Presentations
Speaking Engagements
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Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course  
Too many topics, too little time? Give yourself a five-minute break and see what you can accomplish. Invite your students to become community college instructors, share what brought you to mathematics, give a view of mathematics that unites cultures and disciplines. All this and more, five minutes at a time.

Presentation Content:  PDF     Power Point     Keynote     Postage Stamps
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A Spiritual Side to Mathematics? 
Can the patterns and connections in mathematics strengthen our spiritual perspective? You will judge for yourself. We start with a simple sequence of numbers and end with fractals and chaos. Along the way we meet philosophers and mathematicians from Pythagoras and Fibonacci, to Pascal and Stephen Hawking. If you like mathematics, this talk is for you. If you dislike mathematics, this talk is especially for you.
​Presentation Content:  PDF      Power Point     Keynote     Postage Stamps 
​Read a review of this presentation here.
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Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace 
Enter the city of Baghdad in the year 750 and find a diverse population, living in relative harmony, collaborating on projects in mathematics and science that have benefited the rest of the world ever since. As we follow the projects from Baghdad through Spain, and then into Europe, we see a picture of the Middle East that is different from the one we see in the media today. We find people and cultures that we identify with, allowing us to come away with a different perspective on the people and cultures in the Middle East today.
Presentation Content:   PDF     Power Point     Keynote     Postage Stamps     
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 What’s Up with MOOCs? 
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a recent addition to the options available in higher education. Where did they come from, what is it like to teach one, do we need to be concerned about them? These topics, and more, from someone who has created and taught his own MOOCs.

Presentation Content:   PDF     Power Point     Keynote     
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Postage Stamps, Conic Sections, and Eccentricity  
Interesting facts from astronomy make topics from algebra to calculus come alive. We include some postage stamps and history to brighten things up even more. Out of this comes a suggestion to make eccentricity a standard part of our treatment of conic sections.


Presentation Content:   PDF     Postage Stamps
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The Human Cannonball, Ferris Wheels, and Trigonometry 
This talk contains a mixture of applications for trigonometry. Among the applications are the spiral of roots, the human cannonball, and the first Ferris wheel. We will see how these applications can enhance the teaching of trigonometry, and how technology can be used to polish these applications.


Presentation Content:  PDF
SVCCM
March 14, 2020
Sacramento, CA
​Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace

Congregation Beth David
December 15, 2019
San Luis Obispo, CA
​Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace

CMC3 South
December 7, 2019
Monterey, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Exchange Club of SLO
March 8, 2019
San Luis Obispo, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC)
November 16, 2018
Orlando, FL
​Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

Leadership San Luis Obispo
October 12, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Victor Valley College
April 21, 2018
Victorville, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Congregation Beth David
March 7, 2018
San Luis Obispo, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

CMC3 South
March 3, 2018
Pomona, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?
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CMC3 Conference
December 10, 2017
Monterey, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC)
November 11, 2017
San Diego, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

MichMATYC
October21, 2017
Muskegon, MI
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

MichMATYC
October21, 2017
Muskegon, MI
XYZ Textbooks: Not Your Traditional Publisher
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MinnMATYC
April 29, 2017
Duluth, MN
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Sacramento Valley Community College Mathematics
February 25, 2017
Yuba College
Marysville, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Congregation Beth David
December 8, 2016
San Luis Obispo, CA
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Suffolk County CC
October 20 , 2016
Selden, NY
Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

Borough of Manhattan CC
October1 9 , 2016
New York, NY
Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

Kevin and Sam Duffy's Home
August 2, 2016
Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace

Lions Club of San Luis Obispo
May 23, 2016
​A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

CMC3 Recreational Math
April 23, 2016
Lake Tahoe, NV
A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

NYSMATYC 2016
April 8 , 2016
Kingston, NY
Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

NYSMATYC 2016
April 8, 2016
Kingston, NY
XYZ Textbooks: Not Your Traditional Publisher

American Association of University Women
March 14, 2016
San Luis Obispo
A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

MAA SoCal-NV
November 14, 2015
Lake Tahoe, NV
A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

Five Cities Men’s Club
June 30, 2015
Pismo Beach, CA
A Spiritual Side to Mathematics?

NMMATYC / MAA SW 
April 18, 2015 
El Paso, TX
Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace

MichMATYC 2014
October 3, 2014 
Benton Harbor, MI
​Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

ORMATYC 2014
April 10, 2014 
Lincoln City, OR
Five Minutes to a more Satisfying Course

Sacramento Valley Community College Mathematics Conference
March 15, 2014
Sacramento, CA
Islam and Mathematics: A Story of Cooperation and Peace

CMC3 2013
December 12, 2013
Monterey, CA
What’s Up With MOOC’s?

InstructureCon 2013
June 18, 2013 
Park City, UT
Making Your Online Course as Much Like an In-Class Experience as Possible

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