MSU mathematician named state CASE Professor of the Year

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Mississippi State professor Michael M. Neumann uses a surefire method of measuring what his students have learned. He talks with them--at length.

An exit interview process the mathematician implemented in his calculus class is among the innovations cited today [Nov. 13] in Neumann's selection as the 2001 Mississippi Professor of the Year.

Presented by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Neumann's award is among 45 given nationally this year. More than 380 college and university faculty members were nominated.

CFAT is based in California; CASE, in Washington, D.C.

Neumann, who holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Saarbrucken in his native Germany, is the fourth faculty member in MSU's College of Arts and Sciences to receive the top state honor over the past six years. He came to MSU in 1989.

"Many people think math is a dry subject," Neumann said. "I want my students to become excited about the possibilities mathematics offers."

In addition to exit interviews, Neumann incorporates emerging computer applications into his honors vector calculus classes. Using a specialized software package, he develops projects ranging from the creation of visual models of the famous double staircase at France's Château de Chambord to plots of a roller coaster's banked curves.

"When long and tedious computations are taken over by the computer," he explained, "the emphasis can be put where it belongs: on the discussion and exploration of basic concepts of vector calculus and the modeling of its many important applications."

Bruce R. Ebanks, mathematics and statistics department head, said such innovations have contributed to a reform of the first two years of the MSU mathematics curriculum.

"A $93,000 grant from the National Science Foundation secured by Dr. Neumann and three colleagues is enabling us to implement curriculum reform in linear algebra, differential equations and introduction to statistical inference," Ebanks said. "These programs are central both to our own department and to others on campus we serve."

To foster collaborative learning, Neumann also implemented take-home projects that pair students in solving complex problems.

"They bounce ideas back and forth and together arrive at solutions for overcoming difficulties," he said. "It's been a very effective learning approach."

Students describe his classes as "challenging," "memorable" and "fun." One student nominator said Neumann's approach is "extremely valuable because students spend many hours applying the material they have learned in order to complete the project."

Said another: "I have told every one of my peers who plan to take math that they shouldn't get their degree before experiencing at least one of Dr. Neumann's classes."

In addition to teaching, Neumann has co-authored "An Introduction to Local Spectral Theory," which was published last year by Oxford University Press. He also has written more than 70 papers for national and international journals.

Before coming to MSU, he previously taught at his alma mater and the University of Essen, also in Germany, as well as at the California Institute of Technology and University of California at Los Angeles.

Neumann has received other teaching honors at Mississippi State, including an Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the University Honors Program, Outstanding Lower-Level Teaching Award from the university's alumni association and a Faculty Research Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.