Junior Tom Helmuth from Wooster, Ohio, wants to take a number theory class. Unfortunately for Helmuth, Hamilton's math department does not currently offer one and so Helmuth turned to Professor of Computer Science Richard Decker in his pursuit of prime numbers. Advised by Decker, Helmuth spent this summer doing interdisciplinary research that combined his two majors of math and computer science as he investigated primality testing and factorization algorithms.
Primality testing is the testing of large numbers to determine whether or not they are primes. Factorization is the breaking down of large numbers into their component primes. While these are both mathematical concepts, they can also be applied to computer science, where programs are designed to perform both of these functions. Helmuth interacted with both of these algorithms this summer as pure math concepts he hoped to understand and as tasks for computer programs he planed to write.
Helmuth viewed his summer work as a learning process; both a research project and hands-on practice at writing complex programs. He spent part of his time learning necessary skills in both math and programming, and reading current papers. "The point wasn't really to find new things…but to learn about existing methods."
"I've always loved prime numbers," Helmuth said. Although these numbers have been researched for "literally thousands of years," they are still in many ways a new field and research into understanding them continues. Helmuth enjoyed his first summer of research and is considering using his work this summer as part of his senior thesis.
During the year, Helmuth is a DJ with WHCL, a member of the Scottish Country Dancing club, and founding member of Hamilton's new competitive computer science programming team. He plans to attend graduate school for computer science after he leaves Hamilton, with a possible future in academics and research.
His work this summer was funded by the research stipend of his Bristol Scholarship, a merit award that recognizes Hamilton's strongest applicants by meeting their full financial need without loan for four years. Bristol Scholars also receive substantial research funding to be used before graduation.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
Primality testing is the testing of large numbers to determine whether or not they are primes. Factorization is the breaking down of large numbers into their component primes. While these are both mathematical concepts, they can also be applied to computer science, where programs are designed to perform both of these functions. Helmuth interacted with both of these algorithms this summer as pure math concepts he hoped to understand and as tasks for computer programs he planed to write.
Helmuth viewed his summer work as a learning process; both a research project and hands-on practice at writing complex programs. He spent part of his time learning necessary skills in both math and programming, and reading current papers. "The point wasn't really to find new things…but to learn about existing methods."
"I've always loved prime numbers," Helmuth said. Although these numbers have been researched for "literally thousands of years," they are still in many ways a new field and research into understanding them continues. Helmuth enjoyed his first summer of research and is considering using his work this summer as part of his senior thesis.
During the year, Helmuth is a DJ with WHCL, a member of the Scottish Country Dancing club, and founding member of Hamilton's new competitive computer science programming team. He plans to attend graduate school for computer science after he leaves Hamilton, with a possible future in academics and research.
His work this summer was funded by the research stipend of his Bristol Scholarship, a merit award that recognizes Hamilton's strongest applicants by meeting their full financial need without loan for four years. Bristol Scholars also receive substantial research funding to be used before graduation.
-- by Lisbeth Redfield
