2022 ~ 2023
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Kayla Kippes
Honors Theses*
- Kayla Kippes – Using a Distributive Approach to Model Insurance Loss (under Dr. Denhere)
*You can find a list of recent honors recipients here.
2021 ~ 2022
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Caitlin Holt
Undergraduate Publications
- Amy Creel, Analytical Solution of the
Model for HIV-1 Dynamics, SIAM Undergraduate Research Online Journal, Vol. 14, pp 567 – 584, 2021 (under Dr. Lee)
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (December 4, 2021)
Paper Presentation
- Caitlin Holt – A Numerical Study of the SEIQR Model for COVID-19 (under Dr. Lee)
Honors Theses*
- 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
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Paige Beidelman
Colgate W. Darden Award (given to the graduating senior(s) with the highest GPA)
- Margaret Gregory and Katherine Safian
Honors Theses
- 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
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Amy Creel
Colgate W. Darden Award (given to the graduating senior(s) with the highest GPA)
- Hannah Frederick
Undergraduate Publications
- Emily MacIndoe, Analytical Solutions of the Susceptible-Infected-Virus (SIV) Model, SIAM Undergraduate Research Online Journal, Vol. 12, pp 154 – 166, 2019 (under Dr. Lee)
Honors Theses
- Abigail Bernhardt – Markov Chain Model for the Spread of an Epidemic (under Dr. Esunge)
- Amy Creel – The
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
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Emily MacIndoe
Colgate W. Darden Award (given to the graduating senior(s) with the highest GPA)
- Emily MacIndoe
- Hollis Pultz
Undergraduate Publications
- Ray Dambrose, Algorithms to Approximate Solutions of Poisson’s Equation in Three Dimensions, Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal, Vol. 20, Iss. 1, Article 2, 2019 (under Dr. Lee)
Honors Theses
- 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)
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (October 13, 2018)
Paper Presentation
- Riley Anderson – Implementing Machine Learning to Improve Bertini 2.0 (under Dr. Collins)
Poster Presentation
- Makenzie Clower – Predicting Parameters for Bertini Using Neural Networks (under Dr. Collins)
- Amy Creel – A Numerical Analysis of the SIV Model for HIV Infection (under Dr. Lee)
2017 ~ 2018
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Shannon Haley
Honors Theses
- 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
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Rachelle Dambrose
Colgate W. Darden Award (given to the graduating senior(s) with the highest GPA)
- Rachelle Dambrose
Honors Theses
- 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)
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (September 24, 2016)
Paper Presentation
- Nora Benedetto – Cluster Analysis of Course Evaluation Response Rates (under Dr. Denhere)
- Rachelle Dambrose – Numerical Approximation of Poisson’s Equation (under Dr. Lee)
Poster Presentation
- Kelley Swenson – Predicting Enrollment using Time Series Models (under Dr. Denhere)
- Aaron Thomas – Mathematical Solution to Poisson’s Equation (under Dr. Lee)
*SSI 2016 (July 20, 2016)
Paper Presentation
- Nora Benedetto – Cluster Analysis of Course Evaluation Response Rates (under Dr. Denhere)
- Rachelle Dambrose – Numerical Approximation of Poisson’s Equation (under Dr. Lee)
(1st place winner for the oral presentation)
Poster Presentation
- Kelley Swenson – Predicting Enrollment using Time Series Models (under Dr. Denhere)
(1st place winner for the poster presentation) - Aaron Thomas – Mathematical Solution to Poisson’s Equation (under Dr. Lee)
* More information about SSI can be found in the following link: http://cas.umw.edu/math/student-opportunities/summer-science-institute/.
2015 ~ 2016
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Chris Lloyd
Colgate W. Darden Award (given to the graduating senior(s) with the highest GPA)
- Chris Lloyd
Honors Theses
- 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)
Undergraduate Publications
- Morgan M. Brown (’14), Identifying a Coefficient Matrix for Numerical Approximations to the Wave Equation in Two Dimensions, Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Math Journal, Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp 152 – 166, 2015 (under Dr. Lee)
2014 ~ 2015
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Kimberly Hildebrand
Honors Theses
- 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)
Scholarships
- Christopher Taitt – Fall 2014 Dodson Scholarship
- Lauren Turner – Spring 2015 Dodson Scholarship
- Kimberly Hildebrand – Loughran Scholarship
- Christopher Hunt – Robertson Scholarship
- Rachel Youmans – Talley Scholarship
2013 ~ 2014
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Morgan Brown
Honors Theses
- 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)
Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, MD (January 2014)
Paper Presentation
- Casey Howren – A Numerical Analysis of the SIR Model for Modeling Epidemics (under Dr. Lee)
- Kimberly Hildebrand – Using Independent Bernoulli Random Variables to Model Gender Hiring Practices (under Dr. Hydorn)
- Dane Lawhorne – The Fundamental Groups of the Digital Line and Circles (under Dr. Helmstutler)
(Dane became an outstanding presentation winner of the 2014 MAA Undergraduate Poster Session.)
Scholarships
- Benjamin Tuxbury – Dodson Scholarship
- Ashley Buxton – Loughran Scholarship
- Christopher Hunt – Robertson Scholarship
- William Etcho – Talley Scholarship
2012 ~ 2013
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Kathryn Dillinger
Honors Theses
- 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 Equations (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)
Scholarships
- Benjamin Tuxbury – Dodson Scholarship
- Kelly M. Brown – Loughran Scholarship
- Darren Getts – Robertson Scholarship
- Joseph Nguyen – Talley Scholarship
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (September 29, 2012)
Paper Presentation
- Morgan Brown – How to Win Every Time (under Dr. Lee)
Poster Presentation
- Peter Slattery – The Wave Equation in One Dimension (under Dr. Lee)
2011 ~ 2012
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Kelly Scott
Honors Theses
- 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)
Scholarships
- Rima Amin – Dodson Scholarship
- Aaron Kalman – Loughran Scholarship
- Erin Burdwood – Robertson Scholarship
- Alan Liddell – Talley Scholarship
Joint Mathematics Meetings in Boston, MA (January 2012)
Paper Presentation
- Marianne Dubinsky – Revisiting the Basel Problem (under Dr. Esunge)
- Catherine O’Doherty – Exploration of Stable Distribution (under Dr. Esunge)
Poster Presentation
- Kathryn Dillinger and Rebecca Presor – Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model: Analysis, Approximations, and Applications (under Dr. Lee)
- Ryan Vaughn – On the Contractibility of Finite coH-Space (under Dr. Helmstutler)
MD-DC-VA Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America at Christopher Newport University (November 2011)
Paper Presentation
- Catherine O’Doherty – Explanation of the Matrix Exponential (under Dr. Esunge)
- Ryan Vaughn – On the Contractibility of Finite coH-Spaces (under Dr. Helmstutler)
- Kelly Scott – Anti-Blocking Sets (under Dr. Mellinger)
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (October 22, 2011)
Paper Presentation
- Catherine O’Doherty – Linear Recursions and the Laplace Transform (under Dr. Esunge)
- Rebecca Presor – Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model: Analysis, Approximations, and Applications (under Dr. Lee)
Poster Presentation
- Kathryn Dillinger – Profiting with Options Using the Black-Scholes Equation (under Dr. Lee)
(Katie won second place for her poster presentation at the SUMS conference held at JMU.)
MathFest 2011 in Lexington, KY (August 2011)
Paper Presentation
- Marianne Dubinsky – Explorations of the Laplace Transform (under Dr. Esunge)
- Catherine O’Doherty – Applications of the Laplace Transform (under Dr. Esunge)
2010 ~ 2011
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Kelsie Snyder
Scholarships
- Rima Amin – Dodson Scholarship
- Alan Liddell – Loughran Scholarship
- Erin Burdwood – Robertson Scholarship
- Karissa Herrick – Talley Scholarship
Honors Theses
- 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)
MD-DC-VA Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America at Randolph-Macon College (April 2011)
Paper Presentation
- Kathryn Christion – Mathematical and Numerical Solutions for a Heat Conduction Model (under Dr. Lee)
- Kevin Doubleday – Application of Markov Chains to Stock Trends (under Dr. Esunge)
(Kevin was awarded “Best Student Presentation” at the meeting.) - Geoffrey 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)
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Joint Mathematics Meetings in New Orleans, LA (January 2011)
Poster Presentation
- Kathryn Christian – Polynomial Approximations of a Heat Conduction Model (under Dr. Lee)
- Andrew Snyder-Beattie – Mean Reversion Processes and Non-Competitive Markets: A Case Study of Oil Prices Since 1986 (under Dr. Esunge)
- Erin Strange and Teresa Yao – Chemical Pollutant Diffusion Model: Analysis and Approximations (under Dr. Lee)
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Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (October 23, 2010)
Paper Presentation
- Andrew Snyder-Beattie – The S&P 500, Reality vs. the Black Scholes Model (under Dr. Esunge)
- Teresa Yao – Diffusion of a Chemical Pollutant Modeled by a Fourier Series (under Dr. Lee)
Poster Presentation
- Erin Strange – On Numerical Models of Chemical Pollutant Diffusion (under Dr. Lee)
MathFest 2010 in Pittsburgh, PA (August 2010)
Paper Presentation
- Andrew Snyder-Beattie and Kevin Groat – Geometric Brownian motion: A safe assumption? (under Dr. Esunge)
(They were awarded “Best Student Presentation” at MathFest.)
2009 ~ 2010
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Barbara Brown
Honors Theses
- 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)
Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University (October 3, 2009)
Paper Presentation
- Elizabeth Bernat – Numerical Estimates of Temperature Changes Using the Finite Difference Method (under Dr. Lee)
- Barbara Brown – Generalized Dihedral Groups and Geometry (under Dr. Helmstutler)
Poster Presentation
- Kathryn Christian – Solutions to Laplace’s Equation in Modeling Heat Conduction (under Dr. Lee)
MathFest 2009 in Portland, OR (August 2009)
Paper Presentation
- Elizabeth Bernat and Kathryn Christian – Laplace’s Equation: A Mathematical and Computational Analysis (under Dr. Lee)
2008 ~ 2009
Oscar T. Schultz Award (given to the outstanding junior or senior mathematics major who best demonstrates “the desire and potential to master the art of mathematics.”)
- Jonathan Stallings
Scholarships
- Thomas Wolfe – Loughran Scholarship
- Allison Hufford – Talley Scholarship
- Katie Hunsberger – Robertson Scholarship
Honors Theses
- 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)
MD-DC-VA Section Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America at the University of Mary Washington (April 2009)
Paper Presentation
- William Ella – Retracts in Category Theory (under Dr. Helmstutler)
- Jacob Farinholt – Designing Codes to Fit Your Needs: An Investigation Into the Construction of BCH Codes (under Dr. Mellinger)
- Katie Hunsberger – The weight enumerator for a class of LDPC codes defined by hyperovals (under Dr. Mellinger)
- Jonathan Stallings – Improved Covariance Eigenvalue Estimates and Line Estimation (under Dr. Hydorn)
Joint Mathematics Meetings in Washington, DC (January 2009)
Paper Presentation
- William Ella
Poster Presentation
- Catherine Castleberry (under Dr. Mellinger)
- Jacob Farinholt (under Dr. Mellinger)
- Katie Hunsberger (under Dr. Mellinger)
- Jonathan Stallings (under Dr. Hydorn)
- Christopher Triola (under Dr. Lehman)
- Thomas Wolfe (under Dr. Hydorn)