Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Probability Of Relatively Prime Polynomials, Arthur T. Benjamin, Curtis D. Bennett

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Euclid does integers

The N-Type Gd-Doped Hfo2 To Silicon Heterojunction Diode, Ihor Ketsman, Yaroslav B. Losovyj, Andrei Sokolov, J. Tang, Z. Wang, Kirill D. Belashchenko, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

Gd-doped HfO₂ films were deposited on p-type silicon substrates in a reducing atmosphere. Photoemission measurements indicate the n-type character of Gd-doped HfO₂ due to overcompensation with oxygen vacancies. The Gd 4 f photoexcitation peak at 5.5 eV below the valence band maximum is identified using both resonant photoemission and first-principles calculations of the f hole. The rectifying (diode- like) properties of Gd-doped HfO₂ to silicon heterojunctions are demonstrated.

Preparation Of C2 Symmetric Transition Metal Complexes As Potential Chiral Catalysts, Lauren Jean Carlson

Honors Theses

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis is of great importance to the industrial production of biologically active substances such as pharmaceuticals, flavoring and sweetening agents, and insecticides. A special class of C2 symmetric transition chiral metal complexes has proven very useful in catalytic asymmetric synthesis.

The Synthesis And Evaluation Of A More Highly Conjugated Molecular Transporter, Aaron M. Almeida

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Spectroscopic Analysis Of Oxygen Sensing Aerogels, John Robert Ferrarone

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Structural Characterization Of Isotopically Labeled Asymmetric Metal Complexes : Through Metal Coupling Of Nmr Active Nuclei, Jenna Lynn Welby

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Occurrences Of Small Mammal Species In A Mixedgrass Prairie In Northwestern North Dakota,, Robert K. Murphy, Richard A. Sweitzer, John D. Albertson

The Prairie Naturalist

Documentation is limited for many species of vertebrates in the northern Great Plains, particularly northwestern North Dakota (Bailey 1926, Hall 1981). Here we report relative abundances of small « 450 g) species of mammals that were captured incidental to surveys of amphibians and reptiles at Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) in northwestern North Dakota from 1985 to 1987 and 1999 to 2000. Our records include a modest range extension for one species. We also comment on relationships of small mammals on the refuge to vegetation changes associated with fire and grazing disturbances.

Review Of Appreciating Your Feathered Neighbors, By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Melinda G. Knutson

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2006. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 106 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

What's the best way to interest a friend in bird watching? Buy them a field guide, a CD of bird songs, or take them out bird watching? All of these ideas might work, but another approach is to tell personal stories and draw pictures of common birds in yards, parks, and natural areas where they live; help them "get to know their neighbors with feathers." That's exactly what Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott …

Silphidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) Collected In North Central North Dakota, Including New Occurrences Of Thanatophilus Sagax (Mannerheim),, Guy A. Hanley

The Prairie Naturalist

Members of the beetle family Silphidae are relatively large (10-35 mm) and often brightly colored insects. They usually are found in association with dead animal bodies (carrion), but some are phytophagous while others are predatory. Thirty endemic species are known to occur in North America north of Mexico (Ratcliffe 1996), and 17 species in North Dakota. (Hanley et aI., unpublished data). To date, there has been little to no silphid collection data available from north central North Dakota counties, due mostly to the lack of entomological research in the area.

Nine species of silphids were collected in a single season …

Editor's Note Regarding Christmas Bird Count, Elmer J. Finck

The Prairie Naturalist

Lawrence Igl has agreed to summarize the North Dakota Christmas Bird Counts for submission to The Prairie Naturalist. We plan to have a short biography for Larry when the first summary is published. Elmer J. Finck, Editor

In Memoriam Robert N. Randall, October 26, 1915 - January 30, 2007, Clark Talkington

The Prairie Naturalist

Among his friends, Bob Randall will be remembered as a caring, gentle man. Bob was one of those rare individuals who had a keen awareness of everyone around him. In social settings, he would make sure that everyone was comfortable, and it was always clear that he was genuinely concerned about everyone. Those who knew him will greatly miss his gentle nature and enthusiasm for birds. He never got caught up in all of his achievements. He had a sense of balance to his life which was evident in his many interests including birding and bird banding, rocks and minerals, …

First Record Of Field Speedwell From South Dakota, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Veronica agrestis L. (field speedwell or green field speedwell), a member of the Scrophulariaceae, is a small, weedy, prostrate annual with blue or white flowers (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Until recently, its distribution included most of the eastern half of the United States and the southern two-thirds of the Great Plains, but not South Dakota (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEAG &photoID=veag_001_avd.tif, accessed 5 February 2007). Neither the Great Plains Flora Association (1986) nor Van Bruggen (1996) includes this species in the flora of South Dakota; however, the former has it naturalized in southeastern Nebraska and in Iowa (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). In May, …

Burrowing Owl Associations With Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies In Southwestern Kansas And Southeastern Colorado, Stephen L. Winter, Jack F. Cully Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

We quantified the use of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies as habitat for the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. We used incidental sightings and breeding season avifauna surveys to document the presence of the burrowing owl on black-tailed prairie dog colonies, non-colonized rangeland, and cropland during the spring and early summer. Burrowing owl rarely was observed on noncolonized rangeland and cropland sites, and black-tailed prairie dog colonies appear to be used substantially as a habitat type for the burrowing owl in the region encompassing Cimarron and Commanche National Grasslands in …

Using Distance Sampling To Estimate Densities Of White-Tailed Deer In South-Central Minnesota, Michelle A. Larue, Clayton K. Nielsen, Marrett D. Grund

The Prairie Naturalist

Distance sampling is a method of estimating population abundance and density used by wildlife biologists for several species because of its advantages relative to other techniques. However, few wildlife biologists have used distance sampling to estimate abundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We describe a distance sampling technique used to estimate prehunt and post-hunt population densities of deer in Watonwan County, Minnesota. Estimates of white-tailed deer density were compared between distance sampling versus population modeling, and costs for distance sampling versus aerial surveys were determined. We drove 2,704 km during 24 spotlight surveys conducted from 21 October to …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 39, No. 2 June 2007

The Prairie Naturalist

USING DISTANCE SAMPLING TO ESTIMATE DENSITIES OF WHlTE-TAILED DEER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MINNESOTA, M. A. LaRue, C. K. Nielsen, and M. D. Grund

BURROWING OWL ASSOCIATIONS WITH BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, S. L. Winter and J. F. Cully, Jr.

OPTIMAL FORAGING IN EASTERN FOX SQUIRREL: FOOD SIZE MATTERS FOR A GENERALIST FORAGER, R. Tatina

IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT N. RANDALL. C. Talkington

Editor's Note regarding Christmas Bird Count

OCCURRENCES OF SMALL MAMMAL SPECIES IN A MIXEDGRASS PRAIRIE IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA, R. K. Murphy, R. A. Sweitzer, and J. D. Albertson

SILPHIDAE (INSECTA: COLEOPTERA) COLLECTED IN …

Positive Solutions For Classes Of Multiparameter Elliptic Semipositone Problems, Scott Caldwell, Alfonso Castro, Ratnasingham Shivaji, Sumalee Unsurangsie

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

We study positive solutions to multiparameter boundary-value problems of the form

-Δu = λg(u)+μf(u) in Ω

u = 0 on ∂Ω

where λ>0, μ>0, Ω⊆Rⁿ; n≥2 is a smooth bounded domain with ∂Ω in class C² and Δ is the Laplacian operator. In particular, we assume g(0)>0 and superlinear while f(0)

The Probability Of Relatively Prime Polynomials, Arthur T. Benjamin, Curtis D. Bennet

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided in this article.

Hot Electron And X-Ray Production From Intense Laser Irradiation Of Wavelength-Scale Polystyrene Spheres, H. A. Sumeruk, S. Kneip, D. R. Symes, I. V. Churina, A. V. Belolipetski, G. Dyer, J. Landry, G. Bansal, A. C. Bernstein, Thomas D. Donnelly, A. Karmakar, A. Pukhov, T. Ditmire

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Hot electron and x-ray production from solid targets coated with polystyrene-spheres which are irradiated with high-contrast, 100 fs, 400 nm light pulses at intensity up to 2×10¹⁷ W/cm² have been studied. The peak hard x-ray signal from uncoated fused silica targets is an order of magnitude smaller than the signal from targets coated with submicron sized spheres. The temperature of the x-rays in the case of sphere-coated targets is twice as hot as that of uncoated glass. A sphere-size scan of the x-ray yield and observation of a peak in both the x-ray production and temperature at a …

Lp 133-373: A New Chromospherically Active Eclipsing Dme Binary With A Distant, Cool White Dwarf Companion, Todd R. Vaccaro, A. Kawka, T. D. Oswalt, I. Silver, M. Wood, J. Allyn Smith

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the discovery of the partially eclipsing binary LP 133-373. Nearly identical eclipses along with observed photometric colors and spectroscopy indicate that it is a pair of chromospherically active dM4 stars in a circular 1.6 day orbit. Light and velocity curve modeling to our differential photometry and velocity data show that each star has a mass and radius of 0.340+/-0.014 M_solar and 0.33+/-0.02 R_solar. The binary is itself part of a common proper motion pair with LP 133-374, a cool DC or possible DA white dwarf with a mass of 0.49-0.82 M_solar, which would …

Selecting Labels For News Document Clusters, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Trivikram Immaneni, Mastan Vali Shaik

Kno.e.sis Publications

This work deals with determination of meaningful and terse cluster labels for News document clusters. We analyze a number of alternatives for selecting headlines and/or sentences of document in a document cluster (obtained as a result of an entity-event-duration query), and formalize an approach to extracting a short phrase from well-supported headlines/sentences of the cluster that can serve as the cluster label. Our technique maps a sentence into a set of significant stems to approximate its semantics, for comparison. Eventually a cluster label is extracted from a selected headline/sentence as a contiguous sequence of words, resuscitating word sequencing information lost …

Defect-Mediated Properties Of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions, Julian P. Velev, Mikhail Ye Zhuravlev, Kirill D. Belashchenko, Sitaram S. Jaswal, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, T. Katayama, S. Yuasa

Evgeny Tsymbal Publications

Defects play an important role in the properties of metal oxides which are currently used as barrier layers in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). We study the effect of O vacancies on the interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in Fe–MgO–Fe tunnel junctions. Measurements of IEC in fully epitaxial Fe–MgO–Fe(001) tunnel junctions show IEC is antiferromagnetic (AFM) for small MgO thickness but changes sign and then vanishes for large barrier thickness. First-principles calculations based on density functional theory demonstrate that the presence of neutral O vacancies (F-centers) in the MgO barrier can explain this behavior. Resonant tunneling …

Portrayls Of Mathematics In Culture, Jeremy Case

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper looks at various portrays of mathematicians in culture, and how that can influence perceptions of mathematics.

Breathing Life Into The Liberal Arts Math Course: Ten Teaching Tips, Mark Colgan

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Teaching the liberal arts math course for general education students presents unique challenges, but the course also offers exciting life applications and opportunities for integrating faith with a variety of creative topics. I try to make the course interesting by actively involving students and relating mathematical topics to their lives. In this paper I will discuss some things I have tried in the liberal arts math course I teach at Taylor University: using students' names, use of undergraduate teaching assistants (T As), group guessing games, handout booklets, hangman, group projects, memory verses, reflection papers, and life lessons.

Teach A Course In The Math Of Voting And Choice, Karl-Dieter Crisman

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Many mathematics instructors at the college level are looking for a curricular option that has the potential to serve a number of different constituencies. It could be to encourage more students to take math courses, or to give worthwhile options to students who need to take math but who are not ready for calculus (or its sequence). On the other hand, one may wish to add a new course for majors outside of the typical offerings, or even to prepare students for undergraduate research. The mathematics of voting and choice is ideally suited to meet all these needs in the …

Integrating Moral And Spiritual Themes In Middle School And High School Mathematics Teaching Units, Dave Klanderman, Sean Bird

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In 2006, the Kuyers Institute published a total of nine math lessons for the middle school and high school which incorporate a Christian perspective. This paper examines the impact of teaching all of these lessons at a the high school level as well as selected lessons at the college level with preservice elementary and secondary mathematics teachers.

Tanzania, Mathematics, And Me: Reflections From My Work With Tanzanian Teachers, Mandi Maxwell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In June 2006 I had the privilege of participating in a four-day teacher training workshop in Mumba, Tanzania. In this paper I will discuss the challenges and triumphs of working with Tanzanian Secondary Mathematics teachers. We will discuss the educational environment, teaching strategies, and curricular issues that affect mathematics teachers in rural areas of Tanzania and contrast that with the American educational experience. We will also discuss some of the goals of the Teacher Training workshop that my colleagues and I led and look at some of the specific mathematical ideas and applications that I shared with the Mathematics teachers …

Voltaire: A Study In Finding A Needle In A Haystack, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

In Euler’s popular notes to a German Princess of 1837, he describes Voltaire as laughing about the idea of a hole going to Earth’s center. Did Voltaire actually write about this idea? Herein we describe the answers to be found upon searching through the huge opus of Voltaire’s written work. The result has links to Newton’s 1687 Principia discoveries and the French Academy’s early eighteenth century international scientific expeditions to Lapland and Peru establishing the veracity of those discoveries.

An Augustinian Perspective On The Philosophy Of Mathematics, James Bradley

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

Enlightenment thinkers saw the universe as mechanistic and mathematics as the language in which the universe is written. They viewed mathematics as eternal, as transcending human minds, and as comprehensible by human beings. Thus mathematics, from their perspective, is our best tool for understanding the secrets of nature. This outlook was nicely summarized by Morris Kline: (Kline, 1953) In brief the whole world is the totality of mathematically expressible motions of objects in space and time, and the entire universe is a great, harmonious, and mathematically designed machine. From a Christian perspective, however, the Enlightenment outlook is flawed. It privileges …

Chaos Theory And Metaphysical (In) Determinism, Tim Rogalsky

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2007

This paper will begin by introducing the issues that arise from chaos theory for the Christian mathematician and scientist: What is at stake in this debate? It will then briefly review chaos theory, by means of two examples. It will then introduce the metaphysical interpretations given to chaos theory by three different scientist-theologians. The paper will conclude with a brief introduction to open theists, and analyze their use of chaos theory to supper their theological claims.

Survey Of Supercomputer Cluster Security Issues, George Markowsky, Linda Markowsky

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The authors believe that providing security for supercomputer clusters is different from providing security for stand-alone PCs. The types of programs that supercomputer clusters run and the sort of data available on supercomputer clusters are fundamentally different from the programs and data found on stand-alone PCs. This situation might attract a different type of attacker with different goals and different tactics. This paper discusses the results of a questionnaire sent out to many supercomputer clusters in the United States and relates them to a literature search that was also undertaken. These results suggest approaches that can be taken to further …