About our authors
Marvin Bittinger has been teaching math at the university level for more than 38 years. Since 1968, he has been employed at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, and is now professor emeritus of mathematics education. Professor Bittinger has authored over 250 publications on topics ranging from basic mathematics to algebra and trigonometry to applied calculus. He received his BA in mathematics from Manchester College and his PhD in mathematics education from Purdue University. Special honors include Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy and his election to the Manchester College Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1999. His hobbies include hiking in Utah, baseball, golf, and bowling. Professor Bittinger has also had the privilege of speaking at many mathematics conventions, most recently giving a lecture entitled "Baseball and Mathematics." He also has an interest in philosophy and theology, particularly apologetics. Professor Bittinger currently lives in Carmel, Indiana with his wife Elaine. He has 2 grown and married sons, Lowell and Chris, and 4 granddaughters.
David Ellenbogen has taught math at the college level for over 30 years, spending most of that time in the Massachusetts and Vermont community college systems, where he has served on both curriculum and developmental math committees. He has also taught at St. Michael's College and the University of Vermont. Professor Ellenbogen has been active in the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges since 1985, having served on its Developmental Mathematics Committee and as a Vermont state delegate. He has been a member of the Mathematical Association of America since 1979, has authored dozens of publications on topics ranging from prealgebra to calculus, and has delivered lectures at numerous conferences on the use of language in mathematics. Professor Ellenbogen received his BA in mathematics from Bates College and his MA in community college mathematics education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a certificate of graduate study in Ecological Economics from the University of Vermont. Professor Ellenbogen has a deep love for the environment and the outdoors, and serves on the boards of 3 nonprofit organizations in his home state of Vermont. In his spare time, he enjoys playing jazz piano, hiking, biking and skiing. He has 2 sons, Monroe and Zack.
Scott Surgent received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from the University of California - Riverside, and has taught mathematics at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona since 1994. He is an avid sports fan and has authored books on hockey, baseball, and hiking. Scott enjoys hiking and climbing the mountains of the western United States. He was active in search and rescue, including 6 years as an Emergency Medical Technician with the Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office) from 1998 until 2004. Scott and his wife Beth live in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Gene Kramer received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati, where he researched the well-posedness of initial-boundary value problems for nonlinear wave equations. He is currently a professor of mathematics at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College. He is active in scholarship of teaching and learning research and is a member of the Academy of the Fellows for Teaching and Learning at the University of Cincinnati. He is a co-founder and an editor for The Journal for Research and Practice in College Teaching and serves as a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission.
