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Dean Olson, Charles Vanden Eynden, and George Seelinger
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Over 80 mathematicians and guests from more than twenty colleges and universities participated in the two-day conference “Mathematical Abundance” at ISU (April 18–19). The conference, sponsored jointly by the ISU Department of Mathematics, the ISU College of Arts and Sciences, and the Number Theory Foundation, focused on recent scholarship and research in three distinct areas of mathematics: graph theory, number theory, and design theory. The conference was timed to celebrate ISU Professor Emeritus Charles Vanden Eynden’s 72nd birthday and to honor his lifelong abundant mathematical productivity. Number theory is one of the research areas to which Dr. Vanden Eynden has contributed greatly. In number theory the classical Greek mathematicians called a number abundant when it has so many proper divisors that they add up to more than the number they come from — it happens that the number 72 is an abundant number.
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"I’m very pleased that we have this opportunity to honor Professor Vanden Eynden,” said Professor Roger Eggleton, one of the conference organizers. “He is a distinguished mathematician in several fields, including number theory and design theory. Throughout his professional life he has shown many of us not only how to be a good scholar and a good researcher, but at the same time how to be a good teacher and a good colleague.” Since his retirement in 2002 Dr. Vanden Eynden has continued to be a very productive mathematician. He is currently working on several major research projects with colleagues in the ISU Mathematics Department.
The four plenary presentations of the conference were given by internationally renowned researchers: Professors George E. Andrews (Pennsylvania State University), Bruce C. Berndt (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Richard A. Brualdi (University of Wisconsin), and Alex Rosa (McMaster University). Almost 30 presentations were contributed by other distinguished participants in the conference, guaranteeing that it will give a significant boost to research in its three areas of focus.
The conference banquet (April 18) attracted almost 90 guests, including many who came especially to honor Dr. Vanden Eynden. A Welcome Party in the University Galleries on April 17, and a Survivors’ Party on April 19, rounded out the social dimension of the conference, sealing its success as a celebration in addition to its impact on research in its target mathematical fields.