James D. Harper: A brief mathematical bio

Even though I grew up in Southern California my higher education has been in the Pacific Northwest. I earned my Bachelors in Mathematics at Humboldt State University (Arcata, CA) in 1978. This was followed by one year of graduate work at U.C. Berkeley and then five years of graduate work at the University of Oregon where I was awarded my Ph.D. in that Orwellian year 1984. My dissertation, Analysis on Hypergroups, integrated hypergroups with ergodic theory.

My teaching experience began as a GTF (Graduate Teaching Fellow) at Oregon. During those five years I taught precalculus , calculus and discrete mathematics. After I earned my Ph.D. I accepted a job at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. The long cold winters in central Minnesota encouraged me to move back to the Pacific Northwest. My second teaching job was a one year stint (1987-88) at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. I have been teaching at CWU since (Fall) 1988.

At Central I have taught the full spectrum of classes from remedial to graduate courses. Some of my favorite courses to teach are: Math 260 (Sets & Logic), Math 430 (Number Theory) and any calculus course.

Mathematics is my profession and one of my hobbies. Here are some of my favorite mathematical interests:

· Infinite Series

· Coding and Encryption

· Elementary Number Theory

· Recreational Mathematics (this is not an oxymoron)

Favorite Number: 2592

(Reason: )

Favorite Series: