Education

• Syracuse University, Ph.D. Mathematics (Stochastic Processes), May 1999
• Syracuse University, M.S. Applied Statistics, May 1999
• Syracuse University, Certificate of University Teaching, May 1999
• Syracuse University, M.S. Mathematics, May 1994
• State University of New York at Cortland, B.S. (Summa Cum Laude), Mathematics, May 1992
• Ithaca College, B.S. Exercise Science, May 1990

Positions Held

• Associate Professor (Math Dept), Ithaca College, Fall 2006-Present
• Adjunct Graduate Faculty (School of Health Science and Human Performance), Ithaca College, Fall 2001-Present
• Assistant Professor (Math & CS Dept), Ithaca College, Fall 2001-Spring 2006
• Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Fall 1999-Spring 2001
• Graduate Teaching Associate, Syracuse University, Fall 1994-Spring 1999
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Syracuse University, Fall 1992-Spring 1994

Publications

• Educating Students about Sustainability while Enhancing Calculus, PRIMUS (to appear).
• Do Hands-On Activities Increase Student Understanding?: A Case Study, with Aaron Weinberg, The Journal of Statistics Education (to appear).
• Chromatic Polynomial Identities: Algebra with the Chromatic Polynomial, with Donny Tang*. The PME Journal (to appear).
• Measuring Resource Inequality: Gini Coefficient, with Michael T. Catalano and Tanya L. Leise, Numeracy Vol 2:Iss 2, Article 4. July 2009. link
• Series that Probably Converge to One, with Max M Tran, Mathematics Magazine Vol. 82, No 1, February 2009, 42-49.
• Climate in the Classroom. Themed Essay for Math Awareness Month 2009.
• The Chromatic Polynomial of P_2 x P_n, with Jasmine Walker*, Missouri Journal of Mathematical Sciences, Volume 20/3, November 2008.
• Barron's FE Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, contributed chapter on Engineering Probability and Statistics, first printing 2008.
• Deriving a Formula for Sums of Powers of Integers. The PME Journal Volume 12/7, Fall 2007 pdf
• Does the Runs Created Formula Work for Division III Softball?, with Jenn Marro*. By the Numbers, the newsletter of the SABR statistical analysis committee, Volume 17/3, August 2007.
• The Effects of Travel on Home-Field Advantage in Professional Baseball, with Andrew Boslett* and Matt Hoover*. By the Numbers, the newsletter of the SABR statistical analysis committee, Volume 17/2, May 2007.
• Using the Combinatorica Package in Mathematica for Student Projects in Random Graph Theory, with Michele Zaret*. Primus, 16:4, Dec 2006. pdf
• The Interlegue Home Field Advantage, with Eric Callahan* and Bryan Reynolds*. By the Numbers, the newsletter of the SABR statistical analysis committee, Volume 16/2, May 2006. pdf
• Statistics Projects Using Institutional Data. PRIMUS 16:1, March 2006. pdf
• The N-Jugs and Water Problem, with Max Tran. The PME Journal Volume12/1, Fall 2004. pdf
• Book review of Adam Spencer's Book of Numbers. The MAA Online book review column, September 2004.
• Book review of Elementary Number Theory, Group Theory, and Ramanujan Graphs. The MAA Online book review column, April 2004.
• A New Approach to Macaulay Posets, with S. Bezrukov and V. Piotrowski. Journal of Combinatorial Theory series A, Volume 105/2, 2004. pdf
• A Mean Field Model for Species Abundance. Stochastic Processes and their Applications 104, 2003. pdf
• The Generalized Jug Problem, with Max Tran. Journal of Recreational Mathematics Vol 31, Num 2, 2002-2003. pdf
• Teaching Calculus Students How to Study, with Matthew Boelkins. PRIMUS, 8:3, Sept 1998. pdf
• Using Informal Inferential Reasoning to Develop Formal Concepts: Analyzing an Activity, with Aaron Weinberg and Emilie Weisner, The Journal of Statistics Education (submitted).
• On Averaging sum_{i=1}^n i^a The College Mathematics Journal (submitted).
• Studying the Impacts of Changing Climate on the Finger Lakes Wine Industry, with Brian McGauvran*, Involve, A Journal of Mathematics
  
  (* Indicates a Student co-author)

Journal Problems Posed or Solved

Undergraduate Research Supervision

• Using Regional Climate Models to Assess Future Climate Change Impacts on the Finger Lakes Wine Industry, Emily Backus and Brian McGauvran, Ithaca College Spring 2009. Presented at the J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College April 2009.
• The Effects of Travel on Home Field Advantage in Professional Baseball, Andrew Boslett and Matt Hoover, Ithaca College Spring 2007. Presented at Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Siena College April 2007; and J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2007.
• A Runs Created Formula for Softball, Jenn Marro, Ithaca College Spring 2007. Presented at the J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2007.
• A Statistical Analysis of the Home Field Advantage in Baseball, Eric Callahan and Bryan Reynolds, Ithaca College Spring 2006. Presented at Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Westfield State College April 2006; and J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2006.
• Deletion and Contraction Games: (Chromatic) Polynomial Identities, Donny Tang (part of Honors thesis), Ithaca College Fall 2004-Spring 2005. (To Be) Presented at Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Williams College April 2005; and J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2005.
• The Chromatic Polynomial of P_2xP_n, Jasmine Walker, Ithaca College Spring 2005. (To Be) Presented at Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Williams College April 2005; and J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2005.
• How Many Edges are Needed to Make a Random Graph Connected?, Michele Zaret, Ithaca College Fall 2004. Presented in the Junior Seminar in the Mathematics Department at Ithaca College, December 2004.
• The Odds of Landing on Boardwalk: A Mathematical Approach to Monopoly, Mathew Darby and Lindsay Monk, Ithaca College Spring 2004. Presented at Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Mt. Holyoke College April 2004; and J.J. Whalen Symposium at Ithaca College March 2004.
• Published Solution to Problem 1023, The PME Journal Fall 2002, by Eric Heinzman.

Masters Students

• Kelly Brady, Respiratory Requirements for Firefighters Summer 2007.
• Chad Butts, Effect of Respiratory Muscle Training on 20km Cycling Time-Trial Performance, Summer 2007.
• Karen Lynn Uhl-Smith, The Effect of Two Days of Partial Sleep Deprivation on Indicators of Performance in Female Basketball Players, May 2002.

Invited Talks

• Can you have Social Justice if your Village is under Water? with Ali Erkan and Jason Hamilton at Developing a Good Heart in STEM: The 1st Summit on Incorporating Social Justice and Service-Learning into the STEM Curriculum, Ithaca College, Ithaca NY, June 12, 2009.
• What Can Mathematics do for Sustainability Curriculum?, Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, May 18, 2009. Followed by a 2 hour workshop on May 19.
• Curriculum on Climate in the Classroom, as part of a panel presentaion on mathematics and climate for Cornell University's mathematics awareness month public lecture series, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, April 8, 2009.
• The Calculus of Sustainability, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, California, April 3, 2009 (internet conference).
• Education about the State of the Planet and Sustainability while Enhancing Calculus, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, March 12, 2009.
• Educating about the State of the Planet (or Sustainability) while Enhancing Calculus, 2hour Minicourse at Seeway Section MAA Meeting, Syracuse University, April 2008.
• Panel Discussion on Interdisciplinary Training Related to Climate Change,Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego CA, January 2008.
• Educating about Sustainability while Enhancing Calculus, Bowdoin College, Brunswick MN, November 14, 2007.
• Peak Oil, CAFE Standards, and a Modeling Problem, Bowdoin College, Brunswick MN, November 13, 2007.
• Educating about Sustainability while Teaching Calculus, Syracuse University Project Advance, Syracuse University's Lubin House, Manhattan NY, October 12, 2007.
• Educating about Sustainability while Teaching Calculus, Syracuse University Project Advance, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY, October 11, 2007.
• Educating about Sustainability while Teaching Calculus, Mathematics of Social Justice Workshop, Middlebury College, Middlebury VT, June 2007.
• Understanding and Controlling Randomness-A Simple Class Demonstration. Spring Faculty Development Conference, Ithaca College, May 2007.
• Mathematical Ideas in Everyday Life. SUNY Geneseo, Dec 2003.
• A Mean Field Model for Species Abundance. Cornell University Probability Seminar, Oct 2003.
• Mathematical Observations-Math is Everywhere. University of Wisconsin-Superior, April 2003.
• Handshaking to Sums of Power of Integers. Lake Superior Seminar on Graphs, Algebra, and Combinatorics at University of Wisconsin-Superior, April 2003.
• Tiling the WWW. SUNY Geneseo, November 2002.
• Closing the deal: The campus interview and beyond. MAA-YMN Panel Discussion at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego CA, January 2002.
• Panel Discussion on Career Advising for Undergraduates. PFF day at Binghamton University, October 2001.
• Panel Discussion on Advising and Retaining Mathematics Students, for the Project NExT colloquium at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, New Orleans, January 2001.
• Fun with Probability, University of Minnesota Duluth, November 2000.
• A Panel Discussion on Math after Graduation: Cortland Graduates Speaking from Experience, State University of New York at Cortland, November 1998.
• Making the Implicit Explicit: Teaching Study Skills, State University of New York at Oswego, April 1998.
• Polyominoes, State University of New York at Geneseo, November 1997.
• Probability, pi and e
  • State University of New York at Cortland, April 1999.
  • State University of New York at Oswego, October 1997.

Colloquia/Seminar Talks

• Educating about the State of the Planet and Sustainability) while Enhancing Calculus, 4 hour Minicourse at the Joint Mathematics Meetings, Washington D.C., January 5-8, 2009.
• Running the Numbers: Enhancing Calculus through Education about Sustainability, AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference, Raleigh NC, November 2008.
• Peak Oil: The Other Problem, Ithaca College Sustainability Cafe, February 2008.
• Educating about Sustainability while Teaching Calculus, MAA contributed paper session, Joint Meetings in San Diego CA, January 2008.
• MATH 400/MAT 500 What's the Difference? A Look at MAT-Number Theory, Ithaca College Math Colloquium, November 2007.
• Integrating Sustainability into Calculus: Enhancing Calculus while Meeting Joint Science Academies and United Nation Goals on Education in Sustainability, Seaway Section MAA Meeting, SUNY Oneonta, April 2007.
• Integrating Sustainability into Mathematics: Enhancing Calculus while Meeting Joint Science Academies and United Nation Goals on Education in Sustainability, High School Mathemetical Exploration Day (talk preseneted to the teachers), Ithaca College, April 2007.
• Integrating Sustainability into Calculus: Enhancing Calculus while Meeting Joint Science Academies and United Nation Goals on Education in Sustainability, Ithaca College Math Colloquium, February 2006.
• Integrating Sustainability into Calculus: A Quantitative Look at Energy Policy, Ithaca College Sustainability Day, October 2006.
• Special Averages with Sums of Powers of Integers, MAA contributed paper session, Joint Meetings in San Antonio TX, January 2006.
• Statistics Class Projects Using Institutional Data, MAA Session on Using Real-World Data, Joint Meetings in Atlanta GA, January 2005.
• Statistics Class Projects Using Institutional Data, Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Buffalo NY, November 2004.
• Handshaking to Sums of Powers of Integers, MAA contributed paper session, Joint Meetings in Phoenix AZ, January 2004.
• The N-Jugs and Water Problem, Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Rochester NY, November 2003.
• Handshaking to Sums of Powers of Integers, Ithaca College, Math Colloquium, April 2003.
• Probability and Statistics - Curriculum Thoughts, Ithaca College, Math Colloquium, February 2003.
• Taking Advantage of Institutional Research Data, MAA Session on Best Statistics Projects, Joint Meetings in Baltimore, January 2003.
• Handshaking to Sums of Powers of Integers, Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Potsdam NY, November 2002.
• An Alternative Approach to Graphing the Inverse of a Function, MAA contributed paper session, Joint Meetings in New Orleans, January 2001.
• Monopoly and Markov Chains, Syracuse University Graduate Mathematics Conference, Syracuse, April 1997.
• A Brief Introduction to LaTeX, Syracuse University Mathematics TA Orientation, Syracuse, Aug 1996 and 1997.
• The Eight Queens Problem, Syracuse University Graduate Mathematics Conference, Syracuse, March 1996.

Service to College

• Four-year personnel review committee in Physics, Spring 2009.
• Ithaca College Facility and Planning Committee, AY's 2008-2011.
• Math Assessement Committee, AY 2008-2009.
• H&S Faculty Senate Vice President, AY 2008-2009.
• College Wide Search and Selection Review Committee, Spring 2006-Spring 2007.
• Chair two-year personnel review committee in Physics, AY 2006-2007.
• Math Curriculum Committee, AY 2006-2007.
• H&S Faculty Senate Vice President, AY 2006-2007.
• H&S Faculty Senate, AY's 2006-2009.
• H&S Faculty Senate, AY's 2003-2006.
• Math Service Course Committee (chair), AY's 2002-2005.
  As chair, started a process where we initiate a conversation with other departments on campus about their mathematics requirement so that each program's math requirement serves students professionally and personally as best possible. The goal is to revisit each department every three to five years.
• Ithaca College Core Experience Task Force, Spring 2003-Spring 2005.
  All campus committee with a charge from the provost to develop a college wide core/common experience/curriculum for all Ithaca College students.
• Math Curriculum Committee, AY 2002-2003, 2004-2005.
• Faculty Co-Advisor to PME and Math Club, Fall 2001-Spring 2004.
• CFRD Reviewer for Release Time, Fall 2003.
  Reviewed faculty proposals for release time for the 2004-2005 academic year.
• H&S Community Task Force, AY 2002-2003.

• Faculty Advisor to the Math & Computer Science Club, (Fall 1999-Spring 2001).
• Campus Physical Development Committee, (Sept 00-May 01)

• University Steering Committee, Preparing Future Faculty (Oct. 1997-May 1999).
• President of the Mathematics Graduate Organization (May 1997-May 1998).
• Graduate Student Leader for the Preparing Future Professors Project (Feb 1996-May 1997).
• Future Professoriate Project Participant (Sept 1995-May 1999).

Service to Mathematics

• Local organizer for the June 11 and 12, 2009 conference: Developing a Good Heart in STEM: The 1st Summit on Incorporating Social Justice and Service-Learning into the STEM Curriculum.
• MAA Seaway Section Liaison (Fall 2004-Present).
• Local Organizer for the Spring 2006 MAA Seaway Section meeting.

Referee
• Mathematics Magazine
• The Pi Mu Epsilon Journal

Service to Community and Outreach

• Answering Sustainability Questions with a Calculus Class (different from below), Fayettville-Manlius High School, Syracuse NY, May 2008.
• Answering Sustainability Questions with two Calculus Classes, Fayettville-Manlius High School, Syracuse NY, January 2008.
• Speaker at Ithaca High School Career Day Spring 2004.
• Speaker at Ithaca High School Career Day Spring 2002.

Courses Taught

Conferences Attended

• Joint Mathematics Meetings, Washington D.C., January 5-8, 2009.
• AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference, Raleigh NC, November 2008.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Syracuse University, NY, April 12, 2008.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego CA, January 6-9, 2008.
• Mathematics of Social Justice Workshop, Middlebury College, Middlebury VT, June 20-23, 2007.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, SUNY Oneonta, Oneonta NY, April 28, 2007.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Ithaca College, Ithaca NY, April 28 & 29, 2006.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio TX, January 12-15, 2006.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, Atlanta GA, January 4-8, 2005.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Canisius College, Buffalo NY, November 6, 2004.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, SUNY Cortland, Cortland NY, April 24, 2004.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, Phoenix AZ, January 6-10, 2004.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, RIT, Rochester NY, November 8, 2003.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, Alfred University, Alfred NY, April 5, 2003.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, MD. January 15-18, 2003.
• Seaway Section MAA Meeting, SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam NY, November 1-2, 2002.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, California. Jan 6-9, 2002.
• MAA summer meeting, Madison, Wisconsin August 2001.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, New Orleans, Louisiana. January 9-13, 2001.
• History of Mathematics Conference, Menomonie, WI. September 2000.
• MAA summer meeting, L.A., California. August 2000.
• Wisconsin Section MAA meeting, Superior, Wisconsin. April 2000.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, Texas. January 7-12, 1999.
• Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, Maryland. January 11-15, 1998.

Honors and Distinctions

• NCAR-Visitor Funds: Received funding by NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) tto visit for three days in the summer of 2009.
• Ithaca College Academic Project Grant: $750 to support the project Assessing Hands-on Statistics Activities with Aaron Weinberg.
• National Science Foundation Grant DUE-0837721: Multidisciplinary Sustainability Modules: Integreating STEM Courses, $149,104 from June 1, 2009 through May 31, 2012, with Ali Erkan-Computer Science, Jason Hamilton-Ecology, & Michael Rogers-Physics.
• NCAR-Visitor Funds: Received funding by NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) through their RSVP (Research and Supercomputing Visitors Program) to visit for three days in the summer of 2008.
• Faculty Development Award: Three credit of release time for AY 2008-2009.
• Sabbatical: Fall 2007
• Department Merit Award: Spring 2007.
• Profiled in the Ithacan (student newspaper)
• Sustainability Mini-Grant: Spring 2006.
• Faculty Development Award: Three credit of release time for AY 2006-2007.
• Department Merit Award: Spring 2005.
• Faculty Development Award: Three credit of release time for AY 2004-2005.
• Faculty Development Award: Three credit of release time for AY 2003-2004.
• Faculty Development Award: Three credit of release time for AY 2002-2003.
• Project NExT 2000-2001 Fellow: One of 70 fellows selected to participate.
• Donald E. Kibbey Prize: Presented by the Syracuse University Mathematics Department in recognition of exceptional performance as a teaching assistant, April 1998.
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant: Presented by the TA Program of the Graduate School at Syracuse University, Spring 1994.
• Alumni Achievement Award: Presented by The Cortland Alumni Association, April 1992.
• Certificate of Academic Achievement: Presented by the faculty at Cortland College, May 1992.
• Varsity Crew: Varsity letters from Ithaca College, Spring 1988,1989,1990.

Research Interests

• Applied Mathematics
• Probability & Statistics
• Sustainability
• College Teaching of Mathematics
• Actuary Science
• Combinatorics and Graph Theory
• Recreational Mathematics, Puzzles and Games

Other Information

• Course I Passed Nov 2000, score 10

• 3

• Quoted in the Cornell Daily Sun, 4/15/09.
• Quoted in an Inside Higher Education Article

• Contributed Sequence A123531 (Oct 2006)

• Dr. J. Theodore Cox

• American Mathematical Society (AMS)
• American Statistical Association (ASA)
• Mathematical Association of America (MAA)
• Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)

Created by Thomas J. Pfaff and last updated on 09/02/09. Send questions or comments to tpfaff(at)ithaca.edu.

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