Letter from the Chair - 2016

As I begin my second term as chair of the Mathematics Department, I have some big news to share with you. Thanks to a generous donor, the College of Science and Mathematics has the opportunity to partner with the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences on a new research and teaching building. This facility will support undergraduate mathematics research with 1,800 square feet of computational and collaboration space.

Our students and faculty have needed this space for a long time. You can hear directly from them in this video.

Though much of the support for this privately-funded building is secured, the college still needs to raise $5 million. If you’re interested in supporting the building, you can read more information online, contact me at jborzell@calpoly.edu, or contact Ruzena Brar, the college's director of advancement, at rkbrar@calpoly.edu or 805-756-6534.

On a smaller scale, last year I mentioned that the Mathematics Department lab in Building 38 was substantially upgraded with new equipment and furniture that meets the needs of our applied math and mathematics education groups. This summer, the upgrade will be completed with a long overdue refresh of carpet and paint.

In the fall, we welcomed a new tenure-track faculty member, Anthony Samuel, an expert in fractal geometry and analysis. Tony joins us from the Universität Bremen in Germany as an assistant professor. Also, Kara Eversman has been promoted to the scheduling role in the department after spending a year with us as our front office staff person. In this newsletter, you can learn more about each of them, as well as the students’ and faculty’s many achievements.

Also this year, the department went through the thorough and important quinquennial program review process. I am happy to report that the review team affirmed that we are a collegial department comprised of outstanding faculty, staff and students, and one that offers a high quality mathematics program that embodies the Learn by Doing and teacher-scholar models. The team’s report also provided innovative ideas for educating the next generation of mathematicians.

In closing, I’d like to thank those who have supported us through your donations and gifts. Your generosity provides critical support for the students, faculty and staff of the department. It is very much appreciated.

Please keep in touch and let us know what you’ve been up to. If you’re on campus, we’d love to see you at the department office.

Sincerely,
Joseph Borzellino
jborzell@calpoly.edu