User talk:Ben G. Fitzpatrick

Hello Dr. Fitzpatrick! I was wondering what was your hardest math class as an undergrad? Carmen E. Castaneda 08:38, 16 January 2011 (EST)

• Ben G. Fitzpatrick 13:52, 16 January 2011 (EST) Math 520 at Auburn, Real Analysis, like our 321, was the hardest, at least for the first 4 weeks. The course was taught by Professor Ed Moise in the R. L. Moore style, so that the teacher provided definitions, problems, and theorem statements ONLY. Students had to work out the proofs, detect incorrect theorems and provide counterexamples, and solve the problems. The library was off-limits. I had taken a year of modern algebra before this course, so I have some sense of proof (we didn't have a 248 equivalent). It took me a while to get the hang of it, but after taking two years of (undergrad and grad) real analysis this way, I found it very helpful in my future work.

Hi Dr. Fitzpatrick! I was wondering how many women were studying Math when you were an undergrad and/or in grad school?Alondra Vega 12:01, 16 January 2011 (EST)

• Ben G. Fitzpatrick 13:52, 16 January 2011 (EST) My undergraduate class was about 25% women, and the grad program at Auburn (where I got my master's) was about the same. The strongest student in that program (by far) was a woman who was hired onto the Auburn faculty after getting her PhD. It's pretty unusual for a department to hire one of its own grads. In my PhD studies we had very few women, probably around 10% of the students. In my previous faculty positions, there were not so many women. At UT Knoxville, I worked a lot with Suzanne Lenhart, who was pretty much my mentor when I was starting out as a fresh assistant professor. She's a great mathematician, a great person, and a super role model for anyone in the profession. If you were to change your mind about nursing and get interested in biomath grad programs, I'd have you get in touch with her.