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The Department of Mathematics hosted the first Mathematics Job Fair on April
22. The event was attended by 11 undergraduate and graduate students, along with
several members of the departmental faculty. After having their fill of pizza, soda
pop and cookies, the participants heard presentations from three guest panelists who
described their own careers and how their training in mathematics was related to their
success in three quite different areas of business. The panelists were Glen Gahan,
Senior Vice President of Mammel and Associates/The Silverstone Group; Randy Walters,
Senior Scientist and Information and Process Technology Manager for Logicon, Inc.; and
Charles Downey, President and CFO of Warren Distribution, Inc.
Mr. Gahan, who earned his Bachelor's degree in mathematics at UNL, is
a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. He described the way in which actuaries use
statistical analysis to calculate the cost of risks and to use these calculations to
determine the cost of insurance and financial security systems. For those students
interested in pursuing a career as an actuary, he emphasized that it is important to pass
several of the examinations of the Society of Actuaries before the completion of their
degree program(s).
Dr. Walters earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at New Mexico State
University. His area of research was abstract algebra. He has worked at White
Sands, New Mexico, where he was involved in missile technology; he was a mathematical
economist with El Paso Natural Gas; and, prior to joining Logicon, was on the faculty of
the College of the Redwoods and of UNO. Dr. Walters described how he had used his
knowledge from a variety of mathematical fields to solve complex problems.
Dr. Downey earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at new Mexico State
University. His areas of research included abstract harmonic analysis and coding
theory. He came to UNO and became a Professor of Mathematics and Chair of the
department before leaving the university to enter the world of business at what was then
Warren Oil. Warren Distribution is now involved in the distribution and
manufacturing of auto after-market products. Dr. Downey also emphasized the
importance that potential employers |
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