Faculty & Staff - Mathematics
Dr. Charles Collins, Course Director
I was born on the frontier, that is Ft. Worth, Texas, whose motto is “ºWhere the West Begins.” My early education was marked by many excellent teachers, especially in mathematics. After graduating from high school, I spent my freshman year in the frozen tundra at Michigan State University. Realizing the error of my ways, and the distance from my future wife, I transferred to Texas A&M University to become a Fightin' Texas Aggie. (Please no Aggie jokes.) I received my B.S. in Mathematics from Texas A&M in 1984 and got married that same year. Hearing the call of the North again, my bride and I hooked up the wagon (okay, actually a Honda Accord) and headed north to Minneapolis to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota. After 6 years of studies, interrupted by a year spent developing a computer game, I graduated in 1990 with a Ph.D. in Mathematics. Three years later, after a stint at the University of Michigan, I arrived in Knoxville, where I've been ever since.
My research interests are in what is sometimes called Scientific Computing. For me, this means taking a real phenomenon, modeling it, developing and analyzing computer algorithms for solving the model and then running large-scale computer simulations. My early work focused on applications in materials science, especially modeling of smart materials. Lately I've been working on methods for mapping the surface of the human
Kenny Jacobs
I am a native Knoxvillian, which doesn't really say much about me.
Growing up, I had many ambitions; I wanted to be a lawyer, an actor, a pharmacist, but most recently a mathematician. Throughout high school, I performed well in math courses, but it was not until my first semester of college that I discovered how much I enjoyed math. Following my studies in the fall of 2008, I was invited to join the Math Honors Program at UT. Mathematically speaking, I haven’t had a lot of time to develop particular interests, but I feel most attracted to the study of pure mathematics (rather than applied mathematics), particularly algebra and analysis. One particular application of mathematics that interests me, though, is cryptography.
Aside from my studies, I enjoy spending time outdoors, whether it is running, biking, hiking or backpacking. And for those of you who are from out of town, welcome to Knoxville!