Honors in Mathematics - Department of Mathematics

Math Honors Processes

The department offers mathematics majors the opportunity to graduate with honors in mathematics by completing an honors project. Of those students choosing to do so, most initiate the project during their senior year. An honors project entails an in-depth study of an area of mathematics not typically covered in the undergraduate curriculum. The choice of field is essentially left to the student and their honors advisor. The only stipulation is that the material must be of sufficient sophistication to warrant the honors designation, along with prior approval by the department faculty. Completion of an honors project requires both an expository report (the thesis) and an oral presentation to the department (the defense).

Initial requirements

By the beginning of the approved honors activity, the student will:

declare a major in mathematics.
have a sufficiently high GPA: at least 3.0 overall and at least 3.5 in Mathematics courses numbered 122 and above and Statistics courses numbered 280 and above.
complete at least two 400-level mathematics courses (excluding Math 499).

How to apply

Select a faculty member willing to supervise a directed study or undergraduate research project.
Write a proposal with the aid of the advisor and present it to the department for approval. (View a sample proposal and suggested timeline.)
Ask two faculty members (other than the advisor) to serve on the student’s honors committee. The advisor will be an ex officio member of the honors committee.

Final requirements

Major in mathematics with overall GPA at least 3.0 and at least 3.5 in Mathematics courses numbered 122 and above and Statistics courses numbered 280 and above.
Completed directed study (three credits of Math 491 or 492) or undergraduate research project.
An honors thesis approved by the honors committee. The thesis will contain either an exposition of known mathematics research or original student research. (View a sample honors thesis .)
Final presentation given to the department.

Download a standard LaTeX template for the thesis (including cover page)

Honors Recipients:

2023 ~ 2024

Christopher Hudert – Boolean Group Structure in Class Groups of Positive Definite Quadratic Forms of Primitive Discriminant (under Dr. Lehman)
Catherine Nguyen – Analytical and Numerical Analysis of the SIRS Model (under Dr. Lee)

2022 ~ 2023

Kayla Kippes – Using a Distributive Approach to Model Insurance Loss (under Dr. Denhere)

2021 ~ 2022

Rory Black – Adjusting Environmental Performance Index Scores to Account for Gross National Income (under Dr. Hydorn)
Timothy Corbett – Einstein’s Equation, Lagrangians for General Relativity, and the ADM Formalism (under Dr. Chiang)
Caitlin Holt – A Numerical Study of the SEIQR Model for COVID-19 (under Dr. Lee)
Lynn Sherman – ElGamal Encryption in the General Linear Groups (under Dr. Helmstutler)

2020 ~ 2021

Paige Beidelman – Game Chromatic Number on Segmented Caterpillars (under Dr. Collins)
Makayla Ferrell – Simulations of an Attack on RSA (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Brandon Williams – Parameter Estimation in Nonlinear Regression: Exploring Confidence Intervals for Estimated Coefficients (under Dr. Hydorn)

2019 ~ 2020

Abigail Bernhardt – Markov Chain Model for the Spread of an Epidemic (under Dr. Esunge)
Amy Creel – The $T, T^*, V_I, V_{NI}$ Model for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Dynamics (under Dr. Lee)
Hannah Frederick – Conjugation by Circulant Matrices in Non-commutative Cryptography (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Ashley Scurlock – Anticommutative Associative Algebras and the Binomial Theorem (under Dr. Collins)
Stephen Tivenan – Exploration of Solvable Quintic Polynomials (under Dr. Lehman)

2018 ~ 2019

Riley Anderson – Improving Bertini 2.0: Classifying Singular Polynomials with Machine Learning (under Dr. Collins)
Makenzie Clower – Predicting Parameters for Bertini Using Neural Networks (under Dr. Collins)
Emily MacIndoe – Analysis of Deterministic and Stochastic HIV Models (under Dr. Lee)

2017 ~ 2018

Henry Darron – An Analysis of Performance Measures of the Schooner Zodiac (under Dr. Chiang)
Shannon Haley – Non-commutative Massey-Omura Encryption with Symmetric Groups (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Bailey Stewart – Non-commutative Zero-Knowledge protocols (under Dr. Helmstutler)

2016 ~ 2017

Rachelle Dambrose – Algorithms to Approximate Solutions of Poisson’s Equation in Two and Three Dimensions (under Dr. Lee)
Nicholas Gabriel – Maxwell’s Equations, Gauge Fields, and Yang-Mills Theory (under Dr. Chiang)

2015 ~ 2016

Chris Lloyd – The Ko-Lee Key Exchange Protocol with Generalized Dihedral Groups (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Victoria Moore – Simultaneous Estimation of Multiple Time Series (under Dr. Hydorn)
Pengcheng Zhang – Homogeneous, Isotropic Cosmology, Schwarzschild Solution and Applications (under Dr. Chiang)

2014 ~ 2015

Michelle Craft – Eigenvectors of Interpoint Distance Matrices (under Dr. Hydorn)
Kimberly Hildebrand – Using Independent Bernoulli Random Variables to Model Gender Hiring Practices (under Dr. Hydorn)

2013 ~ 2014

Kyle Genovese – Application of Multiple Regression: A Two Case Study (under Dr. Esunge)
Casey Howren – Computational Analysis of the SIR Epidemic model (under Dr. Lee)
Chris Hunt – Surface Theory, Minimal surfaces, and Weierstrass Representations (under Dr. Chiang)
Dane Lawhorne – Analogies Between the Real and Digital Lines and Circles (under Dr. Helmstutler)

2012 ~ 2013

Kelly Brown – Mathematical Models of Honey Bee Populations: Rapid Population Decline (under Dr. Sumner)
Morgan Brown – Numerical Approximations to the One- and Two-Dimensional Wave Equation (under Dr. Lee)
Katie Dillinger – Analysis of the Heat Equation with a Heat Source Term (under Dr. Lee)
Peter Slattery – Analytical Approaches to the Wave Equation (under Dr. Lee)

2011 ~ 2012

Hannah Baumgardner – The Gauss-Bonnet Theorem and its Applications on Manifolds (under Dr. Chiang)
Marianne Dubinsky – Methods for Solving the Basel Problem (under Dr. Esunge)
Alan Liddel – Generalized Functions of Schwartz Type (under Dr. Collier)
Catherin O’Doherty – Explorations of Stable Distributions (under Dr. Esugne)
Rebecca Presor – Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model: Analysis, Approximations, and Applications (under Dr. Lee)
Kelly Scott – Anti-Blocking Sets (under Dr. Mellinger)
Teresa Yao – The Diffusion of a Chemical Pollutant Modeled by a Fourier Series (under Dr. Lee)

2010 ~ 2011

Kathryn Christian – Mathematical and Numerical Solutions for a Heat Conduction Model (under Dr. Lee)
Kevin Doubleday – Application of Markov Chains to Stock Trends (under Dr. Esunge)
Geoff Driskell – A Comparison of Two Derivations of the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model (under Dr. Esunge)
Kelsie Snyder – c-Dominating Sets for Families of Graphs (under Dr. Mellinger)
Andrew Snyder-Beattie – Dissecting Two Approaches to Energy Prices (under Dr. Esunge)
Erin Stange – Computational Models of the Diffusion Equation (under Dr. Lee)

2009 ~ 2010

Sarah Ball – Evaluating Mean Willingness to Pay for the Success of the Blue Crab in the Chesapeake Bay (under Dr. Hydorn)
Elizabeth Bernat – Analysis of Temperature Change Using a Mathematical Model (under Dr. Lee)
Barbara Brown – Generalized Dihedral Groups of Small Order (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Katie Hunsburger – The Weight Enumerator for a Class of LDPC Codes Generated by Hyperovals (under Dr. Mellinger)
Thomas Wolfe – Statistical Analysis of Genetic Mutations in SMS Patients and Resulting Phenotypes (under Dr. Hydorn)

2008 ~ 2009

William Ella – Retracts in Category Theory (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Christine Exley – Cryptography Based on Determining Sets (under Dr. Mellinger)
Jacob Farinholt – Designing Codes to Fit Your Needs: a closer look at BCH codes (under Dr. Mellinger)
Jonathan Stallings – Improved Covariance Eigenvalue Estimates and Line Estimation (under Dr. Hydorn)
Christopher Triola – Special Orthogonal Groups and Rotations (under Dr. Helmstutler)

2007 ~ 2008

Elizabeth Liskom – Teaching Geometry with The Geometer’s Sketchpad (under Dr. Mellinger)
Katherine Mulrey – Differential Geometry and its Applications to Einstein’s Equations (under Dr. Chiang)
Roberto Palomba – Sn-Normal Semigroups of Partial Transformations (under Dr. Konieczny)
Juliette Zerick – Computational Characterizations of Basin Boundaries (under Drs. Edmunds and Ackermann)

2006 ~ 2007

Robert Carrico – Estimating the Eigenvalues of Covariance Matrices using Confidence Intervals (under Dr. Hydorn)
Sean Droms – Partial Linear Transformations of a Vector Space (under Dr. Konieczny)
Ryan Johnson – Investigation of a Min-Max Scheduling Problem (under Dr. Mellinger)
Gardner Marshall – A Lie-Theoretic Approach to the Spin Groups (under Dr. Helmstutler)

2005 ~ 2006

Chris Meyer – Codes Generated by Matrix Expansions (under Dr. Mellinger)
Allison Piccolo – The Effect of Stage Structure on Basins of Attraction (under Dr. Edmunds)

2004 ~ 2005

Daniel Bowers – Elliptic Curves and Their Applications in Cryptography (under Dr. Lehman)
Amanda Passmore – An Elementary Solution to the Menage Problem (under Dr. Mellinger)
Lisa Yuhui Song – Application of Transition Matrix Theory and Stochastic Modeling to Aeschynomene virginica Population Dynamics, a Threatened Species (under Drs. Edmunds and Griffith)
Jennifer Stovall – A New Class of Codes from Finite Geometry (under Dr. Mellinger)

2003 ~ 2004

Damian Watson – Fractional Analysis and its Applications (under Dr. Chiang)

2002 ~ 2003

Jaime Ann Miller – Differential Geometry and its Applications to Minimal Surfaces (under Dr. Chiang)
Matthew Welz – Extension Fields and Geometric Constructions (under Dr. Konieczny)

2001 ~ 2002

Mohamed Chakhad – Differential Geometry and its Applications to Relativity (under Dr. Chiang)

2000 ~ 2001

Wendi Cook – Fourier Analysis and its Musical Applications (under Dr. Chiang)