Mathematics and Statistics

15 CAS students earn leadership, engagement awards

Fifteen undergraduate students plus two faculty and one staff member from across the College of Arts and Sciences were recognized during the 2018 Leadership and Engagement Awards of Distinction ceremony on April 17. Award recipients demonstrate exceptional leadership and service to the university and the community and support the leadership development and engagement of WSU […]

Researcher encounters rare, elusive beaked whales off coast of Ireland

A researcher at WSU Vancouver encountered rare and elusive beaked whales while on a research vessel west of Ireland last month. Enrico Pirotta, a post doc in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, was on the last days of a six-day cruise when the crew had several sightings. The first sightings were too far away […]

Making sense of big data

People, businesses and institutions are collecting more and more data, but often don’t know what to do with it. That’s where mathematics comes in. Bala Krishnamoorthy, associate professor and program leader of mathematics and statistics at WSU Vancouver, is participating in a project funded by the National Science Foundation that he describes as follows: “The […]

The Calculus of Grace

For Valerie Cheathon, it all adds up. She plans to earn a master’s degree in applied math so she can make movies. Sitting in the Compton Union Building on the Pullman campus of Washington State University one morning, she clearly sees the world as a weave of numbers—and stories. “I like applied math. You can […]

Tree growth model assists breeding for more wood

A meeting in a forest between a biologist and a mathematician could lead to thicker, faster growing trees. “Mathematicians like translating biological processes into numbers,” said Andrei Smertenko, assistant professor in Washington State University’s Institute of Biological Chemistry. “I’m a biologist, and I want to help grow stronger, better trees.” Breeding trees is a time-consuming […]