Academics
Faculty
Jim Hefferon
Department Chair
Professor of Mathematics
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. University of Connecticut
Dr. Hefferon grew up in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Some of his summers in college were spent working at Perkin-Elmer in Danbury, in part on the Hubble Space Telescope (he never touched the mirror, he swears!). After going to UConn for much too long, he taught at Union College in Schenectady for three years and then had a year at the Groton branch of UConn and in industry, working on programs for submarines. He came to Saint Michael's in 1990. Dr. Hefferon's mathematical interests are within logic, and his sub-speciality is in the mathematical theory of computation, the study of what computers can and cannot do. At the moment he's working on a linear algebra textbook. He's also a jogger, does some ham radio and spends much too much time hacking around with Linux.
Saint Edmund's Hall 217C
Phone: 802.654.2677
Box 285
E-mail: jhefferon@smcvt.edu
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George Ashline
Professor of Mathematics
B.S. St. Lawrence University; M.S., Ph.D. University of Notre Dame
Dr. Ashline's mathematical interest is complex analysis. As an undergraduate, Dr. Ashline majored in math and got his first exposure to complex analysis. After completing graduate school, he taught for a year at Northeast Missouri State University. He has always liked to help others understand mathematics. He is a participant in Project NExT, a program created for new or recent Ph.D.’s in the mathematical sciences who are interested in improving the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics. He is also actively involved in professional development programs in mathematics for elementary, middle level, and high school teachers. Personally, he is originally from upstate New York and grew up in Rouses Point adjacent to Canada and beautiful Lake Champlain. He enjoys biking and hiking in this part of the country, with its refreshing change of seasons.
Jeanmarie Hall 261
Phone: 802.654.2434
Box 187
E-mail: gashline@smcvt.edu
Personal Web site: http://academics.smcvt.edu/gashline/
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Zsuzsanna Kadas
Professor of Mathematics
B.S. St. John’s University; M.S., Ph.D. Rutgers University
Dr. Kadas' mathematical interest is differential equations. She really enjoys seeing how various themes and ideas come up over and over again in different mathematical situations, and she likes applications--seeing how mathematics can be used to describe many different real life processes. Dr. Kadas wrote her Ph.D. thesis on some differential equations that describe how patterns can form in biological and chemical systems. She taught at UVM for five years before coming to Saint Michael's in 1985.
Jeanmarie Hall 259
Phone: 802.654.2435
Box 361
E-mail: zkadas@smcvt.edu
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Jo Ellis-Monaghan
Associate Professor of Mathematics
B.A. Bennington College; M.S. University of Vermont; Ph.D. University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dr. Ellis-Monaghan's mathematical interests lie in graph theory. She has an undergraduate degree in studio art (painting and ceramics). She started doing math to give her self a break from all that intensive creative work. She then discovered that doing mathematical research is also a very creative process, and is even in some ways a visual art. OK, so no one is going to hang her most recent paper in a frame in their living room, but imagining mathematical structures is very similar to the artistic vision that precedes constructing an art object. Dr. Ellis-Monaghan still paints and makes pots, but mostly to give herself a break from all the intensive creative work of doing mathematics. She grew up on an island in Alaska, and can gut and gill a salmon in under fifteen seconds. She still lives on an island and grows lots of fruits and vegetables.
Saint Edmund's Hall 217A
Phone: 802.654.2660
Box 355
E-mail: jellis-monaghan@smcvt.edu
Personal Web site: http://academics.smcvt.edu/jellis-monaghan/
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Lloyd Simons
Associate Professor of Mathematics
B.Sc. University of British Columbia; M.Sc., Ph.D. McGill University
Dr. Simon's mathematical interest revolves around number theory. After discovering as a physics major that he didn't like doing error analysis of his labs, he switched to mathematics (where the concept of "acceptable error'' is unknown). Dr. Simon took a brief couple of years between his B.Sc. and graduate school to see a bit of the world and develop a taste for international cuisine. While completing his Ph.D. thesis, he began teaching full time at the University of Vermont as a visiting lecturer. Though not a big fan of November and April in Vermont, the other 10 months convinced him to settle here. He came to Saint Michael's College in 1988.
Saint Edmund's Hall 217B
Phone: 802.654.2480
Box 369
E-mail: lsimons@smcvt.edu
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Jane Kay
Instructor of Mathematics
M.S. University of Vermont
Phone: 802.654.2305
Box 368
E-mail: jkay@smcvt.edu
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Alex Rogalski
Instructor of Mathematics
B.S. Marlboro College, Vermont; M.S., Ph.D. University of Connecticut, Storrs
Saint Edmund's Hall 325
E-mail: arogalski@smcvt.edu