Dr. Paul E. Becker

Associate Professor, Mathematics
School of Science,
Penn State Erie - The Behrend College
Erie, PA 16563

Education:

PhD  Central Michigan University  (2000).    Thesis:      Investigation of Nonabelian Difference Sets in Groups of Order 120.
                                                                                    Thesis Advisor:  Dr. Ken W. Smith.

NATO Advanced Studies Institute  (August, 1998),   "Difference Sets, Sequences, and their Correlation Properties," Bad Windsheim , Germany.

"Methods of Discrete Mathematics" summer school (June 1999),  TU Braunschweig / Universita di Napoli, Braunschweig, Germany.

M.S. (Mathematics)  Michigan State University (1991).

B.S. (Honors College - Mathematics)  Michigan State University  (1989) .
 
Publications:       

P. Becker, J. Mendes, O. AbuGhneim, and K. Smith

 

 On Menon-Hadamard difference sets in groups of order 4p2

 

 Congressus Numerantium 172 (2005), 97-121. Dec, 2005.
P. Becker


 Investigation of Solvable (120, 35, 10) Difference Sets

 Journal of Combinatorial Designs,
Vol 13, Issue 2 (2005), Wiley,
 79 - 107.
 February, 2005
P. Becker
 Do Normal Subgroups Have Straight Tails?

pdf copy of article
 American Mathematical Monthly,
Volume 112, No. 5, (2005),
Math Assoc of America, 440-449.
 May, 2005
P. Becker, S. Houghten, and
W. Haas
 Investigation of Perfect Ternary Arrays PTA(60,25)
 Brock University, Ontario
Technical Report -- # CS - 03 - 10
Department of Computer Science
 October, 2003


Submitted Mauscripts:
P. Becker, S. Houghten, W. Haas
 A Search for Solvable Weighing Matrices

Supplemental information for this article.
 Accepted and under revision:
 J. Combinatorial Math and Combinatorial Computing
P. Becker, J. Granche,
P. Olson, K. Szklenski
 Scrabble tournaments, Ramsey theory, and resolvable designs
 Submitted to:
Math Magazine
 March, 2006

 

Research Presentations:

Title:
 Conference:
 Location:
 Date:
Scrabble Tournaments, Ramsey Theory, and Resolvable Designs AMS/MAA Annual Joint Meetings San Antonio, Texas January, 2006
A Search for Solvable Group-Developed Weighing Matrices.
(Paul Becker, Sheridan Houghten, Wolfgang Haas)
 18th Midwest Conference on Combinatorics, Cryptography, and Computing
 Rochester Institute of Technology
 October 29, 2004.
Group Algebras and the Perlis-Walker Decomposition.
 PSU-Erie mathematics seminar
 Penn State, Erie
 Oct 1, 2004
Frobenius groups, near-rings, and combinatorial designs.
                  Presentation:(dvi)                  Presentation: (pdf)                                       
PSU-Erie mathematics seminar
 Penn State, Erie
 April 8, 2004
Investigation of genuinely non-Abelian difference sets in groups of order 676.    (Jen Mendes, Paul Becker)
   Presentation:(dvi)               Presentation: (pdf)
 American Math Society Regional Meeting
 Ohio University, Athens
 March 26, 2004
Do Normal Subgroups Have Straight Tails?
Representation Questions from a Combinatorics Classroom.		 American Math Society Regional Meeting SUNY - Binghamton   October 2003
Do Normal Subgroups Have Straight Tails? MAA Allegheny Regional Meeting Penn State - DuBois April 2003
 Perfect Ternary Arrays PTA(60,25) AMS/MAA Joint Meetings  San Diego  January 2002
 A Short Introduction to Coding Theory School of Science Faculty Seminar Penn State, Erie  Fall, 1999
Non-Existence of Solvable (120,35,10) Difference Sets NATO Advanced Studies Institute Bad Windsheim, Germany  August, 1998
In Search of a (120,35,10) Difference Set AMS Regional Meeting Wayne State University  Summer, 1997


Education Presentations:

A Combinatorial Sampler
(Paul Becker and Paul Olson)
 Math Options Career Day
 Penn State, Erie
 May 10, 2005.
A Combinatorial Sampler
(Paul Becker and Paul Olson)
 Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Math (PCTM)  Annual Meeting
 Erie, PA
 Oct. 28, 2004.
Coding Theory and Bullet Trains
 MAPP/WISE
 Penn State, Erie 
 July, 1999
Using History and Biography to Encourage Students in Beginning Algebra
 Special Session on College Algebra, 
MAA/AMS Joint Meetings
 University of Minnesota 
 Summer, 1994

Undergraduate Research Presentations:
Presentation:
 Conference:
 Location:
 Date:
Robert Goins:
Classification of Groups Using Blocked Matrix Representations
 2005 Penn State Behrend - Sigma Xi Undergraduate Student Research Conference
 Penn State - Erie
 April 2005
Robert Goins:
Classification of Groups Using Blocked Matrix Representations
 Math. Assoc. of America
Allegheny Section Meeting
 Slippery Rock University
 April 2005
Ian Eccles: 
Constructing a Computer Search Algorithm for Certain Combinatorial Designs		 2003 Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate Student Research Conference
Award: Best Comp. Science and Math Oral Presentation		 Penn State - Erie April 2003
Jennifer Mendes:
Menon-Hadamard Difference Sets in Groups of Order 4(13)2		 MAA Allegheny Section Meeting Penn State - DuBois April 2003
Jennifer Mendes and Benjamin Tabone:
Group Rings, Cheese Wheels, and Applications
MAA Allegheny Section Meeting		 West Liberty State College, WV April 2002

 

Employment History:
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
 2000 - Present
Mathematics Lecturer
 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
 1998 - 2000
Doctoral Teaching Internship
 Central Michigan University
 1997 - 1998
Graduate Teaching Assistant
 Central Michigan University
 1998
Doctoral Research Fellowship
 Central Michigan University
 1995-1997
Mathematics Lecturer
 Saginaw Valley University
 1991-1997
Faculty Lecturer
 SVSU School and Science Resource Center
 1995
Research Assistant
 Michigan State Univ. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center
 1989 - 1991

Professional memberships:
American Mathematical Society

Last Update:
April 18, 2006