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Two Holy Cross professors
in the department of mathematics and computer science have
been awarded research grants totaling more than $429,000
from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Constance Royden,
assistant professor of computer science, received an award
in the amount of $297,365 for her project, “Cortical
Processing of Moving Objects by Moving Observers.” Her
research, which looks specifically at the brain mechanisms
involved in human vision, will use computer models to examine
how people locate and determine the direction of moving objects
when they themselves are moving. The results will be useful
in understanding how drivers make judgments about the motion
of other cars or pedestrians. In addition, the project will
be helpful in policy decisions regarding drivers and traffic
rules.
Royden, who earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University
of California, San Francisco, and her bachelor’s degree
in biology and engineering from the California Institute
of Technology, has taught at Wellesley (Mass.) College; she
was also a postdoctoral fellow at the
School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley,
and at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Thomas Cecil, professor of mathematics,
received a $132,000 award for his project, “RUI: Differential
Geometry of Submanifolds.” This award marks his eighth
research grant from the NSF. Cecil’s research is in
the mathematical area of differential geometry. Closely related
to relativity theory in physics, differential geometry uses
calculus and linear algebra to examine geometric objects. Cecil
is particularly interested in the study of submanifolds,
geometric objects that are contained in larger geometric
spaces, including curves and surfaces. Recently, certain
types of submanifolds have been associated with computer-aided
geometric design. During the period of the grant, Cecil will
supervise one undergraduate research assistant for each of
the next three summers. The students will complete an independent
study and write an honors thesis based on their research. Over
the past 15 years, 13 students have written undergraduate
theses in geometry under Cecil's direction, most of whom
have continued their work at the graduate school level.
Cecil earned his Ph.D. in differential geometry from Brown
University, Providence, R.I., and his bachelor’s degree
in mathematics from Holy Cross. A member of the Holy Cross
faculty since 1978, he is the author of several journal articles
and two books, and co-editor (with S.S. Chern) of a third
book, Tight and Taut Submanifolds.
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