Elyn Rykken
Education
- Ph.D., M.A., Northwestern University
- B.A., summa cum laude, St. Olaf College
Teaching Interests
One of my strengths as a teacher and colleague is that I am willing and able to teach a wide variety of courses. Since joining the department, I have taught 16 different courses. As I have worked over the years to hone my teaching style, I have focused on the narrative for each of these courses. I strive to give every course an overarching story to help explain and connect the individual topics that we cover during the semester. To achieve this, I make an effort to motivate the material and to illustrate how it fits into the larger context of the subject and mathematics in general.
Whenever possible, I introduce historical anecdotes into my classes, sometimes including a picture and a short biography of an important historical figure. I find that these anecdotes personalize the abstract ideas and convey a sense of the people behind the concepts. In contrast to the notion that mathematics is unchanging, I like to remind my students that definitions, theorems and notation are things that are created, discovered and developed by people and that the body of mathematical knowledge is continually evolving.
Research and Scholarship
As reflected in the topics of my books, papers and presentations, my interests are well-rounded and include geometry, dynamical systems, game theory, voting theory, the history of mathematics and innovative teaching projects. In total, I have published two books, one lab project book and eleven articles. While three of my earliest papers are in the field of dynamical systems, my scholarly interests broadened after coming to Muhlenberg College, resulting in more expository articles and fewer technical ones.
- Calculus I
- Calculus II
- Discrete Mathematics
- Linear Algebra
- M. Carroll and E. Rykken, “The Involutory Laguerre Transition Matrix,” Mathematics Magazine, Volume 92, February 2019, pp. 19 – 23.
- M. T. Carroll and E. Rykken, GeoGebra Labs to Accompany Geometry: The Line and the Circle, February 2019. (An instructor’s resource guide with 10 companion GeoGebra files appearing in hosted on the American Mathematical Society’s website for the textbook.)
- M. T. Carroll and E. Rykken, Geometry: The Line and the Circle, American Mathematical Society, MAA Undergraduate Textbook Series, Vol. 44, 2018.
- M. Dworkin and E. Rykken, “Constructions on the Sphere,” Math Horizons, Volume 23, No. 4, April 2016, pp. 8 – 11.
- J. Sorensen and E. Rykken, “Sprinkler Bifurcations and Stability,” College Mathematics Journal, Volume 41, No. 5, November 2010, pp. 383-391(9).
- M. Carroll, E. Rykken and J. Sorensen, “Waiting to Turn Left?” College Mathematics Journal, Volume 41, Number 1, January 2010, pp. 60-63.
- Crannell, G. LaRose, T. Ratliff, and E. Rykken, Writing Projects for Mathematics Courses: Crushed Clowns, Cars, and Coffee to Go, MAA Publications, 2004.
- M. Carroll, E. Rykken, and J. Sorensen, "The Canadians Should Have Won!?" Math Horizons, February 2003.
- M. Carroll, M. Jones, and E. Rykken, “The Wallet Paradox Revisited,” Mathematics Magazine, Volume 74, No. 5, December 2001.
Over the years, I have had the good fortune to work with our students on independent studies in such varied topics as: group theory and chemistry, root group theory, remote sensing and linear algebra, coding theory (co-supervised with Linda McGuire), Galois theory, abstract algebra II, and extensions of the Pythagorean theorem into non-Euclidean geometries (CUE). Several of these independent studies resulted in student presentations at regional conferences. The most recent project also resulted in a joint publication. I co-authored the article “Constructions on the Sphere” with Myles Dworkin (class of 2015) and it appeared in Math Horizons in 2016.
Mathematics, Computer Science & Statistics
Contact: elynrykken@muhlenberg.edu