1973

Reunion countdown: Half a year to go.

Like it or not, math pervades our lives in one form or another. For several of our classmates it is their life calling. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) held its annual conference in San Jose, California, which gave me a chance to catch up with Caren Diefenderfer. Caren has concluded her term as chief reader for the AP calculus exam and continues as a professor of mathematics at private, all-female liberal arts Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She advised me she recently saw Dave Pelland, who served this past academic year as the acting dean of the faculty at Hampton-Sydney College, also in Virginia, 60 miles southwest of Richmond. Hampton-Sydney, a private four-year college for men affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, is the 10th oldest college in the United States. Dave is a professor of mathematics and computer science. He is a recent recipient of the Thomas Edward Crawley Award, which is given for devoted service to the ideals of the college and to the education of its students.

Ed Sandifer also attended the San Jose conference. He is teaching at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury and specializes in the history of mathematics, particularly the 18 th century. This year marked the 300 th anniversary of the birth of Leonhard Euler, who is considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all times. The MAA celebrated Eulers life and achievements by publishing a five-volume Tercentenary Euler Celebration; three of the volumes bear Eds name. Ed has been writing a monthly on-line column for the MAA Web site since late 2003 and collected these into a hardbound volumn titled How Euler Did It. Ed's second book, The Early Mathematics of Leonhard Euler, is more than 400 pages and took several years to write. The catalog description includes, "The book is a portrait of the worlds most exciting mathematics between 1725 and 1741, rich in technical detail, woven with connections within Eulers work and with the work of other mathematicians in other times and places, laced with historical context." Lastly, Ed is a co-editor of Eulerat 300: An Appreciation, a collection of papers on Euler. Plus, in his spare time Professor Sandifer has made more than 20 presentations around the country and in Germany on Euler.

Dartmouth's Second College Grant, the vast 27,000-acre wilderness adjacent to the Maine border north of Errol, New Hampshire, celebrated its 200th anniversary this year. A new book, Dartmouth's Second College Grant:A History by professor emeritus Jere Daniell '55 and Jack Noon '68 has recently been published. A model for responsible forest management, about 4 percent of the Grants acreage is logged each year, which produces 7,500 cords of red maple,yellow birch, spruce and fir, much of which goes into campus furniture, including all 3,000-plus residence hall beds. Clearly an upgrade over the metal bed-frames populating our dorm days. Come check out the Grant-born furniture in June!

Remember it is never too late to send me any extra end-of-year letters.

227 Sylvan Ave., San Mateo, CA94403; val.armento@alum.dartmouth.org