Margaret Menzin
Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics and Program Director of Mathematics and Statistics
I have a joint appointment in both the Mathematics & Statistics and the Computer Science & Informatics programs.
Naturally, I am also interested in where those fields intersect – including cryptography and "big data" – and in pedagogical issues related to those fields.
I am particularly interested in pedagogical issues centered on teaching students to become independent learners and am always eager to experiment with new approaches to teaching. In the recent past, this has included the use of writing, small group learning, teaching without textbooks (i.e. from professional books and articles), hybrid learning and flipped classrooms.
Not surprisingly, my efforts include using mathematics to reinforce students' understanding of computer science and vice-versa, and, more generally, integrated teaching of multiple fields. For example, at http://web.simmons.edu/~menzin/Sage/ you will find my notes for using the Sage software platform in Linear Algebra. Most recently I have been team teaching a course on bio-informatics with a biochemist (teaching integrated science is very exciting), and I am spearheading the College's data science initiative.
In Mathematics itself my interests focus broadly on abstract algebra and also on financial mathematics.
In Computer Science my interests focus on web programming and applications, on database, and on health informatics / bio-informatics.
If you are curious about the field of computer science, you might enjoy my OMG: CS.
Finally, I have done a lot of work encouraging young women to pursue careers in mathematics and computer science.
Education
- M.S., Ph. D. Brandeis University
- B.A. Swarthmore College
What I Teach
- Math 118 Introduction to Statistics
- Math 210 Discrete Mathematics
- Math 211 Linear Algebra
- Math 310 Modern Algebra
- Math 319 Introduction to Financial Mathematics
- Math 343 Mathematical Modeling
- CS 321 Web Centric Programming and Web Technologies
- CS 333 Data Base Management Systems
- Honors 101 Using Computers to Investigate Disease
- IT 225 Health Informatics
- IT 320 Web Services and Web-Centric Programming
Older version of CS321 with more web services and less Ajax and jQuery
Research/Creative Activities
I maintain a highly regarded annotated bibliography for web programming at http://web.simmons.edu/~menzin/WebCentricResources.html.
My other more recent publications may be found on ResearchGate.net