News

By Britain Miethe

Lee University student Jonathan Clark recently presented at the fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting of the American Mathematics Society (AMS). His presentation was titled “An Application of a Generalized Parameterization of Conic Sections.”

Clark’s presentation took a closer look at the connection between the two- and three-dimensional definitions of conic sections. Using vector calculus and linear algebra Clark was able to uniquely model three-dimensional conic sections, which, when added to two-dimensional versions of the sections, resulted in a special curve called an oblique strophoid.

 
According to Dr. Jeneva Moseley, Lee University assistant professor of mathematics and Clark’s advisor for the presentation, Clark was among only about four percent of the presenters for the AMS meeting who were undergraduate students, while the majority of presenters had their doctorates.

“I could not be more proud of Jonathan Clark,” said Moseley. “Of all the presentations I saw at the conference, Jonathan’s was the most interesting and well-articulated. He responded to questions with confidence and communicated his mathematical results extremely effectively.”

 
The AMS’s programs and services for its members and the global mathematical community include professional programs, publications, meetings and conferences, support for young scholars programs, tools for researchers and authors, and a public awareness office that provides resources to members, students, teachers, the media, and the general public.

Clark is a resident of Cleveland and a graduate of Walker Valley High School. While at Lee, he has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.87, granting him the Honors Scholarship. Clark tutors students in math, physics, and physical chemistry, and he is the treasurer of Lee Prime, the Lee University math club.

While taking a research-based course here at Lee, Clark recently completed an article which is under review by the Mathematical Association of America’s Mathematics Magazine. He devotes much of his time to independent research and studying to prepare for graduate school, where he plans to study applied mathematics, particularly theoretical physics.

For more information on the AMS, please visit http://www.ams.org/.

PHOTO: Jonathan Clark is pictured here outside the AMS Fall Southeastern Sectional Meeting.