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



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2008
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January 2008 Thiel Students Compete in the Putnam Mathematical Competition The 68th Annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition was held on December 1, 2007. The exam is open to enrolled undergraduate students in U.S. and Canada who have not yet received a college degree. Six Thiel students took the exam. For most of our students, the exam was their first attempt in the competition. Students are not eligible to take the exam if they have already taken it four times. Our student competitors included (top row, L to R:) Yoshitaka Homma, Hirotaka Amano, Patrick Mitch, (bottom row, L to R:) Angela Crone, Kari Zeleznick, and Mark Thomson (not pictured). Dr. Jeonghun Kim (top row, at right) worked with students to prepare them for the exam by offering a seminar every week during the Fall 2007 semester. The exam is divided into two parts. Six questions are assigned for each part for three hours (totalling 12 questions for 6 hours). It is considered one of the hardest exams in the world. Students will not receive the results of the exam until the end of March 2008. However, we commend the students for their participation regardless of their scores. Dr. Kim expects some new students as well as our current participants to take the exam next fall, and plans to offer preparation seminars again for all students interested in mathematics or the competition. Top

February 2008 Streamlining Sports Information at Thiel This month, we commend senior Eric Wadowsky for his work as a Sports Information Intern for the Thiel Athletics department.  Eric, a web development and e-commerce major, is the son of Michael Wadowsky and attended Langley High School in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.   He began his internship with the Athletics department under the supervision of Kevin Fenstermacher, Assistant Athletics Director and Sports Information Director, in the fall of 2007.  Last fall, Eric worked on creating a database of athletes to keep track of player statistics and year-by-year eligibility.  He also worked on designing player profile web pages for the Athletics section of the Thiel web site.  Because of his great work on the job in his fall semester, Eric was asked back to continue his internship this spring.  This semester, he is working on updating the player profile pages and other Athletics web pages so that they dynamically pull information out of the athletes database that he created.  This will allow the player profile pages to include player information, photographs, stats, and links to any athletic news stories mentioning the player.   It will also help to streamline the process of making updates to the Athletics pages for the staff in the department.  They will be able to enter new updates and stories for the site through a web form and have it automatically update the database and the pages on the web site. Eric has been able to use many of his database and web development skills as part of this internship experience.   He states, “ I would like to thank both Kevin Fenstermacher and Professor Pinchot for the help and guidance that they have both given me during my internship.  It has been great to work with Kevin to improve the quality of the Athletics portion of the Thiel site.  And Professor Pinchot has been a great help when I have had questions about specifics of what to do concerning the projects at hand.  I would like to thank them both for making the internship experience both enjoyable and very educational.” Eric feels that in addition to getting some real world experience, another benefit has been learning to work with a supervisor and coworkers in a collaborative way in order to create a project.  His favorite part of the internship so far has been “the experience of having something specific to create, while also having some free range and room for creativity.” Look for Eric’s work on the Athletic pages of the Thiel web site to be available at the end of this semester.  We congratulate Eric on his great work and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Top

March 2008 Kappa Mu Epsilon Inducts New Members On Sunday, March 30, 2008, eleven new members were initiated into the Pennsylvania Rho Chapter of Kappa Mu Epsilon at Thiel College, Greenville, PA.  Professor Max Shellenbarger, faculty sponsor, and Angela Crone, current President, served as the Masters of Ceremony.  Dr. John Nichols gave a talk about the process he went through as a student to decide on a career as a Professor of Mathematics.  The members were then initiated and the new officers inducted. Kappa Mu Epsilon is a specialized honor society in Mathematics. KME was founded in 1931 to promote the interest of mathematics among undergraduate students. Its chapters are located in colleges and universities of recognized standing which offer a strong mathematics major. The chapters' members are selected from students of mathematics and other closely related fields who have maintained standards of scholarship, have professional merit, and have attained academic distinction. The society has grown steadily since its founding and today has one hundred eighteen chapters and approximately sixty-one thousand members in thirty-four states. The new members are pictured at left.  From bottom to top are Devin Todd, Syrell Rodriguez Carreras, Haley Prickard, Amanda Hawkins, Patrick Mitch, and Professor Andrew Grover.  Also initiated but not present were Professor Jennifer J. Curry, Michael Johnson, Elise Moore, Laura Wise, and Dr. Jie Wu. Current Kappa Mu Epsilon members in attendance joined with the new inductees in the photo to the right.  In the bottom row (from left to right) are Devin Todd and Punit Upadhyaya.  In the second row (from left to right)are Syrell Rodriguez Carreras, Haley Prickard, Kari Zeleznick, Angela Crone, and Cassandra Beck. In the top row (from left to right) are Patrick Mitch, Amanda Hawkins, Professor Andrew Grover, Michael Ryan, and Kaitlyn Scherer. Newly elected officers are: Angela Crone, president, Kaitlyn Scherer, vice president, Michael Ryan, recording secretary and Cassandra Beck, treasurer. Top

April 2008 Thiel Competes at the CMU Spring Programming Contest This month, we commend five students from the department for their participation in the 2008 Carnegie Mellon Spring Programming Contest. The contest was held on March 29, 2008 at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, PA.   Two teams from Thiel competed in the competition, led by coach Professor Andrew Grover.  The contest consisted of twelve difficult programming problems and lasted for five grueling hours. The Thiel teams competed against other college and university teams from the greater Pittsburgh area. Team “Knit one” consisted of Nick Matviko, Patrick Mitch, and Laura Betz and this team successfully solved two problems out of the twelve presented.  Team “Perl two” included Nicholas Wamaani and Adam Toohey, who successfully solved one of the problems.  This spring event was designed by CMU to allow those who have never previously competed in a formal programming contest to gain exposure to the excitement of competition.   Both teams were able to gain valuable skills at this event, which they will take with them to their next intercollegiate programming competition.  We commend these students for their hard work and dedication.  Great job, teams! Top

May 2008 Congratulations Scholarship Winners! This month, the department would like to commend three outstanding students who are the recipients of mathematics-related scholarships for the 2008-2009 school year. 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 2008-2009 is Angela Crone, a mathematics major who is also pursuing secondary education certification.  Angela is the daughter of Kelly and Julia Crone of Dover, PA.  She graduated from Dover Area High School in Dover, PA, and would like to thank her high school teachers, stating, “I had wonderful teachers in high school who encouraged me to do well in mathematics and always to try my hardest.”  Angela would also like to thank her professors in the Education Department at Thiel, who have taught her, in her own words, “the skills required to become a better intentional teacher.”  In addition, Angela would like to thank her parents who have always been an inspiration to her.  She states, “My mother and father have always been behind me 100%.  They are proud of everything I do and have faith in my abilities even when I don’t.”  After graduation in the spring of 2009, Angela plans to pursue a teaching career in secondary education and also attend graduate school. 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. This award for the 2008-2009 academic year goes to Michael Ryan, a mathematics major who is also pursuing secondary education certification.  He graduated from Karns City Area High School in Karns City, PA.  Michael credits his high school geometry and calculus teachers for helping him along the path to success, stating, “They gave me the inspiration to want to become involved in teaching mathematics for my future career.”  He goes on to state, “Also, I always have to thank my family who is always there supporting in anything I am striving to accomplish.”  Michael is the son of Russ and Cathy Ryan of Petrolia, PA.   After graduation in the spring of 2009, he plans to pursue a teaching career in secondary education.  He also plans to attend graduate school and hopes one day to teach mathematics at the college level. The Nelson P. Yeardley Mathematics Scholarship was established in recognition of Dr. Nelson P. Yearley’s professional contribution to Thiel College in the field of mathematics. This award for the 2008-2009 academic year goes to Patrick Mitch, who is a double major in mathematics and actuarial studies.  Patrick graduated from Leechburg High School in Leechburg, PA.  He is the son of Peter Mitch and Kelly Santarlasci and the step-son of Scott Santarlasci.  Patrick states, “I would love to thank all my math professors at Thiel; I seriously think they do a very good job and they are all passionate about mathematics.  Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Kim because I am always in his office either doing math or just hanging out.  Plus, he is helping me with my independent studies this summer in Set Theory and Real Infinite Series.”  Right now, Patrick is seriously considering graduate school after graduation in 2010, but he may also choose to go into the actuarial studies field. Top

June 2008 Congratulations to the Class of 2008! On May 3, 2008, the class of 2008 walked across the stage of Passavant Center and graduated from Thiel College.  This month we would like to feature the nine graduates who earned degrees from this department. Michael James Dworakowski (not pictured) graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA degree and double major in Actuarial Studies and Business Administration.  He also earned Departmental Honors in both the Mathematics and Computer Science department and the Business Administration department.  Tatsuya Hashimoto (not pictured) graduated with a BA degree and double major in E-Commerce and Management Information Systems.  Brett William Helman, of Youngwood, PA, graduated with a BA degree in Mathematics.  Fredrick Franklin Housel graduated with a BA degree and double major in Computer Science and Web Development.  Jonathan Francis Keller graduated with a BA degree in Computer Science.  Leah Muthoni Mungai graduated with a BA degree in Management Information Systems.  Leah also earned Departmental Honors from the Business Administration department.  James William Reinhart graduated with a BA degree in Management Information Systems.  Nicholas Allan Scaife graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA degree and double major in Actuarial Studies and Accounting.  He also earned Departmental Honors from the Business Administration department and was an Honors Program graduate.  Eric Michael Wadowsky graduated with a BA degree and double major in E-Commerce and Web Development. We proudly congratulate all of these graduates! Top

July 2008 Advancing Women in Science This month we commend Angela Crone who is one of the recipients of the Irene Wintersteen Memorial Science Scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year.  This scholarship was established by alumna L. Elizabeth Wintersteen and is awarded each year to a woman science major who shows outstanding academic achievement.  The recipient of this award is chosen annually by the college’s science caucus, which includes representation from the natural sciences as well as computer science and mathematics areas.   Angela, daughter of Kelly and Julia Crone of Dover, PA, is a mathematics major who is also working toward her secondary education teaching certificate. Earlier in the year, Angela was also the recipient of the George and Magdalene Skegas Scholarship for Mathematics.  In addition, she is the President of Thiel’s mathematics honor society, Kappa Mu Epsilon (KME), and plays an active role in KME activities. Congratulations, Angie!  We are very proud of you and your accomplishments! Top

August 2008 Participating in Computer Security Research This month, we would like to highlight junior computer science major Laura Betz for her participation in the Computer Security Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program at the University of Maryland this summer.  As part of the program, Laura participated in a team-based research project that focused on the categorization of malicious behavior on the web by type and severity (such as phishing scams, malware, etc.) with a focus on the user and how the user understands the activity. Laura found the experience to be extremely rewarding.  She not only got to learn a great deal about computer security, but also about the research process in general.  She also got the experience of working and living on her own, which she found to be very valuable. Throughout the experience, Laura was introduced to many concepts in computer security and found them all to be fascinating. One of the most enlightening things that she learned was regarding the way users respond to scams and other security issues.  She realized that typical web users today still have a great deal of trouble judging whether or not a website is safe or unsafe, and that there is still much work to be done in this area to make web browsing more secure for those users.  We are very proud of Laura’s research accomplishments and look forward to her future endeavors. Top

September 2008 Welcome, Professor Salvaterra! This month we welcome Noah Salvaterra as a new member of the department. Noah was born in Bloomington, Indiana, however most of his youth was spent in Pasadena, California. After finishing a B.S. degree in mathematics at Chapman University he returned to Bloomington to pursue graduate study in mathematics. At Indiana University he earned a M.S. degree and is currently in the process of completing his Ph.D. dissertation to finalize his doctorate. While at Indiana he taught courses in Calculus, Discrete Mathematics, College Algebra, GRE Preparation and Scuba Diving. In addition to the schools where Noah earned degrees he participated in REU and other programs allowing him to study math at University of Edinburgh (the one in Scotland), Penn State - State College, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Not too bad for someone who failed high school geometry… Outside mathematics Noah is an avid sailor and scuba diver, and has worked for several years with a group of archeologists in the Dominican Republic to search for shipwrecks as well as pre-Columbian artifacts. He is also a pilot, singer, conductor and artist. While certain hours of his day are devoted to slowly destroying people teaching math, Noah hopes students feel free to drop by to discuss anything interesting; while you are there check out his origami collection which includes modular pieces with over 1000 squares of paper and what is likely to be the smallest crane you have ever seen (literally glued to the head of a pin). Top

October 2008 A Warm Welcome to a New Adjunct Faculty Member This month we welcome Florence Gordon as a new adjunct faculty member in the department. Florence returns to teaching after retiring from a career in Information Technology.  Florence earned her Bachelor of Science in Education degree with a major in Mathematics from Kent State University.  She started her career teaching Algebra and Geometry but left teaching to work in the Information Technology field.   While working as a computer programmer and system analyst, she earned a Masters of Business Administration at Kent State University to better understand the business applications being developed.  Her career provided opportunities to develop applications for a variety of clients as well as to develop and deliver professional courses for those who used the applications.  Florence retired as a Project Manager from Electronic Data Systems (EDS), recently purchased by Hewlett Packard.  Retirement provided the time to return to teaching math. Florence enjoys traveling and golf.  Teaching part time allows for weekend trips south to take advantage of the warmer weather and a variety of southern courses. Top

November/December 2008 Programmers Compete in the 2008 ACM Programming Contest On October 31st five students— Laura Betz, Scott Greis, Josh Helmuth, Adam Toohey, and Nicholas Wamaani--and Professor J. Newton traveled to Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio to compete in The ACM East Central North American 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 1st, Patrick Mitch joined the group of student participants.   The two teams - Thiel Rhymes with Meal and Thiel Zeal or No Zeal - were now complete.  They immediately 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 122 teams drawn from 65 colleges and universities throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, eastern Ontario, and Indiana. The Thiel teams ended up tying for 81st 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