Welcome to the 2004 Mackinac Gazette. We hope that you enjoy these stories about our students, alumni, and faculty. Please note that past newsletters are available through the links at the left. If you have a suggestion for a story for a future newsletter, we would love to hear from you; please feel free to contact any of the editors.
Editors:
David Austin (austind at gvsu dot edu)
Matt Boelkins (boelkinm at gvsu dot edu)
Paul Fishback (fishbacp at gvsu dot edu)
Greetings from Department Chair Steven Schlicker
Department chair Steven Schlicker discusses faculty news, program news, and other exciting developments going on within the math department. Read more about Steven.
Meet our new faculty members
The Department of Mathematics is pleased to welcome four outstanding new faculty members this year: Filiz Dogru, Karen Heidenreich, Nathan Wodarz, and Paul Yu. Read more about them here.
A solution to the Poincare Conjecture may be near
Through the Clay Mathematics offering of $1 million to solve one of the problems posted in a portfolio online, Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman may have a solution for one of these problems, the Poincare Conjecture. Read more about what it is here.
Grand Valley Mathematics Department hosts three major conferences
Grand Valley hosted three major conferences in the 2003-2004 school year: The Michigan Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Math in Action, and Conversations Among Colleagues. For more information about these conferences, read more about these conferences.
John Skukalek is this year's outstanding graduate
Besides earning the honor of being named Outstanding Graduate, senior John Skukalek also received the highest honor bestowed upon undergraduates university-wide: The Glenn A. Niemeyer Award. Read more about John here.
Outstanding Students Honored
On Monday, April 12, the department will honor its most outstanding students at its annual awards banquet. Read more about these awards.
Get to know faculty members Amy Stone and Ed Aboufadel
Affiliate faculty Amy Stone and associate professor Ed Aboufadel enjoy making an impact on students' lives with the courses they teach. Read more about Amy and Ed here.
Longtime department member Phil Pratt retires
Along with Alverna Champion and Ernie Palmer, Phil Pratt elected to retire this year. Phil has completed over 32 years of service to Grand Valley, including 8 years as chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Read more about Phil.
Meet Grand Valley alumnus Nick Ceglarek
An alumnus of Grand Valley, Nick Ceglarek now enjoys "positively impacting the lives of children" by teaching mathematics in Rockford Public Schools. Read more about Nick.