Number Theory

Peter D. Schumer is the John C. Baldwin Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at Middlebury College. He received his B.S and M.S. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D. from University of Maryland. He has held research and teaching positions at UC Berkeley, Stanford, UC San Diego, San Jose State U, and at Doshisha U, Keio U, and ICU in Japan. His main areas of interest are number theory and the history of mathematics. His courses vary from calculus, linear algebra, and the mathematics of games and puzzles to combinatorics, complex analysis, and advanced number theory. He has directed more than fifty senior projects and theses in related areas. His scholarly work has appeared in Mathematika, Journal of Number Theory, Math Horizons, College Mathematics Journal, and elsewhere. He has published two books, Introduction to Number Theory (PWS, 1996) and Mathematical Journeys (Wiley, 2004). His book Fractions – A Sliver of the Story will be release this year (OUP, 2024). He has also written articles for general audiences on when humans first began to count and the origins of the letter x in algebra. He is a recipient of the Trevor Evans Award from the MAA on an article about the mathematician Paul Erdos (2000). He also teaches courses on the game of go and its cultural significance and has been awarded the national Teacher of the Year award from the American Go Association (2021).