Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

SU Mathematician Invited to Speak at ‘MathFest’ in Oregon

Tuesday, July 22, 2014, By Rob Enslin
Share
College of Arts and Sciencesspeakers

A professor in the College of Arts and Sciences has been invited to speak at the country’s largest annual summertime gathering of mathematicians, taking place next month in Portland, Ore.

Jack Graver

Jack Graver

Jack Graver, professor of mathematics, will address attendees at the Mathematical Association of America (MAA)’s MathFest, a four-day conference for hundreds of university faculty, high school teachers, and graduate and undergraduate students.

Graver will deliver the Jean Bee Chan and Peter Stanek Lecture for Students on Thursday, Aug. 7. His lecture will examine the origins of Pi Mu Epsilon (PME), the national mathematics honor society, which was founded at Syracuse University in December of 1913 and incorporated by the state legislature five months later.

“This is a special opportunity for Professor Graver, the Department of Mathematics and Pi Mu Epsilon,” says Graham Leuschke, professor and associate chair of mathematics. “Jack’s presentation at MAA MathFest marks the culmination of a series of celebrations, all over the country, in honor of PME’s centennial. We’re extremely proud of him.”

An outgrowth of the mathematics club at Syracuse University, PME was founded by Edward Drake Roe Jr., the John Raymond French Professor and chair of mathematics, as well as director of the Holden Observatory. (Roe was also an astronomer, whose observatory was considered one of the best private ones in the country.) Roe not only oversaw PME’s first chapter, Alpha of New York, but also served as PME’s national president, until his death in 1929.

Since then, PME has grown to encompass more than 350 chapters at colleges and universities nationwide. PME chapters engage in a variety of events and activities, designed to promote and recognize scholarly activities in mathematics, including conferences, lectures and workshops.

“Using the Archives of Syracuse University, as well as detailed notes left by [PME’s] founders, I hope to cultivate a greater understanding of the historical context in which the organization was born,” says Graver, an expert in combinatorics and graph theory. “There are a lot of questions about how and why PME came about the way it did.”

Since joining the mathematics faculty in 1966, Graver has held several key positions, including chair (1979-82) and associate chair (1976-79 and 1984-93). He also has served on MAA’s leadership team, with stints as regional chair (1995-97), regional vice president (1980-82) and representative to the board of governors (1985-86).

Much of Graver’s work has applications for industry, including architecture and computer science. He is the author of over 50 research and expository articles, mainly on topics related to graph theory, rigidity theory and matroid theory. Graver is also the author of four landmark books: “Combinatorics with Emphasis on Graph Theory” (Springer-Verlag, 1977), with Mark Watkins; “Counting on Frameworks: Mathematics to Aid the Design of Rigid Structures” (Cambridge University Press, 2001); “Combinatorial Rigidity” (American Mathematical Society, 1993), with Brigette G’87 and Herman Servatius G’87; and “Incidence and Symmetry in Design and Architecture” (Cambridge University Press, 1983), with Jenny Baglivo ’72, G’76.

In addition to being a prolific scholar and sought-after speaker, Graver has devoted much of his career to teacher training. He has mounted more than 40 workshops for elementary and secondary school teachers, as well as various student enrichment programs.

“Jack is one of our department’s most distinguished veterans,” Leuschke adds. “His scholarship and extensive service, coupled with creative approaches to teaching, exemplify the values of the College of Arts and Sciences.”

 

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony
    Friday, June 13, 2025, By News Staff
  • Inaugural Meredith Professor Faculty Fellows Announced
    Friday, June 13, 2025, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Lab THRIVE: Advancing Student Mental Health and Resilience
    Thursday, June 12, 2025, By News Staff
  • 7 New Representatives Added to the Board of Trustees
    Wednesday, June 11, 2025, By News Staff
  • Whitman Honors Outstanding Alumni and Friends at 2025 Awards and Appreciation Event
    Tuesday, June 10, 2025, By News Staff

More In STEM

WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony

This spring, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) held its annual Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Award Ceremony. WiSE was honored to host distinguished guest speaker Joan-Emma Shea, who presented “Self-Assembly of the Tau Protein: Computational Insights Into Neurodegeneration.” Shea…

Endowed Professorship Recognizes Impact of a Professor, Mentor and Advisor

Bao-Ding “Bob” Cheng’s journey to Syracuse University in pursuit of graduate education in the 1960s was long and arduous. He didn’t have the means for air travel, so he voyaged more than 5,000 nautical miles by boat from his home…

Forecasting the Future With Fossils

One of the most critical issues facing the scientific world, no less the future of humanity, is climate change. Unlocking information to help understand and mitigate the impact of a warming planet is a complex puzzle that requires interdisciplinary input…

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.