Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, August 1997 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Dissertation Advisor: Dr. E. L. Stitzinger
Dissertation Title: Involutory Commutants of the Seventh Order with Applications to Algebraic Cryptography
M.S., Applied Mathematics, May 1994
Minor: Statistics
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Project Advisor: Dr. E. L. Stitzinger
Project Title: Discrete Logarithms in Finite Fields: An Introduction to Their Cryptographic Significance and the Algorithms Used to Compute Them
B.S., Mathematics, May 1992
Minor: Business Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Assistant Chair: July 2010 - current Associate Professor: August 2008 - current Graduate Director: June 2005 - June 2009 Assistant Professor: August 2002 - August 2008 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Courses I have taught at the graduate level include Mathematical Modeling - Empirical and Analytical, Applications of Abstract Algebra, Mathematical Models, Linear Algebra, and Linear Algebra for Teachers. Courses I have taught for undergraduates include Cryptology and Coding Theory, Election Theory, Modern Algebra, Linear Algebra, Calculus With Analytic Geometry I and II, and Introduction to Mathematics. University honors courses I have taught include Cryptology and Election Theory. I have also directed a master's thesis, three master's products of learning, two master's directed research projects, nine graduate teaching apprenticeships, four undergraduate honors theses, and nine independent studies.
Visiting Assistant Professor: August 2000 - June 2002 Department of Mathematics, State University of New York, Oswego, NY
Courses I taught include Applications of Abstract Algebra, Modern Algebra, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, Probability and Logical Thought, and Foundations of Mathematics. I also directed an undergraduate research project.
Cryptologic Mathematician: June 1999 - August 2000 NSA (National Security Agency), U.S. Department of Defense, Fort Meade, MD
Visiting Instructor: August 1997 - May 1999 Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Courses I taught include Applications of Abstract Algebra, and Calculus and Analytic Geometry I. I also developed and supervised a permanent university-wide technology component for Calculus and Analytic Geometry I.
Instructor's Manual for Cryptology, Classical and Modern, with Maplets, written with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University, submitted for publication by Taylor & Francis/CRC Press, in press.
Cryptology, Classical and Modern, with Maplets, a book written with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University, submitted for publication by Taylor & Francis/CRC Press, in press.
Mathematics and Fairness in Democratic Elections, a module published in UMAP/ILAP Tools for Teaching Modules 2009, April 2010.
Instructor's manual for The Mathematics of Voting and Elections: A Hands-On Approach, written with Dr. Jonathan Hodge of Grand Valley State University, and published online by the AMS (American Mathematical Society), July 2009.
Reed-Solomon Codes: A Tutorial and a Java Toolbox, an article written with undergraduate student Augustus Miraglia of Appalachian State University, and published in The UMAP Journal, April 2009.
A Java Simulator for Voting Methods, an article published in the Proceedings of the 20th ICTCM (International Conference on the Teaching of Collegiate Mathematics), March 2009.
Abstract Algebra, an online course written with Dr. Vicky Klima of Appalachian State University, and published online by LEARN NC of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education, August 2008.
Elementary Coding Theory Including Hamming and Reed-Solomon Codes with Maple and MATLAB, an article written with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University, and published in the Proceedings of the 18th ICTCM, February 2007.
Applications of Abstract Algebra with Maple and MATLAB, a book written with Drs. Neil Sigmon of Radford University and Ernest Stitzinger of North Carolina State University, and published by Taylor & Francis/CRC Press, January 2000 (first edition) and August 2006 (expanded second edition).
Some Elementary Cryptography Including RSA on the TI-92+ and Voyage 200, an article written with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University, and published in the Proceedings of the 17th ICTCM, March 2006.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography with Java, an article written with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University, and published in Mathematics and Computer Education, March 2005.
Focused, Compressed Video Tutorials, an article written with Drs. William Bauldry and Brian Felkel of Appalachian State University, and published in the Proceedings of the 16th ICTCM, October 2004.
(Title Withheld), an article summarizing the project on which I worked at the NSA, and published internally at the agency, August 2000.
Applying the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange to RSA, an article published in The UMAP Journal, April 1999.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography with Maple, an article written with Drs. Neil Sigmon of Radford University and Ernest Stitzinger of North Carolina State University, and accepted for publication in MapleTech, June 1998.
Maple Supplements for Calculus I, a semester series of Maple worksheets and assignments written with Drs. Joseph Marlin of North Carolina State University and John Matthews of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and published internally and permanently incorporated into the mathematics curriculum at NC State, August 1997.
Involutory Commutants of the Seventh Order with Applications to Algebraic Cryptography, a dissertation completed under the direction of Dr. Ernest Stitzinger, and submitted to the North Carolina State University Graduate School, April 1997.
Examining Randomness in Certain Sequences, an article summarizing my group's work under the direction of Dr. Mark Sellers of the NSA during the 1996 Industrial Mathematics Modeling Workshop for Graduate Students at the North Carolina State University Center for Research in Scientific Computation, and published internally at NC State, July 1996.
Discrete Logarithms in Finite Fields: An Introduction to Their Cryptographic Significance and the Algorithms Used to Compute Them, a master's project completed under the direction of Dr. Ernest Stitzinger, and submitted to the North Carolina State University Department of Mathematics, May 1994.
COLLOQUIA, WORKSHOPS, AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS:
Using Graphs to Break Ciphers, a presentation to be given with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the 24th ICTCM in Orlando, March 2012.
Explaining the Impossible: Kenneth Arrow's Nobel Prize Winning Theorem on Elections, a presentation given as part of the CSEMS Seminar Series at Appalachian State University, October 2007, as an invited colloquium at Murray State University in Murray, KY, October 2007, as an invited address at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, February 2008, as an invited colloquium at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, March 2008, as part of the CSAM Scholarship Seminar Series at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, April 2008, as an invited address at Radford University in Radford, VA, September 2008, and as an invited lecture at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC, March 2012.
Simulating a Verbal Translation of the Navajo Code; a Completed Version, a presentation given with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the AMS/MAA (Mathematical Association of America) Joint Mathematics Meeting in New Orleans, January 2011.
A Mathematician's Views on Minesweeper, Partying, and Card-Shuffling, a presentation given as part of the Misfit Lecture Series at Appalachian State University's Watauga College in January 2005, and as part of the Beyond the Syllabus Lecture Series for Appalachian State University's Appalachian Honors Association in November 2009.
A Maplet for Encoding, Decoding, and Correcting Errors in Golay Codes, a presentation given at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in Washington, DC, January 2009.
A Java Simulator for Voting Methods, a presentation given at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Diego, January 2008, and at the 20th ICTCM in San Antonio, March 2008.
Ralph Nader, Jesse Ventura, and Other Electoral Inconveniences, an invited colloquium given at Murray State University in Murray, KY, October 2007.
Constructing Maplets, Demonstrated Through Cryptography Including AES and RSA, a computer minicourse conducted with Drs. William Bauldry of Appalachian State University and Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the 19th ICTCM in Boston, February 2007.
Using Maplets and Java to Teach Reed-Solomon Codes, a presentation given with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in New Orleans, January 2007.
Cryptography in the Classroom: Pedagogic Secrets Decrypted, a panel session conducted with Drs. William Bauldry of Appalachian State University, Edmund Lamagna of the University of Rhode Island, and Douglas Meade of the University of South Carolina at the 18th ICTCM in Orlando, March 2006.
Elementary Coding Theory Including Hamming and Reed-Solomon Codes with Maple and MATLAB, a computer minicourse conducted with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the 18th ICTCM in Orlando, March 2006.
And the Winner Is ... The Borda Count Method, an invited talk given to three classes at Wilkes Central High School in Wilkesboro, NC, November 2005.
Topics and Applications of Discrete Mathematics, a session conducted with Dr. Mark Ginn of Appalachian State University at the 35th NCCTM (North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics) Conference in Greensboro, NC, October 2005.
Invited guest appearances on The Edge, hosted by Tom Smith on WXYB in Tampa, to discuss the mathematics of election theory, July 2005 and September 2005.
Nader, Ventura, and Other Electoral Inconveniences, an invited presentation given as part of the Appalachian State University Department of Mathematical Sciences Discrete Mathematics Workshop Series for High School Teachers in Boone, NC, July 2005.
A Moore-Style Course on the Mathematics of Voting and Elections, an invited presentation given with Dr. Jonathan Hodge of Grand Valley State University at the 8th Legacy of R. L. Moore Conference in Austin, May 2005.
Some Sports-Related Election Methods and Ranking Procedures, a presentation given at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in Atlanta, January 2005.
A Mathematician's Views on Minesweeper, Card-Shuffling, and Psychic Ability, an invited colloquium given at Murray State University in Murray, KY, November 2004.
Some Elementary Cryptography Including RSA on the TI-92+ and Voyage 200, a calculator workshop conducted with Dr. Neil Sigmon of Radford University at the 17th ICTCM in New Orleans, October 2004.
Using the World Wide Web to Disseminate Focused, Compressed Video Tutorials, a presentation given with Dr. Brian Felkel of Appalachian State University at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in Phoenix, January 2004.
Focused, Compressed Video Tutorials, a computer minicourse conducted with Drs. Brian Felkel and William Bauldry of Appalachian State University at the 16th ICTCM in Chicago, November 2003.
Loan Amortization: A Cool Application of Calculus, an invited colloquium given at High Point University in High Point, NC, October 2003.
Voting and Apportionment: The Paradoxes of Democracy, an invited presentation given as part of the Appalachian State University Department of Mathematical Sciences Discrete Mathematics Workshop Series for High School Teachers in Boone, NC, January 2003.
Recent Advances in the Cryptanalysis of the Two-Message Problem, an invited colloquium given at Murray State University in Murray, KY, November 2002.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography with Java, a presentation given with student Diana Alexander of the State University of New York at Oswego at the AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Diego, January 2002.
(Title Withheld), a presentation summarizing the project on which I worked at the NSA in Fort Meade, MD, July 2000.
Involutory Commutants of the Seventh Order with Applications to Algebraic Cryptography, a presentation given at the MAA Southeastern Section Meeting in Atlanta, March 1997.
Some Algorithms for Computing Discrete Logarithms with Applications to Algebraic Cryptography, an invited colloquium given at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, February 1995.
Nominee for the William H. Plemmons Leadership Medallion in the category of faculty who provide meritorious service through their work with student organizations at Appalachian State University, December 2006.
Nominee for the William C. Strickland Outstanding Young Faculty Award in the Appalachian State University College of Arts and Sciences, October 2005.
Invited participant with funding by The Educational Advancement Foundation at the 7th Legacy of R. L. Moore Conference in Austin, March 2004.
Grant in the amount of $7,750 awarded by The Educational Advancement Foundation, January 2004.
One of 30 graduate students selected nationally to participate in the Industrial Mathematics Modeling Workshop for Graduate Students at the North Carolina State University Center for Research in Scientific Computation, July 1996.
One of 10 graduate students selected at North Carolina State University to participate in the Preparing the Professoriate program, 1995-96.
North Carolina State University Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant, 1993-94.
SERVICE TO APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY, THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND THE DISCIPLINE:
Honors College Academic Program Approving Committee member since April 2011.
Federal Mandates and SACS Compliance Sub-committee member since October 2010.
Second reader for an undergraduate honors thesis for the Department of English, April 2012.
Second reader for an undergraduate honors thesis for the Department of Computer Science, April 2012.
Directed a Faculty/Student Exchange Orientation session for the university, August 2011.
General Education Review Task Force member from November 2010 through June 2011.
Referee of the article Cost-Conscious Voters in Referendum Elections for Involve, January 2011.
Quantitative Literacy Faculty Coordinating Committee member for the General Education Program since March 2008, and Chair of this committee from March 2008 through August 2010.
General Education Council member from March 2008 through August 2010.
Referee of the article Curve Interpolation and Coding Theory for The UMAP Journal, July 2010.
Referee of the article Cutoffs and Thresholds in the Democratic Primary for The UMAP Journal, June 2010.
Screening Committee member for the selection of the Faculty Coordinator of General Education, June 2010.
Panel Discussion member for Learning Matters: Inquiry, Integration, & Active Learning at the new faculty orientation for the university's Prelude to Fall, August 2009.
Co-Director of the graduate programs in the Department of Mathematical Sciences for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies from 2005-09.
Consultant for the Partners for Mathematics Learning Project at Meredith College, Fall 2008.
Awards Committee member for the General Education Program, Spring 2008.
Thesis Award Committee member for the College of Arts and Sciences, Spring 2008.
Directed a Freshman Orientation Phase 2 meeting for the university, August 2006.
Textbook reviewer for Addison Wesley, Spring 2003.
SERVICE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES:
Assistant Chair since 2010.
Personnel Committee member, 2005-07, 2008-09, and since 2010.
Chair Advisory Committee member since 2008.
Secondary Education Graduate Program Assessment Committee member since Fall 2007.
Supervised graduate instructional/teaching assistants, Fall 2005 (2), Spring 2006 (3), Fall 2006 (3), Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009 (2), Fall 2011, and Spring 2012.
Took students from my MAT 3510 and MAT 5220 classes to Fort Meade, MD to tour the U.S. National Cryptologic Museum and attend a presentation by a Cryptologic Mathematician from the NSA, April 2003, 2007, and 2011.
Presented colloquium Cryptology with Maplets: How I Spent My OCSA Writing About John F. Kennedy, Nicolas Cage, and Mick Jagger, September 2010.
Technology Support Personnel search committee member, August 2010.
Faculty co-sponsor of the ASU Math Club from 2003-10.
Co-Director of the graduate programs from 2005-09.
Supervised graduate teaching apprentices, Spring 2003, Fall 2003 (2), Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, and Spring 2009.
Presented a series of three graduate seminars on case studies in mathematics teaching, February 2009.
Presented graduate seminar on constructing vitas and personal statements, January 2007 and October 2008.
Presented graduate seminar on testwriting, August 2006 and September 2008.
Presented colloquium Explaining the Impossible: Kenneth Arrow's Nobel Prize Winning Theorem on Elections, September 2007.
Presented graduate seminar on constructing syllabi, January 2006 and August 2007.
Graduate Instructional/Teaching Assistant Supervision Committee member, Spring 2007.
MAT 1010 Committee member, Spring 2007.
MAT 1010 Committee Chair, Fall 2006.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Modern Algebra member, April 2006.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Logic and Proof member, March 2006.
Took students from my MAT 3510 class to Washington, DC to tour the U.S. Capitol with a staff member from the office of U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra, April 2005.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Linear Algebra and Differential Equations member, February through April 2005.
MAT 1010 Committee Chair, Fall 2004 through Spring 2005.
Presented colloquium Some Elementary Cryptography Including RSA on the TI-92+ and Voyage 200, November 2004.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on the General Curriculum member, December 2003.
Presented colloquium Mathematics Through Games, November 2003.
Centroid article reviewer, October 2003.
Presented colloquium Amortization: An Application of Calculus, February 2003.