John Fauvel Memorial Conference
John Fauvel (1947-2001) was a mathematical historian at the Open University in England who visited the Colorado College Mathematics Department on several occasions, including as a Fulbright Scholar during the winter and spring of 1999. His sudden death on May 12, 2001 shocked his friends everywhere. During the following summer, Mike Siddoway, who originally arranged John's Fulbright visit to the college, started planning a memorial conference which was held September 21-22, 2001, in Palmer Hall (room 126).
(Photo of John Fauvel taken in the spring of 1999 at the college.)
The John Fauvel Memorial Conference, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America and the College, began on Friday afternoon, September 21, 2001 with a seminar by Robin Wilson who was visiting as he regularly does to teach a course or two. Professor Wilson spoke about combinatorics in the Victorian age (Victorian Combinatorics: Maps, Maidens, and Molecules). The next morning once all participants had arrived, Mike Siddoway and Robin Wilson offered the opening remarks.
With about 30 participants, the program included the following talks:
- Early Teaching of Mathematics at Colorado College
Steven Janke, Colorado College - Reminiscences
Owen Cramer, Colorado College (Classics Department)
Bob McJimsey, Colorado College (History Department)
(John Fauvel taught courses on Newton and early science while visiting Colorado College) - Patterns and Isometries
Jane McDougall, Colorado College - The British Influence on Mathematics at West Point
Fred Rickey, U.S.Military Academy
Teaching a Contextual Course in History of Mathematics
Igor Szczyrba, University of Northern Colorado - Lost Sailors: Mathematics and the Navigation Problem in the Age of Discovery
George Heine, Bureau of Land Management - Some Historical Comments on Lie Theory
Harold Davenport, Mesa State College - Renaissance & Reminiscences: Some things I learned from my Open University experience.
Janet Barnett, University of Southern Colorado - Thinking Outside the "Box"...Mathematics: From Intuition to Esoterica
Deborah Arangno, U.S. Air Force Academy - Gauss, Lengendre, and the Method of Least Squares
Donald Teets, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology - The Gresham Professors of Geometry
Robin Wilson, Gresham Professor in the History of Mathematics
Saturday evening, the conference concluded with a banquet in John's honor at the Trattoria DeAngelo, a local restaurant.
John Fauvel's funeral was held May 23, 2001 at Oakley Wood Crematorium, Bishops Tachbrook, Leamington Spa. In keeping with John's love of style, horses pulled a Victorian hearse. (Photograph thanks to David Singmaster.)