Honors and Awards

The Mathematics and Computer Science Department confers several annual and occasional awards.

Graduation with Honors in Mathematics or Honors in Computer Science is awarded to students who complete a rigorous curriculum with high standards and produce a significant honors thesis.

Annually, the department awards (listed below) the McGavock Award to a particularly outstanding senior major, and the Vinson Award to a particularly promising sophomore in mathematics. The Jackson Award includes a partial scholarship and is given biannually to a rising junior mathematics major.

Honors In Mathematics & Honors In Computer Science

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science grants honors to graduating students with outstanding records of accomplishment in mathematics or computer science, as demonstrated in three areas:

breadth of curriculum,
quality of academic performance, and
significance of scholarly project.

Students should read the department's honors document (PDF) that explains the process to become an honors candidate. Candidates must:

complete a specified selection of courses,
attain a minimum overall GPA of 3.2, as well as a GPA of at least 3.5 on all courses that either fulfill a major requirement, or a course requirement for honors, and
undertake advanced work, supervised by a faculty member, culminating in a thesis successfully defended before a departmental committee.

Additionally, the department may choose to confer high honors upon a candidate who displays unusual independence and initiative, develops original results, and clearly and rigorously communicates these via a high-quality thesis and oral defense.

Those previously awarded Honors are listed below with name, thesis title, and year, *indicates High Honors was awarded. Theses may usually be found in the college library or departmental collection.

Williams, Niall, Estimation and Comparison of Rotation Gain Thresholds for Redirected Walking, 2019*
Williams, Savannah, Zero Forcing Polynomials: Mapping Spiders to Paths, 2019*
Tenpas, Nathaniel, Additive 3–Choosability of Planar Graphs, 2018*
Chu, Jairui, Random Visibility in Unit Bars, 2017*
Xue, Chenxiao, Learning a Branching Heuristic for SAT Solving, 2016*
Jai, Kai, Matchings in Lex and Colex Graphs, 2016
Reith, Thomas, Motif-based Clustering of Directed Networks, 2015*
Williams, Ty, An Introduction to the Ideal Class Group, and a Comparison of Bounds on its Size, 2015
Yan, Fangning (Richard), Expected peak sidelobe level of random sequences, 2015
Mohorn, Matt, An Introduction to Graph Pebbling, 2014
Bernstein, Daniel, Algorithmic Definitions of Singular Functions, 2013
Poff, Corey, Pathology in Upper Confidence Bounds Applied to Trees, 2013*
Thomson, Colin, A Hierarchy of Chaotic Topological Dynamics, 2013
Yang, Chang (Kyle), The Bordeaux 3-color Conjecture and Near Coloring, 2013*
Larson, Karen, Unwapping Rap: Classification of Drum Patterns in Rap Songs, 2012
Altman, Ben, Higher-Order Automatic Differentiation of Multivariate Functions in MATLAB, 2010
Oberst, Sarah, A Mathematical Model of Malaria, 2010
Daves, Rosa Katie, Skyline Augmented Fillings, 2008
Topaz, Adam, On the Galois Module Structure of Square Classes of Maximal Elementary Abelian 2-Extensions, 2008*
Compeau, Phillip E.C. III, Cycles in Pancake Graphs, 2008*
Dovidio, Nicholas A., Analysis and Applications of PageRank, HITS, the Vector Space Model, SALSA and Rank Correlation Techniques, 2007
Helms, John A., An Adventure into Applied Abstract Algebra: Exploring the Rubik's Cube, 2007
Cain, Nicholas, CMMI: Committee Machine Motif Identification using Artificial Neural Networks, 2006
Chemotti, Frank, Galois module structure for square classes of units in Klein 4-group extensions, 2005
McLean, Rob, Curves of constant geodesic curvature in the hyperbolic plane, 2003*
Schultz, Andrew C., Galois module structure of Kx / Kxp for K / F cyclic of degree pn, 2002*
Smith (Dunsmuir), Amy M., Basins of roots and periodicity in Newton's method for cubic polynomials, 2000
More' (Grant), Maria M., Two gems of complex analysis: the Riemann mapping theorem and the uniformization theorem, 1997
Young, Scott W., Methods for calculating Taylor polynomials easily and efficiently, 1997
Onkey, Richard, On the edge-transitivity of circulant graphs, 1996
Mubayi, Dhruv, Algorithms for Degree Sequences of Graphs and Score Sequences of Partially Oriented Graphs, 1995*
DeSilva, Harin, Mathematical models in inventory theory, 1992
Alyea, David, Queueing theory, 1988
Simpson, L. Taylor, Concepts of compiler construction, 1986
VanDeventer, Hank, Catastrophe theory for beginners, 1985
Morrisett (Clark), Julia L. Octads, 1985
Spangler, Thomas C., Some geometry and topology of geometric surfaces, 1980*
Wong, Fai, Statistics: an overview, 1979
Gaynor, J.W., The theory of games, 1978

The Senior Computer Science Awards

The Senior Computer Science Award is given to that member of the senior class who has demonstrated the greatest promise and accomplishment in computer science during his or her Davidson career. The award is given by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science annually, when it feels that there are qualified candidates. This award is sponsored by the Bernard Society of Mathematics.

2019 Niall L. Williams
2018 Andrew S. Becker
2018 Haoze (Andrew) Wu

The Sophomore Computer Science Award

The Sophomore Computer Science Award recognizes unusual mastery of the field of computer science exhibited through the sophomore year, and for significant promise for further study. This award is sponsored by the Bernard Society of Mathematics.

2018 Roxana G. Hayne

The William G. McGavock Award

The William Gillespie McGavock Mathematics Award is given to that member of the senior class who has demonstrated the greatest promise and accomplishment in mathematics during his or her Davidson career. The award is given by the Mathematics Department annually, when it feels that there are qualified candidates.

Honored by the award is Professor William Gillespie McGavock, greatly loved professor of mathematics, whose tenure on the faculty at Davidson College ranged over the period 1934 to 1975. The award is intended to reflect Professor McGavock's deep and genuine interest in the mathematical abilities and accomplishments of his students. It recognizes as well Professor McGavock's devotion to Davidson College and the superior quality of his contribution to the development of mathematical studies here.

2019 Savannah E. Williams
2018 Erica N. Shook
2018 Nathan J. Tenpas
2017 Jairui Chu
2016 Chenxiao Xue
2016 Courtney S. Cochrane
2015 Samuel T. Castle
2014 Derek J. Marsh
2013 Daniel I. Bernstein
2012 Karen R. Larson
2011 Daniel A. Martin
2010 Benjamin B. Altman
2009 James O. Dixon
2008 Phillip E.C. Compeau III and Adam Topaz
2007 Timothy D. Rankin
2006 Lesley R. Attkisson
2005 Frank A. Chemotti
2004 Alexander B. Sibley
2003 Robert A. McLean
2002 Andrew C. Schultz
2001 Randall R. Skattum
2000 Margaret A. Latterner
1999 Jennifer A. Kazmarek
1998 Dominick J. Talvacchio
1997 Maria Michela Moré
1996 Richard H. Onkey
1995 Dhruv Mubayi
1994 Andrew John Haile & Erin Elizabeth Lang
1993 Harin Ananda DeSilva
1992 Erik S. Moledor
1991 Mark A. Pospesel
1990 Mathijs H. Brentjens
1989 Thomas R. Whipple
1988 David H. Alyea
1987 Michael A. McDonald
1986 G. Griffith Elder, Jr.
1985 Julia Lynn Morrisett & Hendrick W. Van Deventer
1984 Eric E. Fink & Hunter K. Monroe
1983 Laura G. Singleton
1982 Mark B. Phillips
1980 Thomas C. Spangler
1979 Fai Wong
1978 T.C. Pinckney
1977 Cory W. Young
1976 Mark A. Postove

The William D. Vinson Award

The William D. Vinson Mathematics Award is given to a rising junior and recognizes unusual mastery of the field and significant promise for further study.

The award was established by the Vinson family in memory of William Daniel Vinson, LL.D., who was Professor of Mathematics at Davidson from 1883 until 1897.

2018 Man (Max) Li
2017 Arthur Chen
2016 Nathan J. Tenpas
2015 Erica N. Shook
2014 Chenxiao (Simon) Xue
2013 Fangning (Richard) Yan
2012 Christopher J. Gorman
2011 Chang (Kyle) Yang
2010 Paul P. Britton
2009 Mali Zhang
2008 Benjamin B. Altman
2007 Kent C. Ford
2006 Daniel D. Orr
2005 Mary E. Hobart
2004 Garrett M. Monda
2003 Frank A. Chemotti
2002 Martin G. Turner
2001 Adriel W. Cornman
2000 William L. Herring
1999 Sam Steinmann
1998 Sandra Joan Bishop
1997 Emily Anne Katzfey
1996 Dominick J. Talvacchio & Yang You
1995 Chloe Ingrid Bracis
1994 Richard Hugh Onkey
1993 Dhruv Mubayi
1992 Erin Elizabeth Lang
1991 Harin Ananda DeSilva
1990 Alice Catherine Hicks
1989 Suresh Kumar Acharya
1988 Douglas Alan Hicks
1987 Anne Elizabeth Bryson

The R. Bruce Jackson Jr. Award

The R. Bruce Jackson, Jr., Mathematics Award is given to a rising junior mathematics major who has demonstrated great promise in mathematics and its application. The award is given by the Mathematics Department once every two years when it determines that there are qualified candidates.

This award honors R. Bruce Jackson, Jr., long-time member of the Mathematics Department (1956-95) and chair (1978-83). He led a strengthening of the curriculum in probability and statistics, reflecting his interest in applicable mathematics in the liberal arts setting. The award recognizes Prof. Jackson's leadership in College matters and his legendary devotion to students, from beginners to majors.

2018 Chuhan (Lawrence) Guo
2016 Haoze (Andrew) Wu
2014 Courtney S. Cochrane
2012 Phillip D. Wall
2010 Shashank Suresh
2008 Benjamin B. Altman
2006 Phillip E.C. Compeau III