John F. Bukowski
Associate
Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics
College Organist
Juniata College
Personal Information:
I joined the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at Juniata College in August 1997. I received my Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Brown University in 1997, with a thesis in the field of nonlinear partial differential equations. Before that, I received my B.S. degrees in mathematics and physics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1991. I am currently Chair-Elect of the Allegheny Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America, and I am also a Co-Coordinator of our Section NExT program. I am the former Secretary/Treasurer of the SIGMAA QL, the MAA Special Interest Group on Quantitative Literacy. My wife, Cathy Stenson, is also a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Juniata, and she received her Ph.D. in mathematics from Cornell University in 2000. We have two sons, David (age 8) and Daniel (age 6). I also have a sister Marie who is a professor. She teaches art at Louisiana Tech University.
Click here to see an old picture of David with Ben and Jerry.
Fall 2008 Courses:
Spring 2009 Courses:
Courses Taught:
At Juniata:
Pedagogical Interests:
Since joining the faculty at Juniata, I have become interested in using technology (especially Maple) in the mathematics classroom - for class demonstrations and for homework assignments. I am especially interested in applications to courses in calculus, precalculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. I was selected to be a 1998-99 Fellow of Project NExT, where I took part in discussions and workshops on the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. I have participated in the local version of Project NExT, called Section NExT, here in the Allegheny Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America, and I now serve as one of the co-coordinators.
Research Interests:
My current research interests are in the history of mathematics, especially analysis and mathematical physics in the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular, I am studying the work of Christiaan Huygens, the 17th century Dutch mathematician/physicist/astronomer. My previous formal research interests have been in nonlinear partial differential equations and dynamical systems. In particular, I studied continuum limits of particle systems, as in my doctoral thesis, "The Boussinesq Limit of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam Equation", with my advisor Walter Craig.
Some Interesting Links:
How to find me:
Office: Brumbaugh Academic Center A301
Department of Mathematics
Juniata College
Huntingdon, PA 16652
Phone: (814) 641-3591
FAX: (814) 641-3687
E-mail: bukowski@juniata.edu
Last revised: August 20, 2008