Thanks for visiting the Norwich University College of Science and Mathematics. Here you will be able to keep up on the latest news on school happenings, upcoming events, and alumni announcements. We hope you will find this site useful and exciting!

Two majors in the College of Science and Mathematics are among the winners of the 2013 Kreitzberg Library Student Research Paper Prizes.

Jeff Kyle Hay an Enviromental Science major from Cape Coral, FL,  won in the Junior Technical category for his paper “Geomorphic Changes of the Dog River Channel Post-Tropical Storm Irene Flooding.”

Robyn Taylor, a Mathematics major from Cayce, SC, took the prize in the Senior Technical category for her paper “Integrals and Interesting Series Involving the Central Binomial Coefficient.”

The two students will receive a cash prize for their efforts during Student Scholarship Celebration activities at Norwich University.  The prize is sponsored by the Friends of the Kreitzberg Library.

Additionally, several COSM majors will have posters of their research shown during the Student Scholarship Celebration poster session in the Milano Ballroom.

Robyn Taylor ’13, a senior mathematics major from Cayce, SC, gave two talks at the recent Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, held at Williams College in Williamstown, MA.

Dr. Gerard LaVarnway and Robyn Taylor ’13 at the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference

Taylor was the only student among the hundreds in attendance who gave two talks.  Her first talk, entitled “The Hill Cipher: A Cryptosystem Using Linear Algebra” was advised by Dr. Gerard LaVarnway, chair of the mathematics department.  The second was entitled “Integrals and Interesting Series Involving the Central Binomial Coefficient.“  The paper was mentored by Dr. Robert Poodiack.

The Department of Mathematics held Integration Bee XI on Thursday, April 4th in Cabot Science 085.  The 11th annual calculus contest, first run in 2003, featured around 40 students participating, and is the signature event for the department during Mathematics Awareness Month.

A large group of students were on hand to cheer for their friends.  Participants work against the clock to solve integrals, mathematical objects that can be interpreted as areas or generalizations of areas.  Integrals and derivatives are the fundamental objects of calculus.

Prapat Kotpat, a junior civil engineering major from Washington, DC was the Grand Champion for Integration Bee XI.  Kotpat won a gift certificate for a bus tour from Milne Travel.  He narrowly beat Antonio Diaz, a senior mathematics major from Pittsford, VT.

Kotpat and Diaz (l to r)

Finishing with Kotpat and Diaz in the Top Three was Ryan Grindle, a sophomore mathematics major from Essex Junction, VT.

Ryan Grindle

Rounding out the Elite Eight were Colby Goodhue, a freshmen mechanical engineering major from Pepperell, MA; Pete Wagner, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Graniteville, VT; Anthony Belval, a sophomore civil engineering major from Essex Junction, VT; Joshua Kinsley, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Williston, VT; and Sean Cristofori, a sophomore mathematics major from Waterford, MI.

For the past few years, the Department of Mathematics has given the Katy and Kelli Tyner Award to the two Integration Bee participants who best embody the spirit of the competition.  The prizes are generously funded by Dr. Dennis and Patty Tyner in honor of two of their daughters, who competed fiercely in the first few Integration Bees.  The Tyner Awards for Integration Bee X were presented to Shaun Brunner, a sophomore mathematics major from Barre, VT, and to Jacob Maheu, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Belchertown, MA.  Katy Tyner was on hand to present the Tyner Awards this year.

Katy Tyner ’03 and Math Dept. Chair Gerard LaVarnway

The Integration Bee was co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematics and by Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha.  All participating integrators were given a one-year license for Mathematica for Students.

Jeff DeFelice, NU ’11, a double major in Mathematics and Biochemistry and now a Ph.D. candidate at Dartmouth College, gives the next Larsen Science Lecture on Thursday, April 18th.  His talk is on the search for a state equation to describe the mixing of polymers.  A flyer and abstract are attached.

The talk is on Thursday, April 18th at 12:30 p.m. in Cabot Science 085.  Pizza and drinks will be served!
This lecture series is sponsored by the Larsen Fund, established in 1998 to honor Dr. Frederick D. Larsen, Emeritus Dana Professor of Geology.

Marion Weir, University of Vermont

Marion Weir, a graduate student in the Department of Biology at the University of Vermont, delivers the next talk in the College of Science and Mathematics Lecture Series on Tuesday, April 9th.

Weir will lecture on “Retinal expression of key players in the growth cone collapse pathway.”  A full abstract is available by clicking here.

The lecture happens on Tuesday, April 16th at 12:10 p.m. in Cabot Science 085.  The public is welcome to attend and lunch will be available.

The Department of Geology and Environmental Science has had an exciting month of March!

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Prof. Richard Dunn got called in on a major archaeological project on Easter Island where he spent his spring break carrying out stratigraphic studies to unravel the volcanic and post-volcanic history of the island.

While he was working there, Profs. David Westerman and Chris Koteas took a vanload of students to Virginia and West Virginia where they linked up with alumnus Paul Magness (ES’95). Their trip looked at geological and environmental sites from west of the WV Valley and Ridge, across the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces to the Coastal Plain, before heading north.

But instead of starting classes immediately, the full faculty of the department, along with four students and a recent graduate, spent two days in Breton Woods, NH at the annual meeting of the Northeast Section of the Geological Society of America where they collectively presented eleven papers and posters.

CLIFT, Anne E., SPRINGSTON, George E. and BECKER, Laurence, 2013, USE OF LIDAR IN A LANDSLIDE INVENTORY PROTOCOL IN VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 111.

HAY, Jeffrey K.*, CONLEY, Matthew J.*, WATERS, Kevin*, KOTEAS, G. Christopher, DUNN, Richard K., SPRINGSTON, George E., and GRIGG, Laurie D., 2013, A PRE- AND POST- TROPICAL STORM IRENE COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CHANNEL GEOMORPHOLOGY ALONG THE DOG RIVER, CENTRAL VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 118.

HERMANSON, T.M.* and DUNN, R.K., 2013, A PROBABLE LATE WISCONSINAN GLACIAL READVANCE SITE, HONEY BROOK, CENTRAL VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 94.

KIM, Jonathan J., SPRINGSTON, George E. and BECKER, Laurence R., 2013, ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER RESOURCES IN THE TOWN OF EAST MONTPELIER, CENTRAL VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 81.

KOTEAS, G. Christopher, WILLIAMS, Michael L., SEAMAN, Sheila J., and DUMOND, Gregory, 2013, THE ROLE OF MELT-ENHANCED SHORTENING AND SHEARING AT GRANULITE GRADE: EVIDENCE FOR LOCALLY VARIABLE STRENGTH OF THE DEEP CRUST FROM THE ATHABASCA GRANULITE TERRANE, NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 87.

LENS, John E., DEWOOLKAR, Mandar M., SPRINGSTON, George E., and BECKER, Laurence R., 2013, SEISMIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF THE BURLINGTON AND COLCHESTER QUADRANGLES, NORTHWESTERN VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 51

SPRINGSTON, George E., UNDERWOOD, Kristen L., ROBINSON, Keith and SWANBERG, Ned, 2013, RAINFALL, FLOOD MAGNITUDE, AND GEOMORPHIC IMPACTS OF TROPICAL STORM IRENE ON THE WHITE RIVER WATERSHED, EAST-CENTRAL VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 83.

THOMAS, Ethan** and DUNN, Richard K., 2013, ANALYSIS OF FAULT BLOCK MOTION RELEVANT TO HARBOR RECONSTRUCTION AT THE MYCENAEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF KALAMIANOS, GREECE: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 54.

WATERS, Kevin*, LE, Dan*, GRIGG, Laurie D., and DUNN, Richard K., 2013, SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN SEDIMENTATION AT TWIN PONDS, CENTRAL VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p.92.

WEBB, Laura E., WESTERMAN, David S., SPRINGSTON, George E., KIM, Jonathan, KLEPEIS, Keith, KOTEAS, G. Christopher, RUKSZNIS, Abigail, MEHRTENS, Charlotte, BECKER, Laurence R., and GALE, Marjorie, 2013, FIELD-BASED UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM AND RESEARCH EXPLORING GEOPHYSICAL METHODS, WITH APPLICATIONS TO THE STATE OF VERMONT: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p. 118.

WESTERMAN, David S., RONI, Emanuele, ROCCHI, Sergio, DINI, Andrea, and STEVENSON, Carl T., 2013, USING DETAILED AMS AND MEGACRYST FABRIC ANALYSES TO UNDERSTAND MAGMA FLOW WITHIN THE SAN MARTINO MULTILAYER LACCOLITH SYSTEM, ELBA ISLAND, ITALY: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 1, p . 88.

Bold is DGES member; *student author; **recent graduate

Dr. John G. Thomas of West Virginia University/Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center gives the next College of Science and Mathematics on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Dr. John G. Thomas

Thomas, a Norwich University graduate, will speak on “The Human Microbiota in Health and Disease:  We are what our bugs eat.”  A poster with abstract is available by clicking here.

The lecture happens at 12:10 p.m. in Cabot Science 085 on Tuesday, April 2nd.  Students are especially encouraged to attend.  Lunch will be provided.

Dr. Vincent Silenzio of the University of Rochester is the next speaker in the Larsen Science Lecture Series on Thursday, March 28th.

Dr. Silenzio will give a talk entitled “Epidemics of Depressing Proportions: Measuring Emotional and Social Contagion in Online Social Media.”

The lecture happens on Thursday, March 28th at 12:30 p.m. in Cabot Science 085.  Pizza and drinks will be served!

This lecture series is sponsored by the Larsen Fund, established in 1998 to honor Dr. Frederick D. Larsen, Emeritus Dana Professor of Geology.

Darlene Olsen, associate professor of mathematics, gives the next talk in the College of Science and Mathematics Lecture Series on Tuesday, March 26th.

Dr. Olsen will speak on “The Controversy of Bayes’ Theorem” Tuesday at 12:10 p.m. in Cabot Science 085.  She will talk about the conflict between those who believe that probabilities should be updated using new information, and those who say they should only be computed from given evidence.

Lunch will be available.  For more details and an abstract, please click here.

Cathy Frey, professor of mathematics and Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, will give a Charles A. Dana Category I Lecture on Wednesday, March 6th.

Her talk is entitled “Technology and the Evolution of Mathematics Instruction.”  Charles A Dana Category I Grants are awarded annually to regular faculty who have demonstrated superior scholarship, teaching ability, and university service.  Recipients participate in the Charles A. Dana Category I Lecture Series for the year in which they hold their awards.

Dean Frey’s lecture takes place in the Multipurpose Room in Kreitzberg Library on Wednesday, March 6th at 12:00 noon.  Bring your lunch — snacks will be provided!