2006 Scholarship and Awards Ceremony
April 20, 2006, Neill Hall Hacker Lounge
The department was pleased to honor its many outstanding students with scholarships and awards at the annual Scholarship and Awards Ceremony. A reception with refreshments followed. Scholarships and awards are made possible by the generosity of our donors, which is deeply appreciated. For a more complete description of each scholarship, please visit the department scholarship page. Click on an image to see a larger size of the same photo.
Peter Klosterman received the Bell Outstanding Freshman Award, presented by David Watkins.
Peter has a 4.0 grade average and is a WSU Distinguished Regents Scholar. He was valedictorian of his high school class and is a National Merit Commended Scholar. He has been on the President's Honor Roll and is the Washington State University Mortar Board Outstanding Freshman Scholar. He is considering either a major in bioengineering or a major in mathematics that would allow him to teach at the secondary level.
Benjamin Clark received the Bell Freshman Mathematics Scholarship, presented by Alexander Khapalov.
Benjamin has a 4.0 grade average and is a recipient of the WSU Achievement award. He was on the WSU Fall 2005 President's Honor Roll and on the 2005-2006 Dean's List. Benjamin received a Superior Achievment award in WSU's core program in World Civilizations. His future goal is to become "the most amazing math teacher my students have ever seen." He is currently involved in a WSU Department of Psychology research project and has previously worked as a webmaster and computer technician for the Riverside School District in Chattaroy, WA.
Kelly Whitney received the Knebelman Memorial Scholarship, presented by Kim Vincent.
Kelly was valedictorian of her high school class and has been on the President's Honor Roll each semester since arriving at WSU two years ago. During this time she has received numerous scholarships, has tutored at Gannon Goldsworthy, and has been a volunteer aide at the WSU Children's Center. Kelly would like to obtain a master's degree to allow her to use mathematical analysis on company operations. Kelly's interests include mathematics, problem-solving, Spanish, and understanding learning theories.
David Koslicki received the J. Russell and Mildred H. Vatnsdal Memorial Scholarship, presented by Duane DeTemple.
This is David's second year at WSU, or at least his second spring semester, since he participated in the Mathematics Advanced Study Semester at Penn State University last fall. This program brought together a small number of outstanding mathematics students from all over the country for an intensive semester of research. David completed projects in integers partitions, p-adic analysis, and geometry, where his study, "Substitutions and Fractals" was named the "Best Research Project in Geometry." David is interested in theoretical mathematics and hopes to pursue a Ph.D.
Alan Finnie received the Knebelman Outstanding Senior Award, presented by Duane DeTemple.
Alan is completing a distinguished academic career at WSU, and the Knebelman Award is the third award he has received from the mathematics department. Alan has followed the theoretical mathematics option. He has been active in ROTC throughout his undergraduate years, and will be going on active duty in the Army in May. He has been assigned to the First Armored Division in Baumholder, Germany.
Patrick Valeri received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Kim Vincent.
Patrick, a junior from Reardon and Spokane, WA, is working toward a B.S. in secondary teaching. He is a bright student with a passion for mathematics and working with others. Patrick was president of PreToM and helped with the organization of IN ME. He carries leadership roles in church activities and during spring break led a team of students in New Orleans to empty homes of personal belongings, and take out flooring, walls and insulation of buildings. Patrick plans to obtain a master's degree in mathematics, or teaching, and will teach high school math, coaching, wresting, and possibly baseball.
Julie Solbrack received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Sandy Cooper.
Julie is an excellent student; hardworking, very bright, and a joy for Sandy Cooper to work with. She is actively involved with the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship in addition to being both an accomplished vocalist and pianist. She is a Distinguished WSU Regents Scholar and President's scholar. Her possible future options may include a master's degree in teaching, a campus missionary internship at Western Washington University, or a one year missionary internship in Africa.
Ryan Reisert received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Duane DeTemple.
Ryan is completing his second year at WSU, majoring in mathematics under the secondary education option. During his first year, Ryan's outstanding record was recognized by receiving the department's Undergraduate Endowment Fund Scholarship. Ryan's work this year maintains that high standard. He has been named to the WSU President's Honor Roll every semester. This year he has served as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant in Math 107 Precalculus. His future goals include earning a master's degree, and returning to Rogers High School to teach calculus and coach wrestling, football, and soccer.
Daniel Forsman received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Jave Pascual.
Daniel is from Montesano, Washington and is a junior in the actuarial sciences option. In high school he was active in athletics, varsity teams, and received awards for outstanding performance. He was also active in many high school extracurricular activities and received a number of academic scholarship awards. He is a WSU Distinguished Regents Scholar and has been on the WSU President's Honor Roll consistently. He plans to be an actuary or continue his education with graduate school when he graduates.
Konstantin Stakhovich received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Jave Pascual.
Konstantin is from Tacoma, Washington. This year he is a junior in the applied stats option. In high school he was active in extracurricular and academic activities. He has been the recipient of scholarship awards such as the Promise Scholarship, Silver Regents Scholarship, and Washington Scholarship. While at WSU he has been consistently on the President's Honor Roll. Konstantin has expressed an interest in pursuing a graduate degree.
Katherine Swanson received a William and Mary Lynn Graber Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Hong-Ming Yin.
Katherine is from Spokane, Washington and is pursuing a double major in Mathematics (Operations Research option) and Spanish. She was valedictorian of her high school class, is a Regents Scholar, and maintains a high WSU GPA. Katherine plans to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees before teaching high school in an inner city where she will be working with an at-risk population. Her desire is "to see minority students realize their potential and go on to study in a further education environment." She would like to use her knowledge to help future students achieve success, particularly disadvantaged minority students.
Emilee Hearrean received a Department of Mathematics Undergraduate Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Duane DeTemple.
Emilee is a WSU sophomore who also received this award last year. She has made the President's Honor Roll during each of her first three semesters at WSU, and this year she serves as an Undergraduate TA. Emilee's extracurricular activities include gymnastics and Yoga. Following graduation, she plans to teach high school mathematics, while continuing her own education toward a master's or doctoral degree.
Michael Harbour received a Department of Mathematics Undergraduate Endowment Fund Scholarship, presented by Jave Pascual.
Michael is from Olympia, Washington. He is a junior in the actuarial sciences option and minoring in finance. He has been the recipient of the WSU Achievement Award, the Capital High School Foundation Scholarship, and last year received the Knebelman Memorial Scholarship. This past year he has been an undergraduate TA and has done volunteer work at Lincoln Middle School and his college fraternity. Michael is a very disciplined person. He aims to complete two or three actuarial exams in the near future.
Jong Sam Jeon received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by Judi McDonald.
Jong Sam Jeon finished a master's degree in Korea before coming to WSU. His master's thesis on ray patterns of matrices has just been accepted for publication in, "Linear Algebra and Its Applications." In his first semester here, Jong Sam received straight A's in his course work and proved a couple of new theorems. He went on to pass the doctoral qualifying exams this January and is an excellent Ph.D candidate.
Roden David received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by David Watkins.
Roden is from the Philippines, where he earned a masters degree at Ateneo de Manila University. He subsequently taught at Ateneo de Manila before coming to WSU to pursue a Ph.D. under the supervision of David Watkins. His research on structured eigenvalue problems is now moving forward quickly with one paper accepted for publication and another in progress.
Nathan Moyer received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by Bill Webb.
Nathan was valedictorian of his high school graduating class and received an undergraduate degree in math from Whitworth College. He has completed his master's degree in math, passed the department's qualifying exams, and is currently in the Ph.D program. Nathan is working with Bill Webb and Bala Krishnamoorthy on methods of creating better public key codes based on knapsack-like problems. Previous knapsack codes have been broken by various techniques involving lattice reduction, integer programming, and Diophantine approximations. Webb, Krishnamoorthy and Moyer are looking at these methods of attack and working to develop codes immune to such attacks.
Amy Yielding received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by Judi McDonald.
Elizabeth Bodine received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by Michael Tsatsomeros.
Elizabeth came to Washington State University from Yakima, Washington, via Linfield College in Oregon where she received her B.A. (magna cum laude) in mathematics and Spanish. In her first year as a graduate student she has a 4.0 GPA.
Mary Arthur received a Sidney G. and Evelyn Hacker Scholarship for Graduates, presented by David Watkins.
Mary came to WSU from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where she graduated with a GPA of 3.98. While at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Mary participated twice in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program. After one year at WSU, Mary has a 3.93 GPA.
Professor Richard Gomulkiewicz received an Outstanding Research Award for Faculty, presented by David Wollkind.
Richard Gomulkiewicz received his Ph.D in Applied Mathematics from the University of California at Davis under the direction of Alan Hastings. During the last three years Richard has had eleven papers published or in press, including articles for prominent, peer-reviewed journals (American Naturalist, Genetics, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B-Biology, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Integrative & Comparative Biology) and invited peer-reviewed book chapters; has had over $3.3 million awarded from NSF with a recent addition of $472K providing support for his own graduate students, a postdoctoral researcher, and four additional WSU graduate students (this includes $1 million for undergraduate research and training in mathematical biology). His future research will concentrate in two main areas, both of which are currently funded by NSF.
Professor Alexander Khapalov received an Outstanding Research Award for Faculty, presented by Robert Mifflin.
Alex Khapalov received his Ph.D from the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Science under the supervision of academician, A.B. Kurzhanskii in 1982. His research interests lie in Applied Analysis, more precisely, in the area of Control Theory, and are currently focused on the development of a new methodology for the controllability of semilinear partial differential equations by means of multiplicative controls. Potential applications here include smart materials and various chain reaction-like process in biomedicine and nuclear and chemical engineering, controlled by "catalysts". His most recent research deals with the geometric aspects of controllability for the swimming phenomenon. Alex has over 60 publications. Since 1994 his research has been supported by five NSF grants as well as grants from the NATO and Sandia National Labs.