Biographies for Panelists

Careers in Mathematics

Lloyd Douglas
Assistant to the Vice President for Research
University of Nevada - Reno

Biography:  Life is an adventure and it's been an interesting ride so far. I was born in October, 1951, near the Polo Grounds in New York, NY, not long after Bobby Thomson hit his famous home run. I was a year old when we moved to Brooklyn, NY where I attended Lafayette Public School (P.S. 25, now called the Eubie Blake School) from 1956 to 1962, Berriman Junior High School (J.H.S. 64) from 1962 to 1964 and Brooklyn Technical High School from 1964 to 1968. After winning a New York State Regents Scholarship I attended The City College of New York, where I received a B.S. degree in Mathematics in 1972. There, I was a three-year varsity lacrosse player. During summers from 1971 through 1976 and during my senior year in college, I worked at the law offices of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby & MacRae (now Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP) in New York, NY, where I became a paralegal assistant specializing in litigation. I attended graduate school at Miami University, where I was a graduate assistant in the math department and assistant coach of the lacrosse team. I received a M.S. degree in Mathematics in 1974. I was enrolled in Boston University's doctoral program in the mathematics department from 1974 to 1977 where I studied Algebraic Coding Theory under the now-deceased Edwin Weiss and held a Senior Teaching Fellowship in the department as well as being a mathematics tutor in the university's Resident Tutor Program.

Between then and now: In 1976, I was hired as a Mathematician at the U.S. Naval Underwater Systems Center (now called the Naval Undersea Warfare Center) in Newport, RI. In 1979, I joined the Trident Command and Control System Maintenance Activity in Newport, RI as a Computer Specialist, where I was the on-site representative for the data processing subsystem on the first Trident submarines. From 1980-1983, I was an Operations Research Analyst at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Then I moved to work at the U. S. General Services Administration in Washington, DC, as a Computer Specialist in the Office of Advanced Planning, where I engaged in Federal-wide technology assessment in automatic data processing and telecommunications. In 1984, I went to the National Science Foundation and held a variety of management positions in the Division of Information Systems before going to the Division of Mathematical Sciences, where I served as a Program Director until 2008. During this time, I graduated from the Executive Potential Program for Mid-Level Employees, where I had developmental assignments at the Internal Revenue Service as a manager in computer capacity management and at the Forest Service, USDA, as a telecommunications planner. I also graduated from the Federal Executive Institute and am a Past President of the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association, a Past President of the National Science Foundation Employees Association, and a member of the Local Federal Coordinating Committee of the Combined Federal Campaign for the National Capital Area.  In my spare time, you will most likely find me playing sports or studying foreign languages.

Sarah Evans
inVentiv Clinical Solutions, LLC


Sarah Evans started attending Sam Houston State University Fall 2004.  Her course load that Fall semester included Calculus II with Dr. O’Brien.  It was from this class that she decided to pursue a degree in Mathematics and Statistics.  She completed my undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Sam Houston State University December 2006, and went on to the MS in Statistics program in the Spring 2007 semester, completing the degree in May 2008.  While completing her graduate degree, she had the opportunity to present her research in bootstrapping techniques at the Meeting of the Texas Section of the MAA in Stephenville.  She currently works for a consulting research organization, inVentiv Clinical, as a SAS programmer and statistician.  At inVentiv, she has the opportunity to work on projects researching pharmaceuticals, durable medical equipment, and biomedical implants. 


Robert W. Vallin

Mathematical Association of America and Slippery Rock University

Biography: Dr. Robert W. Vallin currently is serving two roles in the world of mathematics. As a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Slippery Rock University, he is the author of over 25 papers in research (real analysis and topology), pedagogy, and exposition. He is also the Associate Director for Student Programs at the Mathematical Association of America. There he oversees student-oriented grant acquisition and disbursement, writes a monthly column for MAA FOCUS (FOCUS on Students), creates interesting diversions like “Are You Smarter Than This Mathematician?”, and other things. His spare time is sparse and in a jar in his Pennsylvania office sits an onion which many people confuse for a human brain.




What is Graduate School REALLY Like?

Angela Brown
The University of Texas - Arlington

Angie Brown began her college career at Lee College in Baytown, TX, graduating with her Associate's degree in 2000.  She then transferred to Sam Houston State University and pursued her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with an emphasis in secondary education and a second teaching field in the Physical Sciences, graduating in 2003.  During her student teaching semester she realized how much she missed being in a classroom as a student and decided to continue her education in pursuit of her Masters' degree at SHSU.  Under the tutelage or Dr. Jacqueline Jensen, Angie earned her Masters of Science in 2006.  She is currently in her third year of the PhD program at University of Texas-Arlington working with Dr. Minerva Cordero.

Amanda Croll
University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Amanda Croll attended Sam Houston State University beginning in the Fall of 2003.  During the summer of 2005, she participated in the Summer Mathematics Program (SMP) for Undergraduate Women at Carleton College.  Amanda received her undergraduate degree in May 2007.  SMP was instrumental in her decision to attend graduate school, and she returned to SMP as a TA in the summer of 2008.  Amanda is in the second year of the PhD program at University of Nebraska—Lincoln.

Nickolas Hein
Texas A&M University

Nickolas Hein was born in Wichita, KS and got his BA in math from KU in 2003.  He stayed there for three more years to earn a masters degree in the same subject.  His thesis was an expository paper on the Riemann-Roch theorem for curves.  After this, he set his sights on schools whose math programs have been consistently ranked higher.  This led him to Texas A & M University in 2006.  Now, two years later, he has finished his qualifying exams and begun his research.  Nick hopes to receive his Ph.D. in mathematics within the next few years.