Award Ceremony 2009

Each year Department of Mathematics recognizes a few undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated particular achievements and accomplishments at our Annual Award Ceremony. This year the ceremony was held on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 preceded by a reception in honor of the award recipients as well as those friends of the Department whose generosity has made these awards possible. The continued support of our friends helps a new generation of researchers and teachers emerge.

2009 Award Ceremony Reception

This year's ceremony opened by brief remarks by the Department Head, Dr. Dale Alspach, followed by presentations of the following awards.

Undergraduate Awards

The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition Award was presented to Carlos Bernal by Dr. David Wright. Established in 1938 in memory of William L. Putnam, this competition is held annually on the first Saturday in December at many North American colleges and is administered by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The exam consists of two three-hour sessions with a two-hour break between the sessions. A score above zero on this competition is considered an achievement; about 50% of the contestants receive a score of zero! The top individuals as well as departments with top teams are awarded monetary prizes.

This year's Mathematics Contest in Modeling Recognition was presented by Dr. Lisa Mantini to the team of Benjamin A. Popp, John G. Cooper, and Mark Nelson.

The MAA Oklahoma-Arkansas Section Integration Bee Award went to Markus Vasquez. This award was also presented by Dr. Lisa Mantini.

Dr. Benny Evans presented the W. N. and Jane Enger Foundation Award to Carlos Bernal. Dr. Jeanne Agnew served as Professor of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University from 1953 until her retirement in 1984. In honor of her memory, W.N. and Jane Enger sponsered this award to support a highly-motivated and deserving undergraduate Mathematics major.

Carlos Bernal was also the recipient of the Outstanding Senior in Mathematics Award presented by Dr. Evans.

Many professors have served the Department of Mathematics until retirement. They worked hard to develop a supportive, dynamic environment in which both faculty and students could grow professionally. The Professor Emeritus Awards,
named after our Emeritus faculty, recognize students with insight, interest, and dedication to pursue a career in mathematics. This year's awards went to Cole Feix (freshman), Jonathan Crossley (sophomore), Robert Graves and Andrea Peck (juniors), and Carlos Bernal (senior). We were lucky to have a number of Emeritus faculty present during this year's award ceremony.

The Hazel Bucy Awards is made available through a generous endowment established in the will of Hazel Bucy, who was born in 1915 and graduated from Lawton High School before attending Oklahoma A & M College in the Summer of 1932. She received a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction in the Science and Literature in 1935 and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics in 1939. This award is given to undergraduate or graduate students who have performed well in mathematics classes in the college of Arts and Sciences. This year's awards went to Matthew Swartz (freshman), Nan Butler and Markus Vasquez (sophomores), Lauren Smith and William Kelton (juniors), and John Knorr (senior).

Graduate Awards

As mentioned earlier, Jeanne Agnew was on the faculty from 1953 until her retirement in 1984. During this time she directed 18 doctoral dissertations and had a distinguished teaching record. The Jean Agnew Outstanding Teaching Award recognizes a Teaching Assistant in the Department for superior teaching. Also, the Jeanne LeCaine Agnew Endowment Fellowship Fund Award is awarded to a graduate student in the Department based upon outstanding performance and may be used to support research activities to encourage recipients to present results at a professional meeting. These two awards were presented, respectively, to Dhanapati Adhikari and Ramjee Sharma. We were very fortunate to have Lee Agnew, Jeanne Agnew's son, in attendance for the presentation of these awards.

This year's O. H. Hamilton Award was presented to Xiaowei Yang. This award, honoring Dr. Olan H. Hamilton who was a Professor of Mathematics at Oklahoma State Univesity from 1938 to 1965 and an outstanding research topologist  with worldwide recognition, is given annually to a graduate student in his/her initial two years of graduate study in mathematics who has earned a grade of A in Topology.

Toshihisa Kubo was the Schiller J. Scroggs Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Nominee. Schiller J. Scroggs entered Oklahoma A & M as a student in 1945 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949 as well as a Master of Science degree in 1950. He was closely associated with Oklahoma A & M where his father served as Dean of Arts and Sciences. He was very fond of the Mathematics Department and after moving to Orlando, Florida he established the Four Jay Foundation which later endowed this Fellowship in his name. The recipient is selected from candidates pursuing advaned degrees in Mathematics from the College of Arts and Sciences.

The John & Caryl Jobe Mathematics Graduate Student Fellowship assists the annual recruitment of an outstanding new graduate student in Mathematics Department. This Fellowship is made possible through personal financial contributions of the dedicated educators John & Caryl Jobe. Dr. John Jobe received his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1966 from Oklahoma State University under the supervision of O. H. Hamilton. He then embarked on a career of dedicated and outstanding service to the Department of Mathematics and Oklahoma State University until his retirement in 1994. Caryl Jobe is also an educator of equal energy and commitment. She retired from teach fifth grade at Westwood Elementary School in Stillwater in 1993. During her teaching career she received recognition for her teaching excellence including the prestigious Presidentail Distinguished Teacher Award. The John & Caryl Jobe Fellowship will be awarded to an incoming graduate student in the Fall.

And finally, the E. K. McLachlan Award was presented to Kenneth Ward. This award is named after Dr. E. K. McLachlan who was a Professor of Mathematics at Oklahoma State University from 1958 to 1978 and is awarded to a doctoral candidate who has recently passed the written examination at Oklahoma State University.

All the graduate student awards were presented by the co-chairs of the Graduate Committee, Drs. Leticia Barchini and Alan Noell. We congratulate all the award recipients on their success and wish them luck.
 

2009 Award Presentations