Academics > Majors and Areas of Study > Mathematics and Computer Science > Past Commendations > 2005



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2005
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January 2005 Great Problem Solvers The Commendation of the Month for January, 2005 goes to the winners of the Fall, 2004 Problem of the Week contest. Congratulations to winner Jamie Long (right-center), runner-up Sookyung Han (lower-left), 3rd Prize winner Nancy Heinbockel (left-center) and consolation prize winners Benjamin Wheeler (front) and Randall McPherson (back). This semester's problems were especially diverse and all of the prize winners submitted many wonderfully crafted solutions. The Mathematics & Computer Science Department of Thiel College extends its congratulations to the winners and a special thanks to all participants. Top

February 2005 Back to the Real World The Commendation of the Month for February 2005 goes to Professor Judith Newton for her work while on sabbatical leave during the fall 2004 term. Last spring the Literacy Council of Mercer County asked for proposals to develop a Web site for use by human service organizations in Mercer County. This initiative grew out of an FSSR grant that the Council had received. Professor Newton's proposal was selected for funding. Her work really began during the summer because although she has a good background in the use of databases on Web sites, she lacked the knowledge to quickly create Web pages and images. Consequently she spent part of the summer teaching herself Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Fireworks software. During the fall term she completed the Web pages needed to implement Project START (System To Assess, Refer and Track). Once these pages are transferred to a host site, employees of human service organizations in Mercer County can test their clients for reading deficiencies. If such a deficiency is identified, the employee can refer the client to the nearest literacy provider in Mercer County. Thereafter, both the employee who made the referral and the literacy provider can keep track of the client's activity. Potential users of the system have said that it will be of great help to them since it makes client information available at all times. Professor Newton found the experience to be educational. In addition, it allowed her to again see programming from a programmer's perspective instead of that of an educator. Top

March 2005 A Saturday for Science This month we commend four young men, (left to right in the photo) Mike Young, Geno Bianco, Alex Miller, and Daryl Davis for their work with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. The PJAC sponsor a math and science competition for junior and senior high school students. Students do projects that they submit to their teachers. The teachers select the best to send to the regional competitions. From there, the best from each region are select to compete in the state wide competition. These four young men, along with their mentor, Dr. John Nichols, gave up a Saturday to go to the regional competition to help with the judging. We thank them for their commitment of time and energy to the advancement of mathematics and science. Top

April 2005 Farewell to a Friend and Colleague This month we wish farewell to a good friend and valued colleague. Dr. John Nichols will retire in May after 34 years of teaching at Thiel College. During his tenure here he has provided excellent instruction to several thousand students, and has served the college and the students in many other ways. He designed the Actuarial Studies program, he served as mentor to the Putnam team for 28 years, he served as advisor to the Mathematics and Computer Science Club during his whole career at Thiel College, he was the primary faculty member involved in bringing a Kappa Mu Epsilon chapter on campus, and organized Science Day on campus on several occasions. John served as chairman of the Faculty Council for one year, as chair of the steering committee for one of our decennial accreditation visits and as department chairman off and on for a total of 15 years. He has also served on more standing and ad hoc committees than anyone would care to count. Away from the campus, he was an active member of the Allegheny Section of the Mathematical Association of America and served as vice president for two years. He was also active with the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science, serving as judge for their annual competitions and on the governing board for many years. Dr. Nichols has been a valuable asset to the life of Thiel College for the past thirty-four years and will be greatly missed both at the college and at the department level. We wish him well as he venture into his new life. Top

May 2005 Congratulations Scholarship Winners! The George and Magdalene Skegas Scholarship for Mathematics was established by Karolyn Skegas Krial ('43) in memory of her parents. The winner of this award for 2005-2006 is junior Lindsay Sheridan (left in photo). Lindsay is also one of the recipients of the Irene Wintersteen Memorial Science Scholarship, established by L. Elizabeth Wintersteen, which is awarded each year to a woman science major who shows outstanding academic achievement. Lindsay is a mathematics major, and the daughter of Darina and Richard Sheridan of South Euclid, OH. Lindsay graduated from Trinity High School in Garfield Heights, OH, where she credits her math teacher, Mrs. Wheeler, for inspiring her to study mathematics. The Nathan Warren Harter and Besse Roseberry Harter Scholarship was established as a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Harter to encourage Thiel students in the study of mathematics or Latin. The award this year goes to junior mathematics major, Michael Young (right in photo). Congratulations Lindsay and Michael! Top

June 2005 Congratulations Graduates! This month we commend the thirteen students who earned degrees from this department on May 14, 2005. Muhammad Zubair Butt graduated with a BA in Computer Science. Timothy Carr graduated with a BA in Computer Science. Joseph Chastain graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Thiel Honors Program with BA's in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. Scott Free graduated with a BA in Computer Science. Meghan Friedrich graduated Summa Cum Laude with BA's in Accounting and Actuarial Studies. She earned Departmental Honors in both of her majors and received a Dean's Key. Jon Keenan graduated with a BA in Management Information Systems. Daryl Moore, Jr. graduated with an AA in Management Information Systems and a BA in Business Administration. Michael Moore graduated Magna Cum Laude with BA's in Business Administration and Management Information Systems. He earned Departmental Honors in Management Information Systems and received a Dean's Key. Robert Munch graduated with a BA in Management Information Systems. Joseph Page, III graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Computer Science. He earned Departmental Honors in his major and received a Dean's Key. Johnnie Thomas, III graduated with a BA in Mathematics. Robert Timblin graduated with BA's in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. Philip Troutman graduated with BA's in Business Administration and Management Information Systems. We salute all of these graduates and wish them well in the future. Top

July 2005 Great Problem Solvers The Commendation of the Month for July, 2005 goes to the winners of the Spring, 2005 Problem of the Week contest. Congratulations to Randall McPherson (pictured right) who won the top prize of $30 by edging out runner-up Benjamin Wheeler (pictured center) who won $20. Robert Stallsmith (pictured left) won the third prize of $10. As usual, all of the problem solvers in this contest submitted well crafted solutions. The Mathematics & Computer Science Department of Thiel College extends its congratulations to the winners. Top

August 2005 Welcome, New Faculty! John Hesemann (pictured left) joins the faculty this month as a Lecturer. John is a resident of Pittsburgh, where he recently finished twenty years with the Alcoa Corporation, holding positions in training, information technology, quality assurance, human resources and e-business. Previously, he held teaching and administrative positions at two colleges and a state education agency. John earned his B.A. degree from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics and Mathematics Education, respectively, from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Patrick Stephenson (pictured center) will be joining the faculty as an Adjunct Professor teaching College Algebra. Patrick grew up in Sharon, PA and attended Kennedy Christian High School. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics in 2003 from Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. He is currently finishing his Masters of Science in Mathematics at Youngstown State University. As a graduate assistant at YSU, Patrick taught Beginning Algebra for three semesters, and College Algebra for one semester. Patrick hopes to go on for his doctorate in the near future. Andrea Wonderling (pictured right) also joins the faculty this month as an Adjunct Professor. In addition to her duties at Thiel, she is a Business Education Teacher at Pymatuning Valley School District in Andover, Ohio. Mrs. Wonderling teaches Middle School Keyboarding and Computer Classes at the high school. She also serves as the Cheerleading Coach, Junior Class Advisor, Yearbook Advisor and is a member of the Technology Committee. Mrs. Wonderling has earned a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Wonderling is married and has three children. Top

September 2005 Congratulations, Mike! This month we commend Mike Young, for successfully passing his first Actuarial Exam. Mike is a senior Mathematics and Actuarial Studies major who is planning to work toward a career as an actuary after graduation. Mike took the challenging exam that requires calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory earlier this year in May, and cites his Statistics and Probability courses as essential classes that helped him to succeed. He also would like to thank Professor Karl Oman for his influence and help in preparation for the exam. Mike is the son of Charles and Barbara Young of LaPorte, Indiana, and is a graduate of LaPorte High School. He is now on to new challenges and preparing for his second Actuarial Exam, which will focus on probability theory, the theory of interest, finance, and economics. We are very proud of what Mike has accomplished and wish him continued success in the future. Top

October 2005 Outstanding Freshmen This month we would like to recognize four students who ranked in the highest academic percentile for merit-based awards as incoming freshmen. Those outstanding students are Laura Betz, Angela Crone, Michael Ryan, and Jeffrey Zelonka. Laura Betz , daughter of David and Susan Betz, is a computer science major from Franklin, PA. She chose to study computer science because of her general interest in computers and technology. She has been interested in the field from a young age and she likes to come up with solutions to solve problems and figure out how things work. Laura is a graduate of Rocky Grove High School. Angela Crone is a mathematics major who is also working toward her secondary education teaching certificate. Angela is fascinated by the study of numbers and hopes to pass her fascination on to a younger generation after she graduates. Angela is the daughter of Kelly and Julie Crone and a graduate of Dover Area High School in Dover, PA. Angela credits many of her high school teachers for helping her to achieve academic success, and would like to recognize Mrs. Sheffer, her English teacher, Mrs. Wagman, her calculus teacher, and Mrs. Spahr, her chemistry teacher, for inspiring her on her path to success. Michael Ryan, son of Russ and Cathy Ryan, is a mathematics major from Petrolia, PA. Michael is also pursuing a teaching certificate in secondary education. The study of mathematics has always come naturally to him and interested him, and he hopes to one day be able to help other students to succeed in math. Michael is a graduate of Karns City High School, and would like to thank James Preston, his high school algebra and calculus teacher, for inspiring him and helping him to achieve academic success. Jeffrey Zelonka is a mathematics major who is also working toward a teaching certificate in secondary education. Jeffrey wants to be a high school teacher because he wants to help pass on his knoweldge as well as guide high school students through the process of growing into themselves and finding the things that inspire them. Jeffrey is the son of Mike and Kim Zelonka and a graduate of Apollo Ridge High School in Spring Church, PA. Jeffrey would like to thank Ms. Brenda Miller, his high school consumer science teacher, for helping him to grow as an individual and find inspiration in his own life. We extend our congratulations to all four of these outstanding freshmen. Keep up the good work! Top

November 2005 Focusing on Scholarship The Commendation of the Month for November 2005 goes to Dr. Merv Newton for his work while on sabbatical leave during the spring 2005 term. Dr. Newton worked on several different projects, the most significant of which included the completion of a book that he wrote with co-authors Abe Hillman of the University of New Mexico (emeritus), and Lisa Mantini of Oklahoma State University. Dr. Newton also updated and revised his online text titled Complex Numbers and Trigonometry, to reflect the new graphing calculator that is now in use in the department. This text is used by students in the Differential Equations class each spring.  He also spent time revising and updating his online text titled An Introduction to Programming HP Graphing Calculators to refect the new calculator. This text is used by students in the Numerical Analysis class each fall. Keeping these texts current is important to the department in order to ensure that students have the most up to date resources for the technology that they use in the classroom environment. Also, during the past year, the department made the decision to take advantage of the new smart classrooms and the laptop initiative to better integrate the Minitab software into the Elementary Statistics course. In response to this decision, Dr. Newton also spent time updating the online publication titled Minitab Tutorial to accommodate the new usage. In the course of his revisions, the tutorial was expanded from 11 to 19 lessons. Dr. Newton found the experience that he gained during his sabbatical to be very valuable. He was able to gain a much deeper understanding of the new calculator being used in the department and the latest version of Minitab. He also found it very rewarding to be able to devote time to research, writing, and learning new technologies; something that he truly enjoys. Top

December 2005 Thiel Competes in the ACM Programming Contest On November 4th six students— Masanori Iwasaki, Kevin Peterson, Nick Rhodes, Luke Rose, Ben Wheeler, Brian Zimmerman—and Professor J. Newton traveled to Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio to compete in The ACM East Central Regional Programming Contest.  That evening the team had time to get used to the computing environment by participating in a practice contest.  On the next day, November 5th, the team got down to business and spent five hours working on eight problems requiring computer program solutions.  The two three-person Thiel teams were joined by 111 teams drawn from 65 colleges and universities from the East Central region that includes western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, eastern Ontario, and Indiana.  The Thiel teams ended up tying for 58th position.  Although the problems this year were very challenging, both teams came close to producing solutions.  It was a good though somewhat frustrating experience.  We are proud of the students who took on the challenge and we look forward to next year’s competition. Top