Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Part-time Wheaton College Science Center, Room 101A TEL (508) 286-3973 e-mail: jsklensk@wheatonma.edu When am I here? Check my schedule (Last modified: Friday, August 22, 2008, 2:40 PM )

• Abstract Algebra
• Math 199: Independent Study (Precalculus)

Previous Semesters

Educational Background

• M.S., Ph.D.: Mathematics, Northwestern University
  
• A.B.: Applied Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley

Teaching Interests

• Abstract Algebra and Linear Algebra
  
• Calculus, with an emphasis on understanding the concepts, and how to use them
  
• Math and Art
  

For the last several years, I've been working on creating a course in Math and Art, connected to one of the Art History courses. This course has been very fun for me, but also challenging as I began with essentially no background in art. Topics I've covered in this class in the past have been: systems of proportion in art and architecture, creating works of art using the golden ratio, and ways to determine whether other artists intentionally used it in their art, perspective, using mathematical symmetry to classify works of art, the 4th dimension and non-Euclidean geometry and how they influenced many of the cubists, and fractals. Next, I'll be investigating tessellations and their connection to Islamic art.

All of my classes go well beyond rote problem-solving. I encourage my students to learn to read and write mathematically, and to work on open-ended problems in addition to the more traditional problems. In Calculus, I ask my students to respond to questions on the reading, via e-mail, every night, which has the dual purpose of helping me identify potential trouble spots and helping students learn to read math texts. In most of my classes, the students work on open-ended problems and write papers explaining their results. In Abstract Algebra, each student "adopted" a group and focused on it throughout the semester, with their work culminating in a final paper, while in Calculus, the students work in groups to solve problems proposed to them by "clients", and then they describe their results in a letter to the client.

Research Interests

• For my dissertation, I focused on Commutative Ring Theory and Homological Algebra. My aim was to extend the idea of divisibility. Ordinarily, one cannot discuss the concept of a divisible element unless the ring is a domain. I was interested in whether there was a way to define divisibility which does not require the ring to be a domain. This question led me to consider the behavior of families of ideals, and torsionality.

• I am currently catching up on the connections between math and art, and plan to continue to expand my horizons in this area.

Personal Interests

• Who has time for interests and hobbies?! But I enjoy spending what free time I do have with my husband Tommy Ratliff, who is also in Wheaton's math department, and our two children. We enjoy heading out to the cape, camping, biking and otherwise having a good time. Since buying a house, I have re-discovered the joys of hanging out with great neighbors, as well as painting walls which for some reason I've always found to be very soothing, and have found a previously unsuspected interest in gardening and its counter-part -- yanking out unwanted brambles and seedlings in the back woods. To keep fit, I do strength-trainging, yoga, and aerobics; I squeeze in biking and in-line skating when the weather's good and I have time. And, of course, I love to read, and can rarely be found without a book close-by!