HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY 1875–2012 DR. LYNN E. GARNER DR. GURCHARAN S. GILL DR. JAN E. WYNN Copyright © 2013, Department of Mathematics, Brigham Young University All rights reserved 2 Foreword In August 2012, the leadership of the Department of Mathematics of Brigham Young University requested the authors to compose a history of the department. The history that we had all heard was that the department had come into being in 1954, formed from the Physics Department, and with a physicist as the first chairman. This turned out to be partially true, in that the Department of Mathematics had been chaired by physicists until 1958, but it was referred to in the University Catalog as a department as early as 1904 and the first chairman was appointed in 1906. The authors were also part of the history of the department as professors of mathematics: Gurcharan S. Gill 1960–1999 Lynn E. Garner 1963–2007 Jan E. Wynn 1966–2000 Dr. Gill (1956–1958) and Dr. Garner (1960–1962) were also students in the department and hold B. S. degrees in Mathematics from BYU. We decided to address the history of the department by dividing it into three eras of quite different characteristics. The first era (1875–1978): Early development of the department as an entity, focusing on rapid growth during the administration of Kenneth L. Hillam as chairman. The second era (1978–1990): Efforts to bring the department in line with national standards in the mathematics community and to establish research capabilities, during the administration of Peter L. Crawley as chairman. The third era (1990–2012): Struggles to coordinate goals of the department and aims of the university, and individual achievements that helped the department move toward national recognition. Primary compiler of the first era was Dr. Garner, of the second, Drs. Garner and Wynn, and of the third, Dr. Gill. We also asked Dr. Jaqueline Taylor Voyles and Jackie Robertson to contribute to the history of the Math Lab. Dr. Garner has served as final editor and any flaws in the editing are his responsibility. Primary sources for the information include BYU publications, such as catalogs and commencement programs, college and department annual reports, and centennial histories of BYU, of the College of Physical and Engineering Sciences, and of the Department of Mathematics. Some of the photographs come from the BYU Archives. We thank the members of the department, including several present and past faculty members, and particularly Lonette Stoddard, for assistance in gathering information for this work and for technical typing. 3 4 Table of Contents FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................................................... 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. 5 MATHEMATICS AT THE UNIVERSITY ..................................................................................................... 7 PART I. THE EARLY YEARS: 1875–1978 ................................................................................................ 9 MATHEMATICS AT BRIGHAM YOUNG ACADEMY: 1875–1903 ...................................................................... 9 MATHEMATICS AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY: 1903–1954 ............................................................... 11 THE EXPANSION YEARS: 1954–1978 .......................................................................................................... 14 ORGANIZATION ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 FACULTY ................................................................................................................................................................................ 18 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 20 COURSE DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................................................................... 23 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................................................. 28 FACILITIES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 31 PART II. THE GROWTH YEARS: 1978–1990 ...................................................................................... 34 ORGANIZATION ................................................................................................................................................ 35 FACULTY ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ................................................................................................................................. 38 COURSE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................................. 39 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................................................................. 40 FACILITIES ....................................................................................................................................................... 40 PART III. THE MATURING YEARS: 1990–2012 ................................................................................. 45 DONALD W. ROBINSON, CHAIR (1990–1992) ........................................................................................... 46 PETER W. BATES, CHAIR (1992–1994) ..................................................................................................... 49 GERALD M. ARMSTRONG, CHAIR (1994–1997) ......................................................................................... 53 WAYNE W. BARRETT, CHAIR (1997–2000) .............................................................................................. 63 LYNN E. GARNER, CHAIR (2000–2006) ...................................................................................................... 72 TYLER J. JARVIS, CHAIR (2006–2012) ........................................................................................................ 88 MATH LAB HISTORY, 2002-PRESENT ........................................................................................................ 107 COMMENTS BY THE CURRENT CHAIR ........................................................................................................... 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................................... 111 APPENDIX 1. TIMELINE ................................................................................................................................. 113 APPENDIX 2. FACULTY PROFILES ................................................................................................................. 117 APPENDIX 3. FACULTY PUBLICATIONS ........................................................................................................ 129 APPENDIX 4. VISITING FACULTY .................................................................................................................. 179 APPENDIX 5. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF GRADUATES .................................................................................... 183 APPENDIX 6. LIST OF GRADUATES BY YEAR ................................................................................................ 209 APPENDIX 7. PUTNAM COMPETITION RESULTS .......................................................................................... 243 APPENDIX 8: EXCERPTS FROM THE ANNUAL REPORTS .............................................................................. 249 APPENDIX 9. MATH LAB JOB DESCRIPTIONS, 2012 .................................................................................. 321 APPENDIX 10. ENTERTAINING ANECDOTES ................................................................................................ 323 TOPICAL INDEX ......................................................................................................................................... 327 5 6 Mathematics at the University The prominence of mathematics in education has been unquestioned in western civilization since the beginning. Numbers and counting have been known since the days of Adam (see Moses 6:5–6, 10, etc.). We have record of mathematics being developed for utilitarian purposes by the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Mayans, and for its own sake by the Greeks. The “oldest recorded entrance requirement of a college” reportedly hung over the door of Plato’s Academy (c. 375 BC), saying, “Let no one ignorant of geometry enter my doors” [Smith]. The mathematics of the Greeks was mostly lost to Western Europe during the dark ages. The new Hindu-Arabic numeration system made its way into Europe in the early 13th century and European universities founded in the 13th and 14th centuries included mathematics (arithmetic and geometry) as a basic topic required of all students. After the