Do not conform yourself to this age, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is ...
good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2
A member of the Pioneer Class of 1955 of St. John Fisher College,
I was a Mathematics major (cum laude) with a Physics minor. At that time, the campus
had only one building, what is now known as Kearney Hall, in honor of
the Founder of the College, Bishop James E. Kearney. My education led me
to the M.S. degree in Mathematics (1960) at St. John's University in New York,
and the Doctor of Arts degree in Mathematics (1974) at Idaho State
University. My thesis, under the direction of Richard Hill, was entitled
"Inverses of Kronecker Sums." In 1986 I received certification in Computer
Science from the IFRICS at Clarkson University.
Some people may find it interesting that, despite degrees in mathematics, I
have been better known on campus for my involvement with computers. That is unfortunate,
because my
scholarly work has been in mathematics and I am known nationally and internationally. But,
there are areas of computer science in which I feel quite comfortable as in
computer languages and data structures.
My involvement with computers dates back to 1956 when I was sent to the US
Army's Ballistic Research Laboratories(BRL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland.
I worked in a statistical lab of the Weapons Systems Lab. Eventually I
wrote a few programs on the ORDVAC machine, using a language that is quite
similar to an assembler language, which went by the name of "Thaumaturgy" (look
that word up in the dictionary!). Just before my separation from the Army, I
was offered a job there, but my interest was in getting on to graduate study
in mathematics.
I should note with great appreciation the inspiration of two people who
shaped my interest in mathematics and in the teaching of mathematics. One
was Dr. Ceslovas Masaitis of BRL who taught some grad courses for the
University of Delaware's program at BRL. He was a Lithuanian refugee and was
very encouraging to me when he called me in one day and said he hoped I would
continue my graduate studies. The other is Dr. James Abbott of the Naval
Academy who mentored me when I first started out as a college teacher of
mathematics in 1960. Jim Abbott remained one of my best friends until his
death in 2001.
In computer science, I was influenced very much by Dr. Ed Dubinsky and the
staff at the IFRICS, and the friends I made there. And in mathematics
education, I have been influenced greatly by Ed Dubinsky. It is interesting
how intersections and meetings with various people shape a career.
And, of course, I was greatly encouraged by several of the faculty at Idaho
State University, most notably my thesis advisor, Dr Richard D. Hill, who is
a very good friend and a leader in linear algebra research. I am pleased to
be the first of a long line of students who completed theses under his
helpful direction.
Dick was himself the first to finish a thesis under David Carlson at Oregon
State, and Carlson was the first one under the great Hans Schneider of
Wisconsin. I suppose that makes me Hans Schneider's "great-grandson".
However, I am, unfortunately, "childless"!
My specialties and teaching interests are
My educational philosophy is to unfold the beauty of mathematics and
computer science to inquiring and receptive minds and lift the heart and
soul to a joyful and enthusiastic appreciation of independent learning
and inquiry. I seek to help students move from where they are academically
to further mastery.
My own personal philosophy is grounded in the Catholic faith and I derive my
understanding of Christ and his teaching from my parents. I accept what has
been handed down (tradition and Tradition) from the Apostles (and also from
and Fathers and Mothers of the Church). I believe in Christ's command to
love one another and also to love God. The marvelous stories in the Gospels
and Acts inspire my outlook. My favorite story is the one about the two
travelers who encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus. And I can
truly say that my experience of God's love and my understanding of God
through Jesus has informed my soul, spirit and outlook.
I am a humanist and a "liberal" in that I believe in the
freedom of the mind to explore, study, develop, learn, and humbly accept that
which the search for truth uncovers. I believe that a community such as the
Church should be the most vigorous supporter and defender of the rights of
all of its members. And I believe that all the Sacraments of the Catholic
Church should be open to all, regardless of gender. The full implications
of the phrase, "neither male nor female in Christ Jesus", should be
realized in actual life.
I am interested in the reconciliation and unity of all peoples, as
uncomfortable and challenging as it is. Look around and read the newspapers
and journals and you can see that there are tensions and enmities and
suspicions. It is because I am interested in building bridges, rather than
tearing them down, I have reached out to parts of the world (through the
Bridges for Education program) and our own
community to bring people together in an atmosphere of respect.
My academic background and interests have equipped me to teach almost all
of the courses in mathematics and many in computer science.
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my first teachers, my beloved father and
mother.
Besides traveling throughout most of the United States and Canada(the
birthplace of my mother, in Mimico, now part of Toronto),I have
traveled extensively in countries such as England, Scotland, Northern Ireland,
Republic of Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Peru,
Poland, and Ukraine(Crimea).
In 1984 my wife Marilyn and I visited Germany and
Frankfurt,
the city of my grandfather's childhood and youth and the village of my
grandmother's childhood and youth (Obersfeld in Franken, Bavaria). We also
traveled to
Wuerzburg
where relatives still reside and then throughout Bavaria and Austria and
Switzerland.
In 1990 we visited Rome for 8 days, Pompeii for a day, Florence for 3 days,
Venice for a day, thence to Wuerzburg and 4 days in Berlin to help rip down
the infamous "Berlin Wall".
In 1991 I spent a sabbatical semester at Gettysburg College where I was
engaged in a writing project on course materials using the computer in
abstract linear algebra.
In 1992 we spent a semester teaching at
Richmond, the American International University in London .
In May 1993 we flew from London to
Istanbul . We visited many
interesting sights there (The Haghia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi, Chora,
Bosphorus, Golden Horn, Galata, Suleimaniye). Then we traveled by bus to
Kappadokya (Cappadocia), Kayseri, Pumakkale, Selchuk, Efes (Ephesus), Canakkale,
and the Gallipoli battlefield.
In 1995 we traveled about Scotland for three weeks. We visited the Highlands
(Inverness, Thurso, Ullapool, Perth) and Islands
(Orkney, Harris, Lewis, Mull,
Skye, Iona, Staffa). We spent two days in No. Ireland and then 5 days in
Edinburgh.
In 1996 we traveled to
Peru
to visit our exchange-student sons Ricky and Cholo and their family in Lima and
Arequipa .
We visited those cities as well as the Inca capital of
Cusco ,
the Incan redoubt of Machu-Picchu, the famous deep canyon of the Colca.
The month of July 1997 was spent in
Crimea , now a part of Ukraine, with a team of 14 teachers with
Bridges for Education . We were
located just outside the poor village of Opolznevoye, halfway up the
mountainous slope overlooking the southern coast of the Black Sea. The
village is about 30 km from Yalta.
We were members of the Black Sea Peace Camp, teaching conversational
English to teenagers from Crimea (
Tatars,
Ukrainians, Russians), Poland, and
Chechnia. We visited the ancient town of Bakhchisaray ("Garden-Palace" ),
which was the capital of the Crimean Tatar Khanate in the 14th
century, Sudak (the site of a 14th century Genoese fortress), Yevpetoria (the
site of a 15th century mosque designed by Sinan, and also the St. Nicholas
Orthodox Cathedral), Pischanoe (a sandy beach area on the west coast
of Crimea), Simferopol (the capital of Crimea), and Sevastopol (the naval base
for the Ukrainian and Russian Black Sea Fleets). See the
Crimea Journal 1 and
Crimea Journal 2 for the complete journals which are
being edited from time to time.
From 26 September until 2 October 1997, we attended a conference in Koblenz,
Germany, and visited relatives and friends in Bavaria (Wuerzburg, Rottendorf)
for the weekend before the conference. In Koblenz, besides the conference, we
promenaded along the Rhein, drank Federweisser and ate Zwiebelkuchen, and
visited the pottery-making village of Hoehr-Grenzhausen, where fine Westerwald
pottery is made. The owner of the Muehlendyck Toepferei is very congenial.
The summer of 1998 was another Bridges for Education adventure in
Krakow,
Poland. Krakow is the great historical and cultural center of Poland.
It was a one-time royal capital. In the Wawel Castle are buried Polish kings
and queens. In the cathedral are the remains of St. Stanislaus, patron saint
of Poland. The Rynek Glowny (Main Square) is the largest medieval square
in Europe. Notable also is the fact that Krakow was NOT destroyed during
World War II. Everything is original.
In August 1999 I attended the 4th International Conference on Technology
in the Teaching of Mathematics
in Plymouth, England. A highlight was a total eclipse of the sun which
was viewed by the largest number of people in history.
During the academic year 1999-2000, I was on an academic exchange and a
sabbatical leave at Richmond, the American International University in London.
I completed a paper on a new approximation algorithm that trisects an
angle using classic euclidean tools. Also I have been involved in an
international group of mathematicians who are developing new approaches to
the teaching of linear algebra. I also used the time to study and learn
new computer languages of benefit to the department. And, on a personal level,
I studied some history of England and learned much about the people of the
Reformation period and during the time when Catholics were persecuted and
killed. Our parish there was St. Margaret of Scotland, Twickenham, a
community of deep faith and possessing a deep commitment to social action
through the Jubilee 2000 movement and the Lenten project. The parish
regards itself as a "Vatican II" parish.
One of the very interesting places we visited was
St. Mary the Virgin Church in Langley Marish near Slough. Another
interesting place is
Stonor, near
Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, where the
great Edmund Campion was "holed" up, publishing his illegal tracts during the
vicious penal times.
In the summer of 2001 (6 July-6 August) I participated in a Bridges
for Education camp in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. Nyiregyhaza is a town with 120000
inhabitants in northeastern Hungary. Other places we visited were Tokaj and
Eger, Hortobagy National Park, Miskolc-Tapolca, and Budapest. For information
about Hngary, see the following site:
Hungary Resources
Following the camp we had 5 days at the ICTMT in Klagenfurt, Austria and then
2 days in Vienna.
In the summer of 2002, we were group leaders of a wonderful team at the BFE
camp in Targovishte, Bulgaria. One of our weekend excursions took us to Preslav
(where we saw the the Round Church ruins and the Madara Horseman), and Shoumen.
Our 4th week of travel took us to Varna, Balchik,
Cape Kaliakra, Nesebar, Sliven(crystal shop), Kazanlak (Thracian Tomb),
Koprivshtitsa, Rila Monastery, and Sofia. Some of our pictures can be
found at http://sun1.sjfc.edu/bulgaria1.html...on to bulgaria6.html.
In the July 2004 were group leaders again at the BFE camp in Tyrisalu, 26 km
west of Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn . Our team of 10 teachers came from all over the US,
CA, OR, KS, CO (2), MA (2), NY (3). We were there for the quadrennial
festivals of dance and of song. Excursions and travel within Estonia took
us to the island of Saaremaa
Saaremaa and Muhu, the resort city of Parnu, a folk
music festival in Viljandi, the hills near Otepaa and a small rural farm owned
by the Peetmaa family (one son is owner of Tyrisalu), sand caves, and Tartu,
the university town. After the 4 weeks, we visited St. Petersburg, Russia,
for 5 days and saw the house where the famous mathematician Euler lived and
worked, the house where Chebyshev, Steklof, Lyapunov, Markov, and Ostogradski
worked. We went to the cemetery where Euler is buried and also where
the famous composers are buried, such as Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
We also visited the Leningrad Siege memorial and cemetery, where over 600000
are buried, who died during the 900-day siege by the Nazis. We went to the
opera "Snow Maiden" by Rimsky-Korsakov at the famous Mariinsky Theater, the
Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and two rides on the canals and Neva River.
Afterwards we went to Nazare and Lisbon, Portugal to visit our daughter-
in-law's mother in Nazare.
In July 2006, I was in Lithuania at a BFE language camp across the Nemunas
river from river from the mineral springs resort village of Birstonas (80 km
from Vilnius). We saw many places such as Trakai, Vilnius, Kaunas, IX Fortas,
Hill of Crosses, Curonian Spit (villages) and sand dunes and Witches'
Hill, and Klaipeda and Palanga with its amber shops and Amber Museum.
In March and April 2007, my wife and I traveled to Spain for 3 and a half
Weeks, visiting Malaga, Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Gibraltar, Ronda,
Antequera, Alhaurin, Alora, El Chorro, Avila and Alba del Torme.
In July 2007, my wife and I participated as teachers in a Bridges for
Education language camp in Fethiye, Turkey.
I have been a member of the faculty at Fisher since 1966.
Travels
Visit some of the places we have seen!
Updated 28 April 2007
