Rambo,'09, gave two talks. The first was entitled "An Introduction to Quantum Algorithms"; his faculty sponsor was Dr. Harold Connamacher. His second talk was entitled "Implementation of an Algorithm-Driven Solar Tracker"; his faculty sponsor was Dr. Aaron Miller (Physics). Tim is a dual Physics and Computer Science major.
Culver Redd, '11, gave two presentation. The first was a talk entitled "Calibration and Use of the 11-Inch Celestron Telescope for Observing and CCD Imaging"; his faculty sponsor was Dr. Nicolle Zellner (Physics). His second was a poster entitled "Photophysics of Benzoic Acid Derivatives"; his faculty sponsor was Dr. Craig Bieler (Chemistry). Culver is a physics major and computer science minor.
Lesley Simanton, '09, a physics major with an applied mathematics minor, gave a talk entitled "Multi-Wavelength Photometry on Stellar Clusters: Applications in Telescope-Camera System Analysis and Galactic Formation." Her faculty sponsor was Nicolle Zellner (Physics).

The purpose of the Elkin Isaac Research Symposium is to honor excellent student research, scholarship, and creative activity. The participants are nominated by their faculty sponsors after having participated in independent research that results in the significant synthesis of new knowledge. The research must have been performed under the direct supervision of an Albion College faculty member, or in a College-approved off-campus program. This year over 100 students presented their research. ]]>

David A. Reimann

April 22, 2009

Congressus Numerantium. This issue includes the Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Fibonacci Numbers and Their Applications, held at the Technische Universitat Carolino-Wilhelmina in Braunschweig, Germany in July 2004. The main result of this paper is that the only Fibonacci number less than 10¹⁰⁰ which is the sum of more than two consecutive factorials is F₉ = 34 = 0! + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4!. Mark's co-author on this paper is George Grossman of the Central Michigan University Department of Mathematics. ]]>

Mark E. Bollman

April 21, 2009

The College Mathematics Journal ]]>

Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities was published in the May 2009 issue of The College Mathematics Journal. The May issue is devoted to puzzles, and includes an interview with Martin Gardner along with a collection of articles on mathematically-oriented puzzles. The CMJ is published by the Mathematical Association of America and is focused on the first two years of college mathematics. ]]>

Mark E. Bollman

April 15, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

April 9, 2009

Meritorious Winner and Honorable Mention in the 2009 International Mathematical Contest in Modeling sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications. This year 1675 teams from 14 countries participated in the competition. The team of Yang Chen, Chris Creighton, and Sophia Potoczak received the prestigious award of Meritorious Winner for their work on a problem a complex problem related to cell phone usage and energy consumption. Only 9 teams in the world scored better than this Albion team in the competition. Other schools that received the same level of recognition as Albion for this problem included Harvard University, Harvey Mudd College, Tsinghua University (Beijing), Cornell University and The United States Military Academy at West Point.

In addition, the team of Chen Chen, Whitney Patton, and Kathryn Wagner, who chose to solve a problem involving the mathematics of traffic circles, received the rank of Honorable Mention for their solution. This is significant since, out of the 1675 teams in the competition, 1074 (61%) received a ranking lower than honorable mention. Other schools that received this ranking include Princeton University, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Michigan State University, Colorado College and numerous universities from China.

Congratulations to all six students for this fine achievement! Official results are available at the official COMAP MCM Results Website ]]>

Mark E. Bollman

April 7, 2009

Ryan Graham, a Physics major with an Applied Mathematics Minor, completed a thesis entitled "Quantifying the Influence of a 4.8-Tesla Magnetic Field on The α-γ Phase Transitions in Fe-0.75c Steel" for College honors. His thesis advisor was Dr. Aaron Miller (Physics). Ryan plans on attending graduate school to study civil engineering.

Whitney Patton, a Mathematics major, completed a thesis entitled "Comparison of the Rectangular, Polar, and Biangular Coordinate Systems as Seen Through Real and Complex Analysis" for Mathematics and Computer Science Departmental honors. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Mark Bollman. Whitney plans on pursuing a PhD in mathematics after graduation.

Timothy Rambo, a dual computer science and physics major with a minor in applied mathematics, completed two departmental theses. His thesis "Quantum Algorithms" was for departmental honors in Mathematics and Computer Science. His thesis advisor was Dr. Harold Connamacher. His thesis "An Algorithmic Solar Tracking System for a Solar Collector" was for departmental honors in Physics; his physics thesis advisor was Dr. Aaron Miller. Tim plans on pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering after graduation.

Lesley Simanton, a physics major with a minor in applied mathematics, completed a thesis entitled "Establishing Observing and Imaging Protocols for Albion College Telescopes: Investigating Instrumentation and Photometry" for College honors. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Nicolle Zellner (Physics). Lesley plans on pursuing a PhD in the area of astronomy and astrophysics after graduation.

A thesis is one of the most rigorous elements of the undergraduate experience at Albion College, a culmination of intensive independent research during a student's junior and senior years. All research and writing take place under the close supervision of a thesis committee consisting of a thesis advisor and two other faculty readers of the student's choosing. A thesis provides a unique opportunity for students to develop their capacity for independent research and provides excellent preparation for many graduate study programs. This year 55 students completed either a college or department thesis. ]]>

David A. Reimann

April 4, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

March 19, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

March 6, 2009

Mark E. Bollman

February 15, 2009

Darren E. Mason collaborated on the poster presentation Deformation Mode Characterization and FEM Simulation of alpha-Titanium Deformed in Bending. which was presented at the 138th Meeting and Exhibition of The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society at the Moscone's West Convention Center in San Francisco, CA. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA) and P. Eisenlohr of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany). ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

February 9, 2009

Two teams of threeCOMAP Mathematical Contest in Modeling Albion College mathematics students completed their work in 2009 Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) sponsored the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications. On the evening of Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 8pm, the Albion College mathematical modeling team of Chen Chen ('11), Whitney Patton ('09) and Kathryn Wagner ('09) & Yang Chen ('11), Chris Creighton ('10), and Sophia Potoczak ('10) twere presented with the choice of solving two different, yet thought-provoking real-life problems in mathematical modeling. Over the course of the next ninety-six hours, the team independently selected, sweated, solved, and wrote up a paper presenting each of their team's solution to the problem they chose. The solution was completed at 8pm on Monday, February 09, 2009 and then directly emailed to COMAP for judging. Professor Darren Mason organized the participation of the Albion students in this year's MCM. Final results of this highly competitive international contest will be available by May, 2009.]]>

Darren E. Mason Darren E. Mason

January 15, 2009

David A. Reimann

January 5, 2009

Darren E. Mason collaborated on the presentation Interactions between slip-systems, grain boundaries, heterogeneous deformation, and microcracking in commercially pure Ti. which was given at the International Symposium on Plasticity and its Applications at the Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriot Beach Resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA). ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Darren Mason's Research Presented at 2009 International Symposium on Plasticity
Darren E. Mason collaborated on the presentation Interactions between slip-systems, grain boundaries, heterogeneous deformation, and microcracking in commercially pure Ti. which was given at the International Symposium on Plasticity and its Applications at the Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriot Beach Resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA).

December 6, 2008

Participating for Albion were (left to right): Chen Chen, Whitney Patton, Erik Anderson, Rachel Kain, and Rachel Kamischke. The Putnam competition is held annually on the first Saturday of December and attracts about 3500 top undergraduate mathematics students from American and Canadian colleges. Results of the competition are expected at the end of March 2009. Mark Bollman supervised this year's Albion Putnam team.

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David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Five Albion Students Take Putnam Exam
On Saturday, December 6, five Albion mathematics students challenged themselves against North America's most prestigious math test in the 69th annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition.

November 11, 2008

Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, MI on Tuesday, November 11. The class took this opportunity to test their theoretical knowledge of probability on the gaming floor. In so doing, they re-created the origins of their subject, as much of what we now know as probability theory finds its roots in the study of gambling and games of chance. Though they learned in class that the odds and payoffs for any casino game are set in the house's favor, several students--7 out of 17--successfully beat the casino's advantage.

Front row, left to right: Nick Jensen, Jeff Scarbrough, FYE Student Mentor Audrey Kettle, Professor Mark Bollman
Middle row, left to right: Scott Merritt, Andy Malikowski, Zac Neal, Michael Bagby, Quinton Williams, Brian Arsen
Back row, left to right: Chuck DeClarke, Lainey Rubin, Melissa Moss, Megan Moore, Renee Tripon, Claire Kaisler, Lauren Roberts, Deena Weinstein

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David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Chance Class Travels To Soaring Eagle Casino
Mark Bollman's First-Year Seminar, Chance, traveled to the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, MI on Tuesday, November 11. The class took this opportunity to test their theoretical knowledge of probability on the gaming floor. In so doing, they re-created the origins of their subject, as much of what we now know as probability theory finds its roots in the study of gambling and games of chance. Though they learned in class that the odds and payoffs for any casino game are set in the house's favor, several students--7 out of 17--successfully beat the casino's advantage.

November 5, 2008

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Department Offers New Course in Complex Analysis
The department has added a new course, Math 333 Complex Analysis, with the following course description: "An introduction to complex variable theory. Specific topics to be covered include elementary and analytic functions, differentiation and integration in the complex plane, series representations, residues and poles, transform theory, and conformal mapping." This course will be offered during the Spring 2009 semester by Dr. Bollman.

October 29, 2008

thInternational Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling]]>

Computational modeling of interactions between slip-systems and grain boundaries that lead to fracture initiation at the Fourth International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, C. Boehlert, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), W. Liu of Argonne National Laboratory, and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA). ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Darren Mason Presents Research at the 4^thInternational Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling
Darren E. Mason gave the research presentation Computational modeling of interactions between slip-systems and grain boundaries that lead to fracture initiation at the Fourth International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, C. Boehlert, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), W. Liu of Argonne National Laboratory, and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA).

October 11, 2008

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Mark Bollman's Research Presented At International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Approximation Theory
Mark Bollman collaborated on the paper "Numerical approximation to pi using parabolic segments" which was presented at the International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Approximation Theory, held October 10-12 at the University of Memphis. Mark worked on this project with George Grossman of Central Michigan University.

October 7, 2008

Characterization of interactions between slip-systems and grain boundaries that lead to heterogeneous deformation in commercially pure titanium which was presented at the Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA). ]]>

David A. Reimann David A. Reimann

Darren Mason's Research Presented at Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition
Darren E. Mason collaborated on the paper Characterization of interactions between slip-systems and grain boundaries that lead to heterogeneous deformation in commercially pure titanium which was presented at the Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Darren's collaborators included T. R. Bieler, M. A. Crimp, Y. Yang, and L. Wang of Michigan State University (USA); P. Eisenlohr, F. Roters, and D. Raabe of the Max-Planck Institut f�r Eisenforschung (Germany), and G. E. Ice of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA).