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Lafayette College student Jeff Dumont, a junior from Dracut, Mass., was honored by Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society, for his presentation at the society’s annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Mathematics Association of America’s (MAA) MathFest this summer in Providence, R.I.
Dumont’s presentation was titled “Chaotic Attractors Near Forbidden Symmetry.” Dumont received a cash prize and will receive recognition in an upcoming issue of FOCUS, the MAA’s national newsletter.
Dumont has done extensive research on chaotic attractors – an area of study that involves the creation beautiful, complex computer-generated images – with Clifford A. Reiter, professor of mathematics at Lafayette. They have collaborated on two articles accepted for publication by scholarly journals.
“I’m just amazed at the opportunities here at Lafayette,” Dumont says. “In my first-year calculus class I asked Professor Reiter, ‘How does a math major start doing research with a professor?’ The following summer I was able to begin work with him.”
Reiter says, “It is wonderful when students reach the level where they can do original work, have the confidence to speak at a national professional meeting, and do such a good job that their presentation is recognized by an award. Jeff’s work has been great.”
“It means a lot that Jeff won the award, especially since many of the other papers at the conference were given by either rising seniors or recent college graduates,” says Elizabeth McMahon, associate professor of mathematics, the faculty adviser to the Lafayette chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon. “We’ve been a chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon for less than two years, which makes Jeff’s achievement all the more impressive.”