presentation for wchs dual-enrollment students
DESCRIPTION
Biographical presentation given to Whiteland Community High School students visiting Franklin College on 24 September 2008.TRANSCRIPT
Who am I, and why am I here?
Robert Talbert, PhDWCHS student visit24 September 2008
What do I do here?
• Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computing Science
• Came to FC in 2001
• Director of 3:2 dual degree program in engineering with Purdue University (IUPUI)
• Chair of Promotion and Tenure Committee
• Working with Math/Computing Club to create Pi Mu Epsilon chapter
Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics (1992)
(Started as psychology major)
Master’s degree in Mathematics (1994)
Ph.D. in Mathematics (1997)
Mathematical background
Topology: Study of properties that remain unchanged under
continuous deformation
?
?
Current interests
Cryptology: Communication in the presence of an adversary
= codemaking/breaking
What cryptology involves
CRYPTOLOGY
ABSTRACT ALGEBRA
Groups; rings; fields; polynomials over finite field; permutation groups
PROBABILITY
Information theory; mathematical entropy; statistical attacks on ciphers
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Analysis of algorithms; computational complexity; writing efficient code for algorithms
NUMBER THEORY
Prime numbers; factorization techniques; elliptic curves; discrete logarithms
Math questions I’m interested in
Are there efficient ways to break block ciphers, or strengthen
them against breaking?
How can elliptic curves be used to create strong and fast
ciphers? How can we break such ciphers?
What I teach
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Calculus Preparation
• Calculus I, II
• Methods of Problem Solving
• Linear Algebra
• Topics in Geometry
• Modern Algebra
• Occasional topics courses
• Interdisciplinary courses
Teaching stuff I am interested in
• Web 2.0 technology in college math instruction: wikis, blogs, microblogging, social networks
• Integrating computer programming throughout the math curriculum
• Student-active teaching techniques
• Dynamic geometry software, spreadsheets, computer algebra systems
What my students are doing right now
Calculus: Calculating derivatives using algebra, spreadsheets, and graphing
software
Problem Solving: Constructing proofs for mathematical conjectures using classical
logic and argumentation
Geometry: Using dynamic geometry software to discover and prove theorems
about circles
What my students have done in the past
Wiki on cryptology during World War II
Online student solutions manual to prof’s course notes in Modern Algebra
Contact
• Email: [email protected]
• IM: rtalbert235 (AOL) or robert.talbert (Google)
• Twitter: RobertTalbert
• Web page: http://www.roberttalbert.net
• Blog: http://castingoutnines.wordpress.com
• Presentations: http://www.slideshare.net/rtalbert (Includes this presentation)