Ryan Trelford Ph.D. Candidate University of Calgary http://math.ucalgary.ca/profiles/math_unitis/ryan-trelford Department of Mathematics and Statistics 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4 +1 (403) 614-8344 rgtrelfo@ucalgary.ca Office: MS 580 Education 2009 2014 Ph.D. in Mathematics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Research in the fields of computational, convex, and discrete geometry. - Supervisors: Dr. Ted Bisztriczky and Dr. Károly Bezdek. - Thesis: Separation in and X-Raying of Convex Bodies. 2005 2008 Master of Science in Mathematics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Research in the field of discrete geometry. - Supervisor: Dragoş Hrimiuc. - Thesis: The largest k-ball in an n-box. 1998 2005 Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Mathematics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Research Interests Geometry - Computational, convex, and discrete geometry. - Construction techniques for neighbourly polytopes. - Illumination, separation, and covering problems. Work Experience 2013 Present Sessional Instructor, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Instructed MATH 271 - Discrete Mathematics in the Winter 2014 semester (120 students). - Instructed MATH 211 - Linear Methods I in the Fall 2013 semester (124 students), the Winter 2013 semester (118 students) and the Summer 2014 semester (64 students). - Created and delivered three hours of lectures per week for each course, as well as holding office hours. - Responsible for submitting potential questions to midterm and final exams common to all sections, and for vetting drafts of these exams. - Participated in creating grading rubriks for exams, marking exams with the help of teaching assistants, and assigning grades at the end of the course. 2013 Instructor, Yufeng Chinese School, Calgary, Alberta. - Taught math enrichment to 6 grade five and six students for two weeks until a regular instructor could be found. 2012 2013 Technical Editor, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Prepared final manuscripts for publication in the online journal Contributions to Discrete Mathematics. - Corresponded with authors to ensure they were satisfied with all adjustments made to their submissions. 1/6
2009 2013 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Instructed calculus, linear algebra, and discrete mathematics tutorials consisting of 30 to 120 students. - Ran one-on-one help session for linear algebra and discrete mathematics students. - Assisted with invigilation of midterms and final exams for large classes. - Graded discrete mathematics quizzes and assignments. 2012 Sessional Instructor, SAIT Polytechnic, Calgary, Alberta. - Sole instructor of MATH 172 - Applied Mathematics II in the Summer 2012 semester for a class of 27 students. - Created and delivered six hours of weekly lectures, and met with students outside of class for additional help. - Produced and graded all assignments and exams. 2009 Instructor, University of Alberta Math and Applied Sciences Center, Edmonton, Alberta. - Delivered a four hour final exam review session for 50 first semester linear algebra students. 2005 2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Instructed first year calculus tutorials consisting of 15 30 students. - Graded assignments in calculus, differential equations, and nonlinear optimization. - Ran one-on-one help sessions for first year calculus students. - Invigilated and graded midterms and final exams for large classes. 2008 Content Developer, Pearson Education Canada, Edmonton, Alberta. - Authored 130 first-year calculus questions for the MathXL database. - Reveiwed online questions and provided feedback about correctness and accuracy. - Provided constructive feedback about the MathXL program based on instructor and student comments. - Created online MathXL assignments for MATH 113 - Elementary Calculus I at the University of Alberta. - Handled student inquiries and mark adjustments. 2007 Content Reviewer, Nelson Education Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta. - Provided constructive feedback about the WebAssign online homework program. - Handled student inquiries and mark adjustments for all sections of an online introductory engineering calculus course. 1995-2007 Assistant Manager, Dairy Queen, Red Deer, Alberta. - Ensured kitchen operated efficiently at all times. - Responsible for overall cleanliness of the kitchen. - Oversaw weekly cleaning jobs, and ensured night staff maintained a clean store. - Maintained safe and healthy food practices. - Ordered stock for the entire store. - Trained cooks in all aspects of the kitchen. May 2014 Aug 2013 May 2012 Mar 2012 Presentations Alberta Mathematics Dialogue, University of Alberta - Augustana Campus, Camrose, Alberta. - Title of Talk: Experiences of a First-Time Instructor. MAA MathFest, Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, United States. - Title of Talk: The Equivalence of the Illumination and Covering Conjectures. Szeged Workshop in Convex and Discrete Geometry, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. - Title of Talk: The Equivalence of the Illumination and Covering Conjectures. - Invited speaker. Eric Milner Colloquium, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Title of Talk: The Illumination Conjecture and its Relatives. 2/6
Dec 2011 May 2011 Mar 2011 Mar 2011 May 2010 Mar 2010 Oct 2008 Sep 2008 2011 CMS Winter Meeting, Ryerson University and York University, Toronto, Ontario. - Title of Talk: The Equivalence of the Illumination and Separation Conjectures. PIMS Young Researchers Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. - Title of Talk: 4-Dimensional Cyclic Polytopes. - Awarded prize for one of the best talks. Geometry Seminar, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Title of Talk: Recovering the Universal Faces of a Neighbourly Sewn Polytope. Geometry Seminar, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Title of Talk: Neighbourly Polytopes and the Sewing Construction. Canadian Young Researches Conference, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Awarded prize for one of the best talks. Geometry Seminar, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. Pure and Applied Mathematics Graduate Student Conference, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Game Seminar, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. Conferences and Workshops Attended May 2013 Oct 2012 May 2012 Jul Aug 2011 Jun 2010 May 2004 The Alberta College Mathematics Conference and North-South Dialogue, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Attended several presentations about current teaching trends and issues. Recent Advances in Transversal and Helly-type Theorems in Geometry, Combinatorics and Topology, Banff International Research Station, Banff, Alberta. - Attended presentations about current open problems in field of discrete geometry. Prairie Discrete Math Workshop 2012, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Conference focusing on discrete geometry and graph theory. Fields Thematic Program on Discrete Geometry and Applications, University of Toronto Fields Institute, Toronto, Ontario. - Conducted research on the contact number of sphere packings with a low number of spheres. 2010 CMS Summer Meeting, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick. - Attended several talks in the field of discrete geometry. Mathematical Biological Summer Workshop, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Attended several lectures about the techniques used in mathematical biology. - Worked on a project titled Clapping Hands, which modelled the changing frequency at which people clapped during an applause. Awards and Scholarships 2013 Departmental Graduate Assistant Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary. 2012 Faculty of Graduate Studies Travel Award, University of Calgary. 3/6
2012 Departmental Graduate Assistant Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary. 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Doctoral Scholarship, University of Calgary. 2011 Eric Milner Scholarship, University of Calgary. - Awarded annually to the graduate student in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics who excels at both research and the sharing of mathematical ideas with their peers. 2011 Best Talk Award, University of British Columbia. - Awarded one of four prizes for the best talk at the PIMS Young Researchers Conference. 2011 Departmental Teaching Award, University of Calgary. 2010 Best Talk Award, University of Alberta. - Awarded one of five prizes for the best talk at the Canadian Young Researchers Conference. 2010 Fred A. McKinnon Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary. - Awarded annually to the best Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. 2009 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Doctoral Scholarship, University of Calgary. 2009 Graduate Dean s Entrance Scholarship, University of Calgary. - Awarded annually to the two incoming graduate students who exhibit excellent academic records and high potential for research. 2006 Alberta Gradute Student Scholarship, Univeristy of Alberta. - Awarded to students entering the second year of their Masters program at an Alberta postsecondary institution who have demonstrated academic excellence. 2005 Jason Lang Scholarship, University of Alberta. - Awarded for outstanding academic achievement in an undergraduate program in Alberta. Teaching Development Jan 2014 Nov 2013 Oct 2011 Course Design Workshop, University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Center, Calgary, Alberta. - Attended a three-day workshop with the goal of leaning how to design a new course and modify an existing course. - Discussed the importance of creating clear and measurable course objectives that take into consideration the previous experiences of the students. - Considered choosing assessment techniques that would reflect the importance of the course objectives. University Teaching Certificate, University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Center, Calgary, Alberta. - An in-depth six-day workshop that continues exploring the concepts addressed during the Instructional Skills Workshop. - Topics covered included teaching large classes, methods of assesment, and creating a teaching philosophy. - Co-presented for 45 minutes on effective classroom management techniques, received feedback from participants, and a videotape of the presentation. Instructional Skills Workshop, University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Center, Calgary, Alberta. - Attended a four day workshop designed to make instructors aware of different teaching and learning styles, as well as the importance of lesson planning and organization. - Delivered three 10 minute mini-lessons, and received feedback from the other participants as well as a videotape of each lesson. 4/6
Aug 2008 University Teaching Program, University of Alberta Center for Teaching and Learning, Edmonton, Alberta. - Attended 40 hours of lectures on various aspects of teaching, ranging from preparing for a lecture to providing constructive feedback when grading. - Wrote a teaching dossier explaining my philosophy on teaching, as well as outlining my experiences teaching. - Had one 50 minute lecture videotaped, from which I received feedback from the mathematics department, as well as the center for teaching and learning. Volunteer Work 2013 Marker for the Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge of the Canadian Mathematics Society, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Shared marking duties for the two long answer geometry problems. 2013 Presenter and Chaperone for the CMS Regional Math Camp, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Delivered a three hour session titled Construction of convex polytopes that introduced students to the basic notions of polytope theory, in addition to developing their intuition in higher dimensions. - Stayed in a hotel with conference attendees for nine nights, ensuring they behaved, went to bed at an approptiate time, and arrived on time to their classes each day. 2013 Graduate Teaching Assistant Training, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Delivered a 15-minute mock lecture to incoming graduate students which displayed effective teaching practices including utilizing a clear voice, having organized boardwork, answering student questions, and proceeding at an appropriate pace. - Answered questions that students had regarding teaching tutorials for the first time. 2012 Co-organizer for the Young Researchers Conference, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Responsible for compiling list of speakers and abstracts, as well assisting with scheduling the presentations. - Vetted a portion of submitted abstracts, offering suggestions for improvement. - Chaired statistics session. 2012 Volunteer for Math Night, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Assisted Jr. and Sr. High School students in solving math problems in a weekly two hour session. - Contributed one of the weekly problems. 2011 Graduate Teaching Assistant Training, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Assisted in running a tutorial on grading student assignments. 2010 Graduate Teaching Assistant Training, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. - Invited to be part of a panel discussion on effective teaching practices. 2006/2007 SNAP Math Fair, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Aided participants during problem solving sessions. 2006/2007 University Teaching Services Orientation for Graduate Teaching Assistants, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. - Invited to co-present Effective Teaching for Problem Solving and Computer Labs to incoming graduate students in mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Special Skills Ability to program in C++, QBasic, Turbo Pascal, and Python. Basic understanding of the Maple mathematical software program. Familiarity with both Linux and Windows operating systems. Efficient typesetting skills using L A TEX. Can speak german at a first year university level. 5/6
Graduate Courses Taken University of Calgary - AMAT 601 - Robust and Convex Optimization (Audit) - PMAT 603 - Discrete Geometry I - PMAT 603 - Extremal Combinatorics (Audit) - PMAT 603 - Combinatorial Geometry - PMAT 607 - Algebraic Topology University of Alberta - MATH 515 - Introduction to Financial Math - MATH 516 - Linear Analysis - MATH 524 - Ordinary Differential Equations IIA - MATH 525 - Ordinary Differential Equations IIB - MATH 536 - Numerical Solutions to Partial Differential Equations I - MATH 600 - Convex Analysis (Reading Course) Other Interests Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu Travelling Astronomy Photography Hiking Updated: September 5, 2014 6/6