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1999 AMS-MAA-SIAM

Today undergraduate students are working on citing aspect of his submis- problems of current research interest, proving the- sion was his extension of a orems, writing up results for publication, and giv- category which more closely ing talks on their work. There is undergraduate re- binds the associations be- search today at the highest standards of tween combinatorial group professional excellence. The Frank and Brennie theory and combinatorial Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathe- topology. Overall, Biss’s sub- matics by an Undergraduate Student is intended mission included four solid to recognize and encourage outstanding mathe- research papers, two of which matical research by undergraduate students. The have been accepted for publi- prize was endowed by Mrs. Frank Morgan and also cation. carries the name of her late husband. The strength of his re- At the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San An- search, coupled with out- tonio in January 1999, the 1998 Morgan Prize was standing letters, insured that awarded to DANIEL BISS. An Honorable Mention was he is a truly outstanding can- presented to AARON F. ARCHER. didate, and the committee is The prize selection committee consisted of proud to give the 1998 Frank George Andrews, Kelly J. Black, Catherine A. and Brennie Morgan Prize to Daniel Biss. Roberts, Robert O. Robson, Martha J. Siegel, and Daniel Biss Trevor Wooley. Biographical Sketch The text that follows contains the committee’s Daniel Biss was born in Akron, , in 1977 and citation, a brief biographical sketch of Daniel Biss, brought up in Bloomington, Indiana. His mathe- and his response upon receiving the award. The matical education began in 1992 under the guid- same material is also presented for Aaron Archer. ance of Ciprian Foias, Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Indiana University, who taught Daniel Biss him analysis and measure theory. Around the same Citation time, Biss began taking graduate-level courses at The 1998 winner of the Morgan Prize for out- Indiana. standing research by an undergraduate is Daniel In the summer of 1994 he attended the Re- Biss, whose undergraduate studies were conducted search Science Institute at the Massachusetts In- at . His submission for the prize stitute of Technology, where he won the H. G. Rick- included results in combinatorics, topology, group over Medal, awarded to the outstanding student at theory, and graph theory. the Institute. There he began working on a prob- The committee was most impressed by Biss’s re- lem in algebraic combinatorics. This work was con- markable breadth as well as depth. The most ex- tinued under the guidance of Professor Foias, as

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well as Kent Orr, also a professor at Indiana. It re- with demonstrated problem-solving ability, proven sulted in a paper for which Biss was named a fi- research ability, excellent communication skills, nalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and an aptitude for working with others. As one a winner of the Naval National Science Award, and of his letters stated, “Everything he does, he does a winner of the USA Today All-USA Academic Team well.” competition. This outstanding young researcher has been In 1995 Biss went to Harvard University to pur- recognized by an Honorable Mention in this year’s sue an undergraduate degree in mathematics. The Morgan Prize competition. following summer he was a student at the Duluth Biographical Sketch Summer Mathematics Research Experience for Un- Aaron Archer grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Last May dergraduates, under the direction of Joseph A. he earned his B.S. in mathematics, graduating with Gallian. Biss returned each of the following two high distinction from Harvey Mudd College in years as a research advisor. During his second Claremont, California. Aaron’s experience as a high year at Harvard he was a course assistant for an school student at the 1992 Hampshire College honors freshman multivariable calculus course Summer Studies in Mathematics summer camp and later for a representation theory course. He has strongly influenced him to study mathematics in twice received a Certificate of Distinction in Teach- college, and he returned to teach at the program ing. In 1997 he was awarded the Barry M. Goldwater in 1995 and 1998. He is also an alumnus of the Bu- Scholarship in Mathematics, Science, and Engi- dapest Semesters in Mathematics and the Research neering. In the spring of 1998 Biss graduated Experiences for Undergraduates programs at In- summa cum laude and received the Thomas Wen- diana University and the University of Minnesota, dell Hoopes prize for his undergraduate Duluth. He has done work in chromatic graph the- “Homotopy theory with a view toward stable com- ory, computational geometry, discrete dynamical putations”, written under the direction of Raoul systems, and recreational mathematics. He re- Bott and Michael Hopkins, professors at Harvard ceived a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for his un- and MIT respectively. dergraduate studies. He initiated and led a fund- Response raising effort last spring to establish a merit I am very honored to have been awarded the Mor- scholarship for promising incoming math students gan Prize. I would like to thank the AMS, MAA, and at Harvey Mudd, named after his classmate Andrew SIAM for instituting this award. Also, I would like “Rif” Hutchings. to give my thanks for the opportunity to attend a Archer is currently a Hertz Fellow in the De- summer Research Experience for Undergraduates partment of Operations Research and Industrial En- in Duluth, MN. Without the existence of such a pro- gineering at Cornell University, where he is con- gram and without the guidance of the program’s centrating on discrete optimization. founder and director, Joseph A. Gallian, I would Response never have been able to do most of the work for I am greatly honored to receive this recognition for which the prize was awarded. I’d also like to point my undergraduate work. I would like to thank all out that some of the work was done in collabora- those who have helped guide my research or given tion with Samit Dasgupta, and without his ideas me valuable advice and encouragement, particu- and commitment that could never have come larly Professors Joseph Gallian of the University of about. Lastly, I’d like to thank the many other peo- Minnesota, Duluth; Maynard Thompson of Indiana ple who have been tremendous mathematical in- University; and Michael Moody, Arthur Benjamin, fluences, particularly Kent Orr and Ciprian Foias, and Francis Su of Harvey Mudd College. who have always been able to point me in the right direction, both inside and outside of mathematics.

Honorable Mention: Aaron F. Archer Citation An Honorable Mention is awarded to Aaron F. Archer for his nomination to the 1998 Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize. Archer’s undergraduate studies were conducted at Harvey Mudd College. His submission for the prize included two solid pa- pers on graph theory, introducing new chromatic interpretations for a graph. Archer also has two applied mathematics papers in preparation and is a coauthor on a third paper that was awarded the SIAM Prize from the Mathe- matical Modeling Contest. All of his references painted a picture of a multitalented mathematician

470 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 46, NUMBER 4