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:
Associate Professor: March 2008 - current Assistant Professor: August 2002 - March 2008 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Courses I have taught include Graduate Mathematical Modeling - Empirical and Analytical, Graduate Linear Algebra, Graduate Linear Algebra for Teachers, The Mathematics of Cryptology and Error-Correcting Codes, The Mathematics of Voting and Elections, Modern Algebra, Linear Algebra, Calculus With Analytic Geometry I and II, and Introduction to Mathematics. I have also supervised a master's thesis, three master's products of learning, eight graduate teaching apprenticeships, four senior honors theses, and six independent studies, and am co-director of the department's graduate programs.
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 supervised an undergraduate research project.
Cryptologic Mathematician: June 1999 - August 2000 NSA (National Security Agency), U.S. Department of Defense, Fort Meade, MD.
For security reasons I am prohibited from discussing the project on which I worked at the NSA. This project was presented and published internally at the agency.
Visiting Instructor: August 1997 - June 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.
Reed-Solomon Codes: A Tutorial and Java Toolbox, an article written with graduate student Augustus Miraglia of Appalachian State University, to appear in The UMAP Journal.
A Java Simulator for Voting Methods, an article to appear in the Proceedings of the 20th ICTCM (International Conference on the Teaching of Collegiate Mathematics).
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, Second Edition, a book written with Drs. Neil Sigmon of Radford University and Ernest Stitzinger of North Carolina State University, and published by Chapman & Hall/CRC as part of their Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications series, August 2006.
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.
Applications of Abstract Algebra with Maple, a book written with Drs. Neil Sigmon of Radford University and Ernest Stitzinger of North Carolina State University, and published by CRC Press LLC, January 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:
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 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, and as part of the CSAM Scholarship Seminar Series at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, April 2008.
A Java Simulator for Voting Methods, a presentation given at the AMS/MAA (Mathematical Association of America) 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, and Explaining the Impossible: Kenneth Arrow's Nobel Prize Winning Theorem on Elections, a pair of invited colloquia 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 session 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 talk given with Dr. Jonathan Hodge of Grand Valley State University at the 8th Legacy of R. L. Moore Conference in Austin, May 2005.
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 Boone, NC, January 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 minicourse workshop conducted with Drs. William Bauldry and Brian Felkel of Appalachian State University at the 16th ICTCM in Chicago, November 2003.
Amortization: An 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.
HONORS, GRANTS, AND OTHER AWARDS:
Grant in the amount of $1,000 awarded by the General Education Program at Appalachian State University, May 2008.
Nominee for the William C. Strickland Outstanding Young Faculty Award in the Appalachian State University College of Arts and Sciences, Fall 2007.
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, Fall 2005.
Invited participant with funding provided by The Educational Advancement Foundation at the 8th Legacy of R. L. Moore Conference in Austin, May 2005.
Invited participant with funding provided 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.
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SERVICE:
Co-Director of the graduate programs in the Department of Mathematical Sciences for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies since June 2005. Duties for this position include keeping paperwork current for 15 to 20 full-time students in on-campus programs and 15 to 20 part-time students in off-campus programs.
Quantitative Literacy Committee Chair for the General Education Program since March 2008. This committee is responsible for establishing the criteria that must be met and evaluating courses that are proposed to satisfy the quantitative literacy component of the university's new general education curriculum.
General Education Council member for the General Education Program since March 2008.
Awards Committee member for the General Education Program, Spring 2008. This committee was responsible for selecting the recipients of the Harvey Durham Outstanding Freshman Advocate Award, Rennie Brantz Award for Outstanding Teaching in Freshman Seminar, and Wayne D. Duncan Faculty Enrichment and Teaching Fellowship for 2007-08.
Thesis Award Committee member for the College of Arts and Sciences, Spring 2008. This committee was responsible for selecting the recipient of the Outstanding Thesis Award in the college for 2007-08.
Directed a Freshman Orientation Phase 2 meeting and discussion for the university, August 2006.
APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES SERVICE:
Co-Director of the graduate programs since 2005. Duties for this position include recruiting, organizing a weekly pedagogy seminar, scheduling elective courses, assigning graduate assistantships, advising on program requirements and graduate assistantships for 15 to 20 full-time students on campus, advising on program requirements for 15 to 20 part-time students off campus, and keeping paperwork current in the department.
Faculty co-sponsor of the ASU Math Club since 2003. The club has regular weekly meetings as well as outings and events, which have included attending colloquia at Davidson College and UNC Asheville, participating in homecoming activities, and doing volunteer work with the town of Boone and the community. The club was named ASU Organization of the Month by the National Residence Hall Honorary in October 2005.
Personnel Committee member, Fall 2005 through Spring 2007 and since Fall 2008.
Supervised graduate instructional/teaching assistants, Fall 2005 (2), Spring 2006 (3), Fall 2006 (3), Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, and Fall 2008.
Supervised graduate teaching apprentices, Spring 2003, Fall 2003 (2), Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall, 2007, and Fall 2008.
Proctored the William Lowell Putnam Contest exam, December 2005, December 2006 and December 2007.
Secondary Education Graduate Program Goals/Objectives Committee member, Fall 2007. This committee was charged with reviewing the goals and objectives for the Secondary Education Graduate Program, and revising these goals and objectives to be consistent with recent professional opinions.
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.
Took eight students from my MAT 3510 Junior Honors Seminar class The Mathematics of Cryptology and Error-Correcting Codes to Fort Meade, MD to tour the U.S. National Cryptologic Museum and attend a presentation by a Cryptologic Mathematician from the NSA, April 2007.
Graduate Instructional/Teaching Assistant Supervision Committee member, Spring 2007. This committee was charged with creating departmental guidelines for students holding graduate assistantships and for faculty supervising these students.
MAT 1010 Committee member, Spring 2007. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding changes to the number of hours that MAT 1010 courses would meet each week, and how these hours should be distributed between regular classroom meetings and computer lab meetings.
Presented graduate seminar on constructing vitas and personal statements, January 2007.
MAT 1010 Committee Chair, Fall 2006. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the adoption of an additional optional textbook for MAT 1010 to go on the ASU textbook rental system.
Presented graduate seminar on testwriting, August 2006.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Modern Algebra member, April 2006. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the role and substance of MAT 3110 in the department's new mathematics curriculum.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Logic and Proof member, March 2006. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the role and substance of MAT 2110 in the department's new mathematics curriculum.
Took eight students from my MAT 3510 Junior Honors Seminar class The Mathematics of Voting and Elections to Washington, DC to tour the U.S. Capitol with a staff member from the office of U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan), April 2005.
Departmental Steering Subcommittee on Linear Algebra and Differential Equations member, February through April 2005. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the role and substance of MAT 2240 and MAT 3130 in the department's new mathematics curriculum.
MAT 1010 Committee Chair, Fall 2004 through Spring 2005. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the role and substance of MAT 1010 in the department's existing curriculum.
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. This committee was charged with making a recommendation regarding the substance of the department's new mathematics curriculum.
Presented colloquium Mathematics Through Games, November 2003.
Centroid article reviewer, October 2003.
Took three students from my MAT 3510 Junior Honors Seminar class Applications of Abstract Algebra to Fort Meade, MD to tour the U.S. National Cryptologic Museum with a staff member from the NSA, April 2003.
Presented colloquium Amortization: An Application of Calculus, February 2003.