Spring 2014
MSCI Monthly Newsletter
Faculty Profile
From the "Herb-arium"
Dr. Herb Grover, Dean
School of Mathematics and Sciences
Greetings!
Dr. Scott Franklin
Dr. Franklin is an Associate
Professor of Mathematics and also
serves as the Director of the
Virtual Campus
(http://www.wbu.edu/onlinedegree). He received both his
Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in
Mathematics from Texas Tech
University. In mathematics, his
research interests currently
include bioinformatics, high
performance computing, and the
approximation of curves and
surfaces using spline functions,
with special application to
computer visualization of data.
Additionally, he has worked on
the computer rendering of particle
systems, fluid flow and smoke
dynamics as applied to
chemical/biological warfare.
Okay, I have a BIG confession to make - ready - are you sitting down? I am a
terrible mathematician! I suppose if I was really honest with myself I would admit
that it's because I simply didn't absorb the material or do the homework - but I
often think it was because I had bad luck with the string of unenthusiastic and
uninspiring math professors I had when starting out in college. That is most
certainly not an accusation that fits our math faculty. In all my years in academia I have never been associated
with a finer group of mathematicians than we have here at Wayland. And while I have met a few of our retired
math faculty, I know from their reputations that our current math program is built upon a very firm foundation
set in place by the likes of Dr. Dorothy McCoy, Dr. Phil Almes, and many others. Oh how my life would be
different had I been a Wayland student in my formative years! But that is another story.............
As for this newsletter, the accomplishments of our math faculty and their students are spotlighted. Dr.
Thornhill, our newest math faculty, has jumped right in and accompanied Dr. Scott Franklin and several of our
students to the Texas-Oklahoma Research Undergraduate Symposium. No stranger to math conferences, Dr.
Emilia Moore recently took several students to the Texas Undergraduate Topology and Geometry Conference in
Austin. What an amazing experience it must be for our students to discuss their work in these forums,
participate in various math competitions with students from large and small universities, and see working
mathematicians from prestigious universities across the region discuss their work and highlight career
opportunities for up and coming mathematicians! I have it on good authority that our students do very well in
these settings, which speaks to the quality of our faculty as well.
But our other programs have been on the road as well. Dr. Walsh took several geology majors to an American
Association of Petroleum Geologist short course in Abilene, and has traveled to other areas with some of his
students to explore career opportunities in petroleum geology. Dr. Reinhart, Dr. Gray and Dr. Robert Moore
continue to pursue promising collaborations with several labs at Texas Tech, and Dr. Kasner is planning a new
research project studying bobcat distribution along the edge of the caprock east of Plainview.
While all of this is going on, our enrollment in math and science courses has continued to grow, although at a
slower pace than a couple of years ago, and we see a healthy proportion of students who show great promise in
all of our disciplines. To continue our focus on mathematics, this past fall we had more students enrolled in
Calculus I and Linear Algebra than we have had in over a decade, and, this semester we have more than
doubled our previous high enrollment in Probability! The word must be spreading that Wayland is the place to
be for an education in math and the sciences!
We are truly blessed in so many ways, and we are certainly blessed to know that the readers of this newsletter
are praying for us, and supporting us through their various contributions to the university. We do not have to
look far to know that by being faithful to Him, God continues to bless us with students who have been led to
Wayland in accordance with His purpose for their lives. Through our students and our colleagues across the
Wayland system we are reminded every day of how personally fulfilling it is to serve God through this
university.
As spring arrives and creation breaks forth in all His glory we wish you all well and look forward to a time when
you will visit campus and share in our excitement for the accomplishments of our students!
God Bless!
Alumnus Profile
Texas Oklahoma Research Undergraduate Symposium
February 21-22, 2014
Rick Ross (Mathematics,
December 2012) and Suzi
Guenther (Mathematics for
Secondary Education, May 2011).
The School of Mathematics and
Sciences is pleased to announce
that on Saturday, March 15,
2014, two of our alumni will be
joining hands in marriage. Both
Rick and Suzi were determined
students while at Wayland, which
continued after graduation. Suzi is
pursuing her master’s degree in
business administration and has
been working at WBU in the
financial aid and registrar’s office.
Rick started his master’s degree
in pure mathematics at Texas
Tech University but had to put it
on hold while he returned home
for family matters.
After the wedding they plan to
move to Indiana where Rick will
be working in management for an
international dealership. Suzi will
continue her master’s in business
administration.
Left: Jessica Hall, Ama Ott, Laura Garrison, Tami Patterson, Brian Adamson, Dr. Chris Thornhill, Diana
Muturia, Jerald Hilton
A group of math undergraduates from Wayland joined other schools in the region for the Texas Oklahoma
Research Undergraduate Symposium. The day was spent listening to talks from a guest speaker, Michael
Dorff of Birgham Young University, and other undergraduates who were presenting their undergraduate
research projects. The undergraduates spoke on topics including modeling leader/follower personalities,
generalized parabolas, painting caterpillars, and designing variable-speed gears for windmills.
Wayland's Brian Adamson also gave a talk on his research with Dr. Franklin. Brian has been doing work with
using splines to get good approximations for data sets. Splines are formed when several curves are pieced
together at points (called "knots") resulting in a smooth transition from one piece to the next. These curves
are very good at approximating more compl
ex curves, and Brian's work focused on seeing how good different types of splines were at approximating
particular data sets.
The keynote speaker Dr. Michael Dorff gave two talks throughout the day. In his first talk, he showed us how
mathematics could be used to describe "minimal surfaces", which are surfaces that join structures together
and use the least amount of material to do so. He used various shapes made out of wires and dipped them in
soapy water to show that the soap film between the wires would actually conform to these minimal surfaces.
Our own Tami Paige goes to try one of these shapes firsthand. In his second talk, Dr. Dorff explained how
mathematics was developed and used to improve visual effects in movies, and the audience got to see how
mathematicians and physicists apply their knowledge to make objects like water, snow, and superheroes
seem more lifelike.
The students also got to hear from a panel of people whose careers involve mathematics. The panelists gave
the students a good idea of what it looks like to apply mathematics outside the classroom and gave them
some good tips about what they should be learning in college.
The conference closed with a round of Math Jeopardy, and Wayland had a team of three members join in the
fun. Unfortunately, Wayland didn't win, but we all got to learn some very interesting and also some very
obscure things about math.
To see the photo album from the trip go to our facebook page.
Calendar
March 6-8
Texas Academy of Science
Meeting
March 13-18
Geology SC GSA Meeting
Texas Undergraduate Topology and Geometry Conference
Austin, TX
Feb. 21-23, 2014
March 16-19
American Chemical Society
Meeting, Dallas, TX
March 26-30
Geology/Petrology Field Trip
March 28-29
Big Weekend
April 25
Spring Research Day
May 9
Graduation Banquet
May 10
Graduation
Upcoming Research
Project
Dr. Emilia Moore traveled to Austin, TX with her two undergraduate research students, Emileigh Willems and
Joshua Tavares on February 21-23, 2014. Emileigh and Josh are in their first semester of Honor's Thesis
research. The purpose of this trip was to introduce them to possible research topics/ideas, to expose them to
an undergraduate research conference and to prepare them for their own future presentations.
The trip was a great success. Thanks to generous conference provided funding; the cost of the trip to
Wayland University was minimal.
Go to our facebook page to see the photo album from this trip.
Dr. Andrew Kasner will be
beginning a year-long study on
bobcats in March. His research
will consist of studying and
monitoring bobcat population,
density, and diet.
Geology
Left: Dr. Tim Walsh, Kaylee Lawrence, Daniel Doan, Garrett
Williamson, Hunter Green
January 6: American Association of Petroleum Geologist Short-Course. Students attending not only
benefited from the course itself but were able to network with petroleum industry professionals to discuss
research and internship possibilities.
News
Wayland Baptist University (WBU)
in Plainview, Texas has become
the latest college to join the
consortium of 59 Christian
colleges and universities that
participate with Au Sable Institute
of Environmental Studies, giving
its students access to Au Sable's
twenty-two field-intensive
courses, restoration and
conservation research program,
and environmental education
internship opportunities.
February 15-16, 2014: Hi-Plains Gem and Mineral Rock Show
The Ollie Liner Center in Plainview, TX hosted the 52nd annual rock show which consisted of booths of
jewelry, displays, games and more. Wayland geology students helped set up/take down booths and ran the
concession stand as their annual fundraiser event for WBUGS.
Says Au Sable Executive Director
Fred Van Dyke, “This is a great
addition to the Au Sable family.
Wayland Baptist University has all
the elements needed to make this
participation agreement a big win
for everyone involved, including
supportive faculty, an enthusiastic
administration, and students who
can really benefit from Au Sable
courses.”
Read more from Au Sable news
from their webpage
ausable.org/news_and_resources
April 2014: 25th Anniversary of the "Easter Elephant". Geology is collaborating with Llano Estacada
Museum in the 25th Anniversary of the museum display of the "Easter Elephant". This was the large
mammoth that was excavated near Hereford, TX. Co-discoverers of the mammoth skull were Eddie Guffee,
director of the Llano Estacada Museum at Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, and Lon Woodburn,
president of the Castro County Historical Museum Association. They worked side-by-side throughout the dig.
Upcoming Events
Spring Semester 2014
March 6-8: Texas Academy of Science in Galveston, TX. Six faculty members about 15 undergraduate
students will be attending this year's 117th annual conference. Several students will be presenting posters
and/or talks.
March 13-18: Geological Society of America Meeting.
Geology students will be traveling to the South Central Geological Society of America meeting in Fayetteville,
AR at the end of Spring break, with two presenting their research findings. Various stops at outcrops and
sites such as Alabaster Caverns State Park are planned before arriving at Fayetteville.
March 26-30: Petrology/Geology Field Trip:
A major geology trip is planned for the last week of March to the Wichita and Arbuckle Mountains of
Oklahoma. Students will observe a large variety of rock types, such as massive igneous intrusions at Quartz
Mountain State Park, and unique rock structures in the Arbuckle fold belt.
Support our programs
If anything in this newsletter
sparks your interest and you
would like to provide your
financial support to our students,
either by funding specific areas of
research or by providing
scholarship moneys, there are
easy ways for you to give.
Contact our
Development Team:
Phone: 806-291-3430
Fax: 806-291-1984
E-mail: hope@wbu.edu
Mail: 1900 W 7th Street #621
Plainview, TX 79072
You can also give online:
https://give.wbu.edu
If you would like your funds to be
directed toward research or
scholarships in our School, please
designate your gift. Our
Development Team will make sure
our students receive your support.
Contact Us
The School of Math & Sciences
Wayland Baptist University
1900 W. 7th St.
Plainview, TX 79072
(806)291-1115
mathscience@wbu.edu
http://www.wbu.edu/mathsci
Email List
Join our email list to receive your
bimonthly e-newsletter. Email
mathscience@wbu.edu with
subject “add me to your mailing
list”. Or you can go to our
facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/
wbumathsci) and click on Join My
List.
Scholarship Applications Now Online!
All of our scholarship application materials are available online! If you are a declared math
or science major, you may be eligible to receive scholarships that are awarded through our
school. The application for incoming freshman students planning on attending next Fall is
always open. The application is also open for current science and math students
for scholarships of 2013-2014 school year.
To apply visit http://www.wbu.edu/mathsci click Scholarships in the menu and select the
appropriate application.
About Wayland Baptist University
Dreaming big for more than a century.
Wayland began in 1908 as the dream of pioneers who respected the life-altering value of education. Now the
oldest university in continuous existence on the High Plains of Texas, Wayland Baptist reaffirms that
commitment every day through a distinctive combination of offerings.
Mission
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning focused, and
distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind.
Location
Main campus in Plainview, a community of 25,000 on the high plains of West Texas between Lubbock and
Amarillo.
Enrollment
More than 1,500 students on the main campus in Plainview, TX, plus 5,800 students on campuses in Amarillo,
Lubbock, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls, Texas; Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska: Sierra Vista and Phoenix,
Arizona; Aiea, Hawaii; Albuquerque and Clovis, New Mexico; Altus, Oklahoma; and Kenya, Africa.
Our School
The School of Mathematics and Sciences emphasizes a rigorous, ethical approach to the study of mathematics
and science. We believe that success in these disciplines requires a broad base of content knowledge and the
development of the critical thinking skills necessary for the ongoing acquisition, processing and
communication of current subject matter. The activities of the School, both academic and professional,
intentionally reflect the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His centrality to all of creation.
Prepared by Dr. William Hahn, Associate Dean and
Megan McPherson, Technical Assistant
School of Mathematics and Science, Wayland Baptist University