John F. Bukowski
Professor and Chair
Department of Mathematics
College Organist
Choral Union Accompanist
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 the Chair of the Allegheny Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America, and I recently completed six years as 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 10) and Daniel (age 7). I also have a sister Marie who is a professor. She teaches art at Louisiana Tech University.
I am the College Organist and the piano accompanist for the Juniata College Choral Union.
Click here to see an old picture of David with Ben and Jerry.
Spring 2010 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 also enjoy bringing original historical sources into the mathematics classroom. 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 am a former co-coordinator of this program.
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: January 14, 2010