Hays Whitlatch

Welcome to my webpage. I am an associate professor at Gonzaga University. Information such as office hours or contact information can be found here. Click here for my CV.

WHO AM I?

I received my PhD from the University of South Carolina in 2019. I also have a masters degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a bachelors from the University of Iowa. I also attended Muscatine Community College for two years. I am interested in doing research with students and non-students in Discrete Mathematics at large (including graph theory, combinatorics, linear algebra, set theory, theoretical computer science, probability, and number theory).

My thesis work lies at the intersection of linear algebra, graph theory and discrete mathematical biology - my thesis advisor is Joshua Cooper, PhD <- a nice person. There are also other nice people at South Carolina - two people I worked closely with and who were nice enough to write me letters of recommendation are Eva Czabarka, PhD, and Sean Yee, PhD. While at MTSU I was advised and got to do research with with Xiaoya Zha, PhD (also a very nice person).

My Erdős Number is 2, thanks to László Székely (yet another nice person).

If I don't answer your email and it's a weekend, I am probably hiking.

TEACHING

I enjoy teaching mathematics at all levels. I believe that ALL students can succeed in mathematics, regardless of their current background or preparation, in fact, my own first college math course was College Algebra, the equivalent of Math 100 at Gonzaga. This conviction shapes my teaching philosophy: I constantly seek to challenge students, not to intimidate them, but to help them discover more about mathematics and about themselves. A student may submit a flawless solution (and earn full credit), but I will often ask a follow-up question to push them further, encouraging deeper thinking and revealing new facets of the subject.

At the same time, I take seriously Gonzaga’s mission to educate the whole person. I care deeply about my students’ well-being both inside and outside the classroom. I strive to create a classroom environment that is rigorous but compassionate, where students are both supported and challenged as they grow into confident mathematical thinkers.

This is not one my of my students (but a picture of a very photogenic marmot keeping a watchful eye on Kendall Yards):

STUDENT RESEARCH

Here are some awesome people whom I've worked with while at Gonzaga:

Katharine Shultis, PhD (University of Gonzaga): Power Domination Games, Kneser Total Roman Domination, Voting Theory and Graphs, Finite Field Linear Algebra, Combinatorial Games, Recursive Partitions.
Rob Ray, PhD (University of Gonzaga): Finite Field Linear Algebra.
Joshua Cooper, PhD (University of South Carolina): Finite-Field Positive Definite.
Erin Hanna, M.S.: Finite-Field Positive Definite.
Ann Clifton, M.S.: Equitable Partitions of Graphs.
Zinnia Gibson: Mathematics of DNA Testing.
Michele Ortiz: Power Domination Games.
Sviatlana Kniahnitskaya: Power Domination Games, Kneser Total Roman Domination, Voting Theory and Graphs, Finite Field Linear Algebra.
Olivia C. Ramirez: Power Domination Games.
A. Mallott: Kneser Total Roman Domination.
Benjamin Nored: Kneser Total Roman Domination, Voting Theory and Graphs, Finite Field Linear Algebra.
Caeli Griffin: Kneser Total Roman Domination, Chemical Graph Theory.
Grace Dojan: Voting Theory and Graphs, Finite Field Linear Algebra, Kneser Total Roman Domination.
Kathryn Ikard: Voting Theory and Graphs, Finite Field Linear Algebra, Kneser Total Roman Domination.
Cole Stainsby: Finite Field Linear Algebra, Kneser Total Roman Domination.
Alec Harris: Finite Field Linear Algebra.
John Q.: Finite Field Linear Algebra.
Naomi Halbersleben: Finite Field Linear Algebra.
Belle Asplund-Wain: Kneser Total Roman Domination.
Olivia M. Ramirez: Combinatorial Genomics.
Zoe Erpelding: Combinatorial Games.
Valon Haslem: Combinatorial Games, Code maps on Graphs.
Diana Hoppe: Combinatorial Games, Hankel & Toeplitz Matrices.
Drew Swanson Hollinger: Recursive Partitions, Hankel & Toeplitz Matrices.
Jessica Childress: Hankel & Toeplitz Matrices.
Hua Wang, PhD (University of Southern Georgia): Security in Trees.
Sarah Selkirk, PhD (Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt): Security in Trees.
Valisoa Razanajatovo Misanantenaina Ep Rakotonarivo, PhD (University of Pretoria): Security in Trees.
Lucas Brandt: Code maps on Graphs.
Malia Recker: Code maps on Graphs.

Also not my student:

Some math humor (ask me about it!):

Recipes: