Zachary Harris, who graduated from Niagara University in May with a dual major in mathematics and philosophy, co-authored a math research paper with Joel Louwsma, assistant professor of mathematics, which was published in Involve, a journal of mathematics, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 345-355.
“On Arithmetical Structures on Complete Graphs” uses techniques from number theory and combinatorics to explore how one can have a collection of numbers such that each of these numbers divides the sum of the numbers. Harris obtained most of the results described in this paper while funded by an undergraduate student summer support grant from the Niagara University Research Council. He first presented these results in January 2019 at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore, Md., the largest mathematics conference in the world
“I enjoyed the experience of going beyond what is taught in the classroom, discovering something brand new, and learning something about math I wouldn’t have gotten just in classes,” said Harris, who will begin a master’s degree program at Niagara University in secondary math education this fall. "This project will have a great deal of impact, not only giving me experience and credentials for my future career, but also making me interested in doing more research in the future."
"Zachary has great enthusiasm for mathematics, and it was a privilege to be able to work with him on this project," said Louwsma. "This work has attracted the attention of other scholars, including a researcher from a major university who wanted to know more about it.”
Involve is considered the premier mathematics journal that focuses on student research. It showcases and encourages high-quality mathematical research involving students from all academic levels, bridging the gap between purely undergraduate-research journals and mainstream research journals and providing a venue to mathematicians wishing to encourage the creative involvement of students.