About the Authors
Robert T. Smith is Professor of Mathematics and Dean of the School of Science and
Mathematics at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, where he has been a faculty member
since 1987. Prior to that, he was on the faculty at Virginia Tech. He earned his Ph.D. in
mathematics from the University of Delaware in 1982.
Professor Smith's mathematical interests are in the application of mathematics to problems
in engineering and the physical sciences. He has published a number of research articles
on the applications of partial differential equations as well as on computational problems in
x-ray tomography. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical
Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Professor Smith lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife Pam, his daughter Katie
and his son Michael. His ongoing extracurricular goal is to learn to play golf well enough
to not come in last in his annual mathematicians/statisticians tournament.
Roland B. Minton is Professor of Mathematics and Chair of the Department of Mathematics,
Computer Science and Physics at Roanoke College, where he has taught since 1986.
Prior to that, he was on the faculty at Virginia Tech. He earned his Ph.D. from Clemson
University in 1982. He is the recipient of Roanoke College awards for teaching excellence
and professional achievement, as well as the 2005 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award and
the 2008 George Polya Award for mathematics exposition.
Professor Minton's current research program is in the mathematics of golf, especially
the analysis of ShotLink statistics. He has published articles on various aspects of sports
science, and co-authored with Tim Pennings an article on Pennings' dog Elvis and his ability
to solve calculus problems. He is co-author of a technical monograph on control theory.