Matt Ollis - Mathematics
It’s hard to believe that understanding a branch of mathematics can improve one’s juggling, but Marlboro math professor Matt Ollis claims it’s so. The branch is combinatorics, according to Matt, a native of the Birmingham, England. Combinatorics, also known as "the science of counting," explores the different possible combinations of numbers within sets. A tangible example of the use of combinatorics is Matt’s specialty: determining the factors that could impact a scientific experiment and mathematically quantifying their potential impact on the experiment. The combinatorial method that Matt worked on can be used for everything from drug trials to cheese tastings. And then, of course, "it’s a great help for juggling," he says. "It gives you patterns you can follow."
Matt doesn’t expect a flock of Marlboro students to embrace mathematics – or juggling – the way he has, but he does work to make it more accessible for non-mathematicians, particularly among those studying science. "To study mathematics," he says, "you have to arrange your thoughts in a specific way, and that can be very helpful in anything. In science, understanding the math that underlies the science can be especially helpful."
Whether he’s teaching his introductory courses or working in an advanced tutorial with a senior, Matt appreciates the close attention to each student’s strengths and weaknesses that Marlboro’s small classes allow him. “It has been more interesting teaching here from the start," he says.
M.Sci., Queen Mary University of London, 1999; Ph.D., Queen Mary University of London, 2003; Marlboro College, 2003 –