Travis Kowalski,
Ph.D., is the interim head of the Department of Mathematics and a professor at
South Dakota Mines. Photo courtesy: Rapid City Journal.
Dr.
Travis Kowalski, professor and interim head of the Department of Mathematics at South Dakota Mines is the winner of the 2021 Chauvenet
Prize from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). This award recognizes
outstanding expository articles on a mathematical topic, and winners of the
Chauvenet Prize are among the most distinguished of mathematical expositors.
A
press release issued by MAA states that Kowalski
received the award for his outstanding expository article on a mathematical topic,
for “The Sine of a Single Degree,” published in The College
Mathematics Journal 47 (2016). “The Chauvenet Prize honors outstanding
communication of mathematics, a core value of MAA,” said Michael Pearson, MAA executive
director. “Prof. Kowalski’s contribution offers readers an invitation to
explore surprising connections and share in the joy of discovery.”
“This
award is very well deserved for Dr. Kowalski and an honor for the entire
university,” says Mines President Jim Rankin. “This is one more example showing
that South Dakota Mines is fortunate to attract so many world class faculty
members.”
According
to the MAA press release, the article “The Sine of a Single Degree,” leads
readers on a hunt for sine of 1o, and delves into geometry, algebra,
and complex numbers while writing for a wide mathematical audience. “So many
Chauvenet Prize laureates are mathematicians who inspired me to see mathematics
as an expression of artistry and humanity as well as an exercise in logic and
rigor,” Kowalski says. “I am profoundly humbled to be considered among them.”
Kowalski is celebrated on campus not only as a professor, but also as an artist. His daily drawings are a delight to
many in the campus community.
The
MAA recognized Kowalski with the George Pólya Award in 2017 for the same publication. In
2019, he also received the Burton W. Jones Award from MAA’s Rocky
Mountain Section for his excellence as a teacher.