Jennifer Quinn

Professor ; Graduate Faculty
Quinn, Jennifer

Contact information

Dept: Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Room: WCG 435
Phone: 253-692-4794
Email: jjquinn@u.washington.edu

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Combinatorics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1993.
  • M.S., Pure Mathematics, University of Illinois, Chicago, 1987.
  • B.A., Mathematics and Biology, Williams College, 1985.

Biography

My research focuses on combinatorics, graph theory, and combinatorial matrix theory. I like to count---by that I mean finding concrete counting contexts that lead to clever combinatorial proofs of algebraic identities. Just prior to starting at UWT, I served as Executive Director of the Association for Women in Mathematics. Before that, I taught at Occidental College in Los Angeles for twelve years where I achieved the rank of Professor and served as Department Chair. I have co-authored dozens of research articles but am most proud of my book *Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof* co-authored with Arthur Benjamin. It received the 2006 Beckenbach Book Prize from the Mathematical Association of America for outstanding exposition. Currently I co-edit *Math Horizons*, a magazine for undergraduate math enthusiasts. At UWT, I teach the Precalculus, Calculus I, II, & III, Matrix Algebra, and anything else that we develop along the way.

Selected Publications

  • A.T. Benjamin and J.J. Quinn, Proofs that Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof, Mathematical Association of America, Washington, D.C. (2003).
  • A.T. Benjamin and J.J. Quinn, An alternate approach to alternating sums: a method to DIE for, College Math. Journal (2008), to appear.
  • A.T. Benjamin, J.J. Quinn, J.A. Sellars, and M.A. Shattuck, Paint it black-combinatorial yawp, Mathematics Magazine 81.1 (2008) 45-50.
  • A.T. Benjmain, N.T. Cameron, and J.J. Quinn, Fibonacci determinants-A combinatorial approach, Fibonacci Quarterly 45.1 (2007) 39-55.
  • J.J. Quinn and J.T. Tobiska, Generalizing the Quinn-Wojs Theorem on distinct multiplets of composite fermions, Discrete Math., 300 (2005)152-162.
  • A.T. Benjamin and J.J. Quinn, Mathematics The Fibonacci numbers-exposed more discretely, Math Magazine, 76.3 (2003) 182-192.
  • A.T. Benjamin, G. Preston, and J.J. Quinn, A Stirling encounter with harmonic numbers, Mathematics Magazine, 75.2 (2002) 95-103.
  • A.T. Benjamin, J.J. Quinn, J.J. Quinn, and A.Wojs, Composite fermions and integer partitions, J. Combinatorial Theory A 95.2 (2001) 390-397.