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Over the years, Cliff Reiter has produced and exhibited a multitude of intricate, multi-colored images, some in neat, symmetrical patterns, others swirling seemingly into infinity.
But behind the images lies not the hand of an artist, but the mind of a mathematician. Reiter, professor of mathematics, delights in finding beauty in complex calculations using high-level computer programming language.
“What I like to say is I’m very interested in visualizing mathematical ideas,” he says. “Often, you can kind of hook students by showing them some pictures. In the end, you’re doing real math and writing real theorems. The pictures provide the motivation.”
In his 20 years at Lafayette, Reiter has seen vast changes in the ways computers can help him and other mathematicians learn about and teach everything from fractals and chaotic attractors to introductory calculus.
“As computers have become more powerful, we’ve been able to integrate them into the teaching of calculus,” he says. “In many ways, mathematics has become an experimental science.”
Among Reiter’s proudest accomplishments is serving as the first principal investigator for Lafayette’s inaugural National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program during the summer of 1992. He continued in that role through the summer of 1997, and now is part of the regular cycle of mentors who keep the exciting program going each summer.
Last summer, he led an REU group that included Marquis Scholar Rob McEwen ’05 (Morgantown, Pa.), a double major in mathematics and computer science, who will present complex math research based on that experience next month at the national Joint Mathematics Meetings in Phoenix, Ariz. McEwen also has submitted a coauthored paper to an academic journal.
“Hosting the REU program is a key part of our department at this point,” says Reiter, adding that interest in the program and higher math in general has grown in the years since it began. “It’s a delightful time to be at Lafayette doing higher mathematics.”
In addition to teaching, Reiter finds time to mentor students in independent study and EXCEL, senior honors thesis, and NSF-funded research — and to take many of his students on hikes in the nearby Pocono Mountains and elsewhere.
“Hiking is great because it’s a time to converse and talk about mathematics in general without getting bogged down by detail,” he says.
Sandy Balkin ’94, a senior manager with Pfizer’s Global Market Analytics Group in New York City, says Reiter’s research guidance helped him go on to complete a master’s degree in statistics and a Ph.D. in business administration, both from Penn State University,
“He helped me develop not only as a mathematician, but as a person,” Balkin says. “His confidence in me and trust in my abilities gave me confidence in myself.”
Angela Coxe ’03, a student at Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pa., benefited from Reiter’s guidance during a summer of REU work and an independent study project last fall.
“He taught me a lot about mathematics while helping me grow as a person by encouraging me to present research,” she says. “Overall, he was someone I could talk to, and he also gave me encouragement to pursue my goal of going to law school.”
Highlights
Publications:Fractals, Visualization and J, 2nd Edition, Jsoftware Inc., 2000; “Fuzzy Hexagonal Automata and Snowflakes,” Angela M. Coxe ’03 and Reiter, Computers & Graphics, vol. 27 (2003) pp. 447-454.
Honors: NSF grants for research on chaos and crystallographic symmetry, summers of 1998 and 1999.
Achievements: principal investigator for REU program, 1992 to 1997; adviser, Lafayette’s Ultimate Frisbee Club.
Contact: (610) 330-5277, reiterc@lafayette.edu