Dr. Carl Gardner

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This semester I have been fortunate to have Dr. Carl Gardner as my Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations professor. Dr. Gardner received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institue of Technology in 1981 and is a faculty Professor for the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. 

Not surprisingly, in 2017, Dr. Gardner received the Charles Wexler Teaching Award, an award presented to an outstanding teacher of undergraduate mathematics. He is incredibly brilliant, patient and inspirational and it is these qualities that encourage all of his students to be better than they are.

What do you like best/worst about being a professor? 

I love both teaching and research, especially at ASU.  I would basically do this job for free!  (However, I do not enjoy grading or committee meetings!)

Why did you decide to enter your field?

When I was six years old, in our local park one night, I saw a gigantic meteor flash across the sky.  I decided then that I wanted to be an astronomer!  Later I focussed on theoretical physics and then applied mathematics.

What is the most surprising thing about your field to you?
The enormous progress in computing power and visualization.  When I first started using computers in 12th grade, we had a teletype terminal to a mainframe, with graphics as *'s printed on a roll of teletype paper, and programs stored on "punch tape" paper!

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