Owen Byer

POSITION: Professor; Program Director - Mathematics and Computer Science

DEPARTMENT: Mathematics and Computer Science

LOCATION: Main Campus, Harrisonburg | SSC 019G

PHONE: (540) 432-4642

Owen earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with secondary certification at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., a master’s degree and Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Delaware, and a master's degree in Applied Statistics at Penn State University. Owen taught for three years at Northwestern College (Iowa) before coming to EMU, where he has taught for 23 years.

Owen’s graduate training is in combinatorics (graph theory, specifically), and he co-authored a Discrete Math textbook, published by MAA/AMS in 2018. In addition, he wrote a geometry textbook, Methods for Euclidan Geometry, published by MAA in 2010, with a second edition published by Dover Publications in 2021. His hobbies include playing disc golf, basketball, bridge, and a variety of board games. Owen and his wife, Barbara, have two adult children, Cameron and Lily.

Owen is the chair of EMU’s Mathematical Sciences Department, which includes the mathematics and computer science.

Education

PHD, University of Delaware (Mathematics)
MS, University of Delaware (Mathematics)
BA, Messiah University (Mathematics)
MAS, Penn State University (Applied Statistics)

Publications
Methods for Euclidean Geometry, 2nd Edition (joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer and Felix Lazebnik), Dover Publications, 2021.
Journey into Discrete Mathematics (joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer and Kenny Wantz), AMS/MAA Press, November 2018.
Finding polygonal areas with the Corset Theorem, College Mathematics Journal, Volume 48 (May 2017), pp. 171-178, joint with Stuart M. Anderson.
A Guide to Mathematics Competency, 6th edition, a 100-page text used in EMU’s former Foundations of Mathematics course.
Mutually Tangent Spheres in n-space, Math Magazine, Volume 88 (April 2015), pp. 146-150, joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer.
A 3-D Analog of Steiner’s Porism, Math Magazine, Volume 87 (April 2014), pp. 95-99, joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer.
Methods for Euclidean Geometry, a 480-page textbook, Mathematical Association of America, 2010, joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer and Felix Lazebnik.
Exploring Loci in Geometry, Proceedings of the Sixteenth Conference of the ACMS (2007), pp 114-140, joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer.
Edge bounds in nonhamiltonian k-connected graphs, Discrete Mathematics 307 (2007), pp.1572-1579, joint with Deirdre L. Smeltzer.
Observations on the Indeterminacy of the Sample Correlation Coefficient, College Mathematics Journal, Volume 33 (September 2002), pp. 320-322.
Mental Arithmetic, Finding Squares, Mathematics Teacher, Volume 6 (September 2002), page 406.
Maximum Number of 3-paths in a Graph, ARS Combinatoria, Volume 61 (2001), pp. 73-79.
Two Path Extremal Graphs and an Application to a Ramsey-type Problem, Discrete Mathematics, Volume 196 (1999), pp. 51-64.
Some New Bounds on the Maximum Number of Vertex Colorings of a (v,e)-Graph, Journal of Graph Theory, Volume 28 (1998), pp. 115-128.
Maximum Number of 4-cliques in a 4-partite Graph, Volume 21 (1997), pp. 27-32.
Church, Community and Professional Service
(2020-2021 Academic Year only)
- Reviewer for Math Reviews, AMS
- MAA Committee on the Earle Raymond Hedrick Lectures
Professional Memberships
- Mathematical Association of America
- Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences
Professional Conferences Attended
(2020 - 2021 only)
- MAA MD/DC/VA Sectional meeting, April 2021.
EMU Service
(2020-21 Academic Year only)
- Chair of Mathematical Sciences Department.

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