2018 FALL LC MAGAZINE

As director of the Math Center, I am responsible for recruiting and training all of our student tutors. This academic year, I had about 20 tutors from a variety of majors including psychology, criminal justice, economics, and mathematics, and there are typically two or three tutors on location while the center is open. Since I am the first director of the center, I had the privilege of being able to design the physical space. The center, located in Snowden Library, has glass boards for students to do work on, a touch screen monitor for practicing student presentations, and computer stations with all of the math and computer science software used in the various classes on campus. Students who come to the Math Center may use any of the resources or work with our tutors. All of the tutoring services are free for students, and tutoring is offered for any quantitative class, not just math classes. In my Mathematics of Games and Gambling first-year seminar course, we explore topics such as probability, combinations and permutations, and expected value through the guise of games. Students in the class gain hands- on experience learning the rules and then playing a variety of casino games including roulette, craps, 21 (blackjack), and poker. We also study the math behind current events such as large lotteries and NCAA March Madness brackets. In the class, students compete for ‘Reed Bucks,’ which is the class currency, and the competition can get fierce at times. During one memorable game of craps, the top two players were betting on opposite outcomes. When the dice came up seven, one student took off yelling down the hall out of sheer exhilaration while the other couldn’t do anything but shake his head solemnly. I also enjoy combining my love of travel with my love of mathematics in the real world. In spring 2019, I’ll lead my second travel abroad History of Mathematics course. Students will study the history of math beginning with some of the earliest known recorded artifacts such as ancient Babylonian tablets. They’ll have the opportunity to visit several cities throughout Greece and Italy, where they’ll explore hands-on lessons at each location, such as using dice to estimate pi while in Delphi and studying arches and their properties in Rome. I love watching the growth of students from nervous first-year students to confident and amazing seniors. One of the best parts of my job is when I receive an email or letter from a former student sharing with me how something I taught them became important in their interview, graduate school, or career. There is nothing quite as fulfilling as working with someone for four years and then watching them take flight and do amazing things. — I N H I S OWN WO R D S — I love the puzzle-solving aspect of math. While a new problem can be immensely frustrating, once ‘the light bulb goes on,’ that moment of euphoria is amazing. – Christopher Reed 33 www.lycoming.edu