Ryan Sterling Higginbottom Department of Mathematics Washington & Jefferson College 60 S Lincoln St Washington, Pennsylvania 15301 (724) 503-1001 x3332 ryan.higginbottom@washjeff.edu http://www2.washjeff.edu/users/rhigginbottom Education University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Ph.D. in Mathematics August 2005 Dissertation advisor: Nicholas J. Kuhn Dissertation title: The nilpotent filtration in group cohomology M.S. in Mathematics May 2001 Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania B.S. in Mathematics, minors in Greek and Physics May 1999 Magna cum laude with honors in Mathematics Employment Washington & Jefferson College Washington, Pennsylvania Chair, Department of Mathematics July 2015 present Associate Professor May 2013 present Assistant Professor August 2007 May 2013 Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, Michigan Visiting Assistant Professor September 2005 June 2007 University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Graduate Instructor/Teaching Assistant August 1999 May 2005 Professional Memberships Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Publications Warm-Up Problems: How to Help Students Learn, Avoid Grading Homework, and Make All Your Dreams Come True, MAA FOCUS 36 (2016), no. 1, 31 32 Finite topological spaces as a pedagogical tool, PRIMUS 22 (2012), no. 1, 64 74. (with R. Helmstutler) Teaching L A TEX at a liberal arts college, The PracTEX Journal (2011), no. 1. (not peer reviewed) Quantum projective 3-spaces which embed weighted quantum planes, Rocky Mountain J. of Math. 35 (2005), no. 2, 415 444. (with G. Dietz and D. R. Stephenson) 1
Presentations Warmup Problems: How to Help Students Learn, Avoid Grading Homework, and Make All Your Dreams Come True MAA Mathfest August 6, 2015 Washington, DC Reconnecting the Liberal Arts with the Natural Science and Mathematics The Transylvania Seminar (panel discussion organized with Dr. Steve Malinak) July 25, 2015 Lexington, Kentucky Non-lecture methods in introductory courses, Section NExT workshop September 21, 2013 Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Priming the Pump: Using Reading Assignments to Foster Efficient, Flexible Class Periods April 6, 2013 Indiana, Pennsylvania From Zero to L A TEX in Three Weeks: Teaching Scientific Typesetting to Undergraduates January 9, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana Cross-disciplinary coteaching of an applied biostatistics course: equipping pre-health and biology students with more relevant quantitative skills Education on the Edge: A Conference on Innovative Undergraduate Education at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology (poster session) June 10, 2010 Newark, Delaware Teaching L A TEX to a General Science Audience April 10, 2010 Johnstown, Pennsylvania Mastery Exams in Calculus I: A Preliminary Report April 4, 2009 Wheeling, West Virginia Student Presentations Properties of a generalized determinant Samuel Schaub ( 18) January 10, 2018 San Diego, California Constructing a matroid from a finite group Xueyi Lei ( 18) January 7, 2017 Atlanta, Georgia Tiling m-deficient mutilated chessboards with m-polyominoes Kimberly Phillips ( 15) January 18, 2014 Baltimore, Maryland MAA Mathfest August 8, 2014 Portland, Oregon Ryan Sterling Higginbottom 2
Tiling Deficient Chessboards with n-polyominoes Kristina Woodside ( 12) Conference on Undergraduate Research in Mathematics November 5, 2011 State College, Pennsylvania January 7, 2012 Boston, Massachusetts The N +k Queens Problem (poster) Mackenzie Martin ( 12) and Eric Stultz ( 12) January 8, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana Honors and Awards Selected to participate in faculty seminar at Transylvania University Twenty-First Century Liberal Education: A Contested Concept July 23 26, 2009 Lexington, Kentucky Classes Taught (including Spring 2018) MTH 111, Precalculus, 1 section MTH 125, Probability and Statistics, 12 sections MTH 151, Calculus I, 12 sections MTH 152, Calculus II, 11 sections MTH 211, Foundations of Higher Mathematics, 6 sections MTH 217, Linear Algebra, 5 sections MTH 233, Introduction to Scientific Typesetting, 4 sections BIO/MTH 245, Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences, 4 sections MTH 320, Junior MathTalk, 2 sections MTH 404, Topology, 3 sections MTH 412, Algebraic Structures, 3 sections MTH 420, Senior MathTalk, 1 section FMF 199, Freshman Forum, 1 section FYS 199, First Year Seminar (Math Without Math: Unraveling Riddles and Solving Problems), 3 sections FYS 199, First Year Seminar (Coffee: A Liberal Arts Look at a Drink that Changed the World), 1 section Conferences Attended January 10 14, 2018 San Diego, California April 7 8, 2017 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 4 7, 2017 Atlanta, Georgia Ryan Sterling Higginbottom 3
April 1 2, 2016 Erie, Pennsylvania MAA Mathfest August 5 8, 2015 Washington, DC The Transylvania Seminar July 23 25, 2015 Lexington, Kentucky April 10 11, 2015 Washington, Pennsylvania April 4 5, 2014 New Wilmington, Pennsylvania January 15 18, 2014 Baltimore, Maryland April 5 6, 2013 Indiana, Pennsylvania April 13 14, 2012 Morgantown, West Virginia Conference on Undergraduate Research in Mathematics November 4 5, 2011 State College, Pennsylvania Conference on The First-Year Experience, including pre-conference workshops Making Sense of First-Year Assessment, and Things That Work: Key Methods, Comprehensive Materials, and Cool Magic Common to 24 Years of Successful FYE Programs Under 12 Different Models February 4 7, 2011 Atlanta, Georgia January 6 9, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana Education on the Edge: A Conference on Innovative Undergraduate Education at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology June 9 11, 2010 Newark, Delaware April 9 10, 2010 Johnstown, Pennsylvania April 3 4, 2009 Wheeling, West Virginia January 5 8, 2009 Washington, D.C. April 11 12, 2008 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 6 9, 2008 San Diego, California Conference on Undergraduate Research in Mathematics November 9 10, 2007 State College, Pennsylvania Ryan Sterling Higginbottom 4
Service To the Department Department Chair July 2015 present Chapter Advisor, Pi Mu Epsilon April 2011 present prepared successful petition for Pi Mu Epsilon chapter January 2011 Math Club advisor August 2007 present To the College Academic Planning Council June 2017 present Curriculum and Program Committee August 2017 present Mellon Fellows June 2016 present Phi Beta Kappa, president of local chapter July 2014 present Graduate Programs Committee Spring 2013 Spring 2014, chair during Spring 2014 Curriculum and Program Committee Spring 2009 Spring 2012 To the Profession Early Career Mentor for MAA August 2015 present Local organizer for Allegheny Mountain Section of the MAA conference, held at W&J in April 2015 First Vice-Chair, Allegheny Mountain Section of the MAA May 2012 April 2013 Second Vice-Chair, Allegheny Mountain Section of the MAA May 2011 April 2012 Ryan Sterling Higginbottom 5