The Muhlenberg Weekly

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News

It's no secret that the famed Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler is one of Dr. William Dunham's idols. As the Truman Koehler Professor of Mathematics here at Muhlenberg (named to honor Truman Koehler, an influential former mathematics professor at the College), Dr. Dunham regards Euler as a pioneer in the field of mathematics. Euler was a "phenomenal, towering figure," Dunham says, "and he influenced about every branch on the subject."

Dr. Dunham's admiration for Leonhard Euler is what inspired him to write a 1999 book entitled Euler: The Master of Us All, a significant work that was recently awarded the prestigious Beckenback prize. An award given by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the Beckenback is presented to a MAA-published book that the association views as holding a special significance in the field of mathematics. Dr. Dunham accepted his award earlier this month at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, an annual national meeting of the MAA, the AMS (American Mathematical Society), and SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) that brings together over 5,000 individuals from the field of mathematics.

Writing Euler: The Master of Us All had been a rather long journey for Dr. Dunham, one that began at an early 1990's meeting of the MAA at Ohio State University. Don Albers, who at the time was the head of publication for the MAA, had been impressed by Dr. Dunham's first book, Journey Through Genius, and asked him if he would write another book for the MAA. Dunham not only could write about whatever he wanted, but he also had all the time that he needed to come up with the material.

It took Dr. Dunham almost a decade, but after becoming more and more familiar with Euler he paired his admiration for the mathematician with his own self-described passion for the history of mathematics to arrive at his topic. Euler: The Master of Us All was Dunham's attempt to show the mathematically literate reader why Euler was considered the Shakespeare of the discipline, describing the format of the book as, "I'm claiming this guy is great, I'm claiming this guy is brilliant, now let me give you an example."

Dr. Dunham received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and he went on to receive both his Masters and PhD from Ohio State University. He taught for many years at Hanover College in Indiana and served as a visiting professor at Ohio State before coming to Muhlenberg in 1992. This upcoming fall he will be a visiting professor at Harvard, where he will teach a class on none other than Euler himself.

Just as this astounding mathematician influenced Dr. Dunham, Euler: The Master of Us All will serve as an eternal tribute to Euler that will undoubtedly go on to motivate the lives and work of future mathematicians. "I was very grateful to receive the Beckenback award," Dr. Dunham adds, "and over the past years I've also been honored to serve as the Koehler professor here at Muhlenberg."

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