A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2006
Who's Who at
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Bangere Purnaprajna Associate Professor of Mathematics
Bangere Purnapraja, associate professor of mathematics isn't just the recipient of a 2005 Kemper Award, he also has a passion for math and music that takes him far and wide.
For 25 years Pur-
For 25 years naprajna has bee playing the Indian classical violin and has played everywhere. He recently did a lecture and demonstration before the Ravi Shankar performance at the Lied Center. Purnaprajna also has a CD coming out soon called "Meditation" that he recorded in Los Angeles three years ago.
He said that his enthusiasm for music and math is in part because they are both abstract and are both part of science and art.
"It is true that while I improvise on my violin, I am essentially drawing symmetrical patterns on the finger board of the violin. These symmetrical patterns are intuitive spatial symmetries that I 'see' when I play and I am very faithful to them." Purnaprama said.
He has been teaching undergraduate calculus, honors
His sabbatical starts on March 12. Purnaprajna will leave Kansas, his home for
taught the 996 level algebraic geometry course, the focus of his sabbatical, three years ago.
six years, to do mathematical research. His first stop will be to his alma mater, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, India. He will then attend
calculus, modern algebra and a graduate level algebraic geometry course since 1998, when he first arrived at the University of Kansas. He
two international conferences in Germany and France before he works with fellow math professors at the Third University of Rome.
Upon his return, he plans to go.
Upon his return, he plans to collaborate with his graduate students and he said he hopes to teach the 996 class once again. He has students taking a reading course on algebraic geometry. He also boasts of his first student who will complete his master's degree on the subject this Mav.
"I am coming to believe that one can teach very little to a person, one can only invoke already hidden passion in each student and that is what I try my best to do. Nope the pas
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
sion for learning and inquiry is lit in a student, nothing can stop them. Purnaprajna said.
State senator visits campus
SPEAKER
Sen. Jim Barnett speaks to a group of students Tuesday in the Kansas Room in the Union. Barnett is a candidate for governor. If elected, he aims to reduce taxes and reform the state's spending.
BY FRED A. DAVIS III
fdavis@kansan.com
KANSAN SCIENCE WRITER
State Senator Jim Barnett says he has a plan to get Kansas' economic engine running. He just needs enough votes to replace incumbent Kathleen Sebelius as governor to turn the key.
Barnett, R-Emporia, a state senator since 2000 and chairman of the Senate Public Health and Wellfare committee, spoke for nearly 60 minutes last night to a group of about 45 people at the Kansas Union, touching on topics ranging from state taxes to stemcell research. Barnett's speech was the second in the KU College Republican's gubernatorial candidate series.
Using a variety of charts to emphasize Kansas' woeful economic standing in comparison to the rest of the United States, Barnett stressed a need for Kansas to decrease taxes in order to bring more businesses to the state.
One way he proposed doing that was by implementing a 10 percent investment tax credit that could be used by businesses of any size. The tax credit would allow businesses save 10 percent in taxes on money it spent on improvements. Barnett, a physician, used the example of a $300,000 electronic medical record upgrade he made to his private practice in Emporia. With the credit, $30,000 would be saved at tax time.
"With a tax credit and lower taxes, businesses will come to Kansas," Barnett said, citing the need for Kansas to ease its economic reliance on Johnson County.
Barnett also advocated freezing the state's budget, which he said could be done without halting funding for K-12 schools, regents schools or Medicaid, which comprise 75 percent of the state's budget and must be funded under the Kansas Constitution.
Such a move would halt spending on highway projects. Barnett called Kansas' highways fire, "Cadillac" roads that Kansans were using to drive out of the state to find jobs elsewhere. Barnett said freeing that 25 percent of the budget would allow money to go into luring businesses back into the state.
Moreover, Barnett said that freezing the budget would not him-
state employee wages, considering that Gov. Sebelius had frozen the budget before and state employees still received raises.
Speaking about his K-12 school finance plan, Barnett proposed funneling $400 million dollars into schools over a four-year period. Barnett was a member of the Emporia Board of Education from 1991-1999, serving as the board's president from 1993-1997.
Barnett also talked about supporting stem-cell research and therapy, recounting stories of three patients he had seen who were diagnosed with cancer. He stressed that without the benefit of adult stem-cell therapy, all three patients would now be deceased.
- Edited by Timon Veach
Fact of the day
KANSAN.COM The University Daily Kansan
There is an old rumor that the Speaker of the House of Commons in Britain cannot 'speak'. Actually, the speaker can speak and does so often. He calls on members to speak, calls for order and for other administrative tasks. But the speaker cannot engage in debate or express his opinions, hence the story of the Speaker who cannot speak.
Want to know what people are talking about? Here's a list of Tuesday's most e-mailed stories from
Source: Wikipedia
Kansan.com:
1. Football facility architect reportedly selected
2. No unintended unexpectingly clicks down.
3. Please send your resume and a link to your Facebook profile
4. Pita Pit leads way in healthy late-night food trend
"Quote of the Day"
5. Jayhawks roil over Red Raiders
"I think there's a difference between ditzy and dumb. Dumb is just not knowing. Ditzy is having the courage to ask!"
Jessica Simpson
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