Collaborative Research of Two Westminster Professors Published
Posted on Monday, November 22, 2004
Dr. John Bonomo, associate professor of computer science, and Dr. Carolyn Cuff, professor of mathematics, had their collaborative research, "How Do You Stack Up?," published in the November issue of the College and Mathematics Journal.
"Basically the paper is a mathematical investigation of a simple children's toy known as a stacking ring," Bonomo said. "My three kids all played with this toy, and their random placement of rings on the tower was the genesis of the article. Things like this always happen when you mix mathematicians and toys."
"Needless to say, unless one's child is a budding genius, the average toddler will place the rings on randomly, leaving several to stick out over the top of the rod, depending on the ordering of the rings and the dexterity of the child. This led to an initial question which spurred our interest into the mathematical properties of the stacking ring tower: what is the average number of rings that stick over the rod given all possible orderings of ring placements," wrote the professors.
"One nice surprise is that one of our illustrations made the cover of the journal, which made both Carolyn and I very happy," Bonomo said.
Bonomo, who has been with Westminster College since 1998, earned his undergraduate and master's degrees from Catholic University, and his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He has served as judge and problem contributor for the International Collegiate Programming Contest several times.
Cuff, who has been with Westminster College since1989, earned her undergraduate degree from Westminster College, and her master's and Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.
For more information, contact Bonomo at (724) 946-7287 or e-mail bonomojp@westminster.edu.
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