Posted on Monday, February 7, 2011
Richard Ligo, a Westminster College senior mathematics major, presented at the Joint Mathematics Meeting Jan. 5-9 in New Orleans.
Ligo's presentation, "Subgraph Summability Number of a Graph," considered an open problem in graph theory. He worked on this problem at the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Central Michigan during this past summer.
"Our work focused mainly on the search for sharp labeling of different graphs and families of graphs," Ligo said. "These questions were attacked through computer programs, lower bound equations, exhaustive searches, and critical thinking."
In addition to the oral presentation, Ligo's work was presented at a poster session.
"This was my second national math meeting and my first joint meeting," Ligo said. "I was not only afforded two opportunities to present my research from my summer REU, but I was also able to network with the mathematical community and to attend talks by several very important mathematicians. This was an incredibly useful and enlightening experience."
Westminster mathematics faculty attending the meeting were Dr. Jeffrey Boerner, Dr. Carolyn Cuff, Dr. David Offner, and Dr. Pamela Richardson.
Ligo is a son of Jesse and Amy Ligo of Mercer and a graduate of Mercer Area High School.
His attendance at the meeting was funded in part by a travel/presentation grant from Westminster's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
The Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning was created to enrich undergraduate education at Westminster through advancing world-class teaching as well as by participating in collaborations that address community and regional needs including strengthening K-12 education. The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides funding for students to conduct research and to present their research at regional and national conferences.
Contact Cuff at (724) 946-7291 or e-mail ccuff@westminster.edu for additional information.
