An audience of seventy-five Purdue students, high school students, parents, and mathematics teachers attended "Math Career Night" on Monday evening, March 27. The free program was the first of what mathematics professor Richard Penney hopes will become an annual event.
"As mathematics educators, we have the goal of introducing our students to the beauty and wonder of mathematics. Often, however, we get the response, `Yes, I like math, but what are my career opportunities?'" says Penney. "So we invited three mathematics professionals to speak briefly about their jobs and the educational background their organizations look for in potential recruits."
The presenters, all Purdue alums, were Mr. Doug Klumpe, mathematics teacher at West Lafayette High School; Sarah Sorge Showalter, Fellow of the Society of Actuaries from Lincoln National Reinsurance in Fort Wayne; and Dr. William Browning, founder and president of Applied Mathematics, Inc. Dr. Browning received the 1995 School of Science Distinguished Alumni Award in April (see Distinguished Alumnus).