June 23 Day 837: Celebrating RAB Part II

The second half of the mini symposium celebrating the long success of Richard Brualdi featured four more speakers. Michael Schroeder, John Goldwasser, me, and the man himself. More stories, more mathematics, more fun.

It was the most technologically diverse session I’ve seen. First, we got the lapel mike working so we could walk about the room and still be heard. Then, Michael, who was in Galway, had to present remotely. Thanks to the quick work of the organizers, a zoom meeting was set up and Michael regaled us with stories of collaboration.

Then came John Goldwasser, a Brualdi student from the 1980s. In stark contrast to the preceding talk, mathematical collaborations with RAB happened through the MAIL—regularly taking a month or more to receive replies while in Malawi.

I was the penultimate speaker. Using the AirPlay feature, I cast my presentation from my iPad to the projector. I used my finger as a pointer, could write on the slides, and never had to turn my back on the audience. Revisiting the lessons from the first half of the minisymposium, I added my own observations—namely the importance of exposition. Richard and I co-wrote the article “Some applications of elementary linear algebra in combinatorics,” published in the College Math Journal (1993) that started my fruitful association with MAA publications and the MAA in general.

And the entire session ended with a presentation by the man himself.

An excellent expositor as always—he wants everyone in the room to understand. And his influence was evidenced in every single presentation over the two day session. It was by far my favorite of the entire conference. (No surprise since it was the reason I was here.) Many of the talks shared images of celebratory meals at previous meetings. So I think it is appropriate to conclude this post with images from this gathering of the Brualdi Clan.

In the cover photo are organizers and speakers from the minisymposium: L to R. Row 1: John Goldwasser, Richard Brualdi, Nancy Neudauer. Row 2: Karin-Therese Howell, Adam Berliner. Row 3: Louis Deaett, Geir Dahl, Seth Meyer. Row 4: me. Not pictured: Michael Schroeder and Gi-Sang Cheon.