Robert L. Chase

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

B.S. University of Maine
Ph.D. University of Virginia

{P} 434.381.6124
{E} chase@sbc.edu
{O} Guion A202

Professor Chase's current work focuses on programming hand-held devices for use in medical research. He has interests in various areas of computer science: operating systems, UNIX, computer networks and communications, object oriented programming, and computer applications in the liberal arts curriculum. Professor Chase's proposals for integrating computers into the liberal arts have received funding from Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett-Packard), IBM, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation (merged with Rockefeller Brothers Fund), and The Pew Memorial Trust (now part of The Pew Charitable Trusts). He also has received network and research funding from the National Science Foundation.

Bessie Kirkwood

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

B.S. University of Arkansas
M.S. University of Arkansas
Ph.D. University of Oklahoma
Ph.D. University of Virginia

{P} 434.381.6167
{E} bkirk@sbc.edu
{W} http://www.faculty.sbc.edu/bkirk
{O} Guion A206

Professor Bessie Kirkwood holds Ph.D.s in both mathematics and statistics. She has co-authored papers published in Journal of Algebra, Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Pacific Journal of Mathematics, and Geophysical Journal International. Her research has applied statistical methods to estimate the motion of tectonic planes and to describe the movement of ice floes. She has worked as a statistical consultant at the University of Virginia, where her projects have included research on health behaviors of college students, a study of the nurse labor supply in Virginia, and injuries to feet and lower legs in car crashes. She currently has a 36-month grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a new course in Biostatistics, which has now been taught twice at Sweet Briar College, and is one of the courses required for the new minor in Statistics.

James Kirkwood

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

B.S. Southeast Missouri State College
M.A. University of Oklahoma
Ph.D. University of Virginia

{P} 434.381.6285
{E} jrkirkwood@sbc.edu
{O} Guion A208

Professor Jim Kirkwood's research was initially in mathematical physics, specifically in statistical mechanics. Since coming to Sweet Briar, he has established a computer laboratory for Calculus under a National Science Foundation grant and has also published an upper level textbook, An Introduction to Analysis. He is now working on a book in mathematical biology with several co-authors from Sweet Briar and the University of Virginia under an NSF grant that is due to the publisher next year. During the past several summers, he has taught a course in analysis to the entering graduate mathematics students at the University of Virginia.

Raina Robeva

Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences

B.S. Sofia University, Bulgaria
M.S. Sofia University, Bulgaria
Ph.D. University of Virginia

{P} 434.381.6213
{E} robeva@sbc.edu
{W} http://www.faculty.sbc.edu/robeva
{O} Guion A204

Raina Robeva holds a Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the University of Virginia. She teaches classes in both mathematics and computer science which reflects her current research interests. Dr. Robeva is involved in a variety of projects ranging from pure mathematics, e.g. Markov properties for random fields, to mathematical modeling and software engineering.

Dr Robeva's research and educational activities have been and are currently supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, the Commonwealth Health Research Board, and the Carilion Biomedical Institute. Currently she is the Principal Investigator for two National Science Foundation grants with focus on biomathematics (#0126740 and #0340930). These projects are being developed in collaboration with the Center for Biomathematical Technology at the University of Virginia. More details can be found at Sweet Briar College's Biomathematics web site.

Stephen R. Wassell

Professor of Mathematical Sciences

B.S. University of Virginia
M.S. University of Virginia
Ph.D. University of Virginia
M.C.S. University of Virginia

{P} 434.381.6214
{E} wassell@sbc.edu
{W} http://www.faculty.sbc.edu/wassell
{O} Guion 201

Professor Wassell's research interests span all three of the disciplines in which he holds degrees. His principal topic of investigation is the relationship between architecture and mathematics. The most recent product of this research is a 2006 book, Andrea Palladio: Villa Cornaro in Piombino Dese (with Branko Mitrović), which presents a full measured survey of one of Andrea Palladio's most influential works, accompanied by essays which discuss the design of the villa, the size of the piede (foot) used in creating the villa, and the elements of the villa such as doors and staircases. The survey is presented through 14 fold-out drawings, approx. 16.5 x 23.4 inches each, comprising a complete set of plans, elevations, sections, and window schedules. He also led a three-day research tour of eight of Palladio's villas directly after Nexus '98: Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics; this workshop was partially supported by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

In earning a Master's of Computer Science in May 1999, Professor Wassell researched within the fields of physical design and genetic algorithms. His specialization in mathematics is mathematical physics, and he has published papers in the Journal of Mathematical Physics and Springer Verlag's Lecture Notes in Physics. He has also been awarded three U.S. patents, including one for a solar powered lawn mower. His hobbies include guitar, weight-lifting, and gardening.