Scott Roy

College of Science

Mathematics and Statistics

After spending part of the winter break solving the problem using an approach described by Professor David Brown (Department of Mathematics & Statistics) as being “the mark of a true Mathematician,” Scott Roy began undergraduate research studies under Dr. Brown’s direction. In his next study, Scott determined the Boolean rank of an upset tournament matrix, which had been a problem under investigation by prominent Mathematicians for more than 20 years. His novel solution was published in the prestigious and highly visible journal Linear Algebra and its Applications. Scott also presented the results of this work at the Mathematical Association of America Conference in Cedar City, Utah in April 2011. His work continues with studies of the Boolean rank of other classes of matrices. Professor Brown describes Scott as having “very clever ways of getting around all of the hurdles which proved too high for his predecessors,” which have included faculty members and graduate students. Brown goes on to say that Scott is “so thirsty for Math that when stymied by one problem, he simply picks up another problem and works on that one.”