Edward V. Eikenberg  Graduate Student  University of Maryland  Mathematics Department  Ed_Hokie@terpalum.umd.edu

Notes from my PME talk on Congruent Numbers and Elliptic Curves

My Ph.D. Dissertation:

Rational Points on Some Families of Elliptic Curves
 

Teaching Stuff:

I am no longer at the University of Maryland, but I was a TA there for several years.  For the record, here is a list of the courses I have taught:
 

My Life Before Graduate School:

Baltimore, MD is my hometown, and I am a big Orioles fan.  I usually go to about 5-10 games a year, and watch them whenever I can.  I am also a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, and try to follow the Washington Redskins as well.
 
 

	I went to high school at Calvert Hall, an all-male, private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school located in the Towson area of Baltimore County.
	I received my bachelors degree in math from Virginia Tech in December of 1992.  I am a huge fan of the VT football team, the Hokies!  They just completed one of their best seasons ever, going 11-0 before losing to Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the NCAA national championship.  Of course I took a road trip to New Orleans for the game.  Even though they lost, I had a great time.  I can't wait for next season.
	After graduating from college, I went to work at Watson Wyatt Worldwide.  I worked there as an actuarial technician for almost 2 years full time before I cut back to a part-time status and started graduate school.  I still work there occasionally, on an as-needed basis.

 

My Life During Grad School:
 
For those who don't know me, I'm a grad student at University of Maryland, College Park working on my Ph.D. in mathematics. My current area of research is ranks of elliptic curves.  An elliptic curve is a cubic polynomial function whose rational points form a finitely-generated group under an appropriate operation.  For more detailed info on what an elliptic curve is, check out the notes from my PME talk on congruent numbers and elliptic curves.  I am currently studing the ranks of these groups as related to the curve.  In particular, I am concentrating on techniques to find the rank without actually finding points that generate the group.  So I spend lots of time doing research toward my dissertation.  One day, I may even finish.

My favorite diversion from my research is playing volleyball.  In fact, you might even say that my favorite diversion from volleyball is doing math research.  I am a volleyball fanatic. I play in a league almost all year round and play doubles tournaments in the summer. Basically, I play way more than I should.  I also enjoy playing tennis, racquetball, ultimate frisbee, and softball.  Basically, I love outdoor activities.
 

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