Department of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics Success Stories Math Site No. 1. West Texas A&M University’s Virtual Math Lab (VML) is the top response to a Google search for “college algebra,” “intermediate algebra,” “beginning algebra” and “GRE math.” Add in the fact that WTAMU’s free tutorial website easily exceeded two million visits in 2007 and it is obvious that would-be mathematicians the world over are seeking and getting the help they need from West Texas A&M. People have visited the site from most every country on the planet, from Australia to Zimbabwe. Electro-Optics and Liquid Crystals. When you look at an LCD watch, you see Gene Carlisle’s research in action. Your new flat panel TV? That was made possible by Carlisle, too. As a professor of chemistry at West Texas A&M, Carlisle studies the chemistry and nonlinear optical properties of polymers and liquids used in the construction of liquid-crystal devices capable of holographic storage. What does that mean? It means the building blocks of technology are being discovered at WTAMU. NSF Funding. Dr. Pamela Lockwood, associate professor of mathematics, was the principal investigator of a proposal that received almost $1 million in funding from the National Science Foundation. The $980,204 grant will fund “Increasing Numbers, Connections and Retention in Science and Engineering,” an initiative aimed at increasing the number of students receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Grant Award. Dr. Juli D’Ann Ratheal, assistant professor of mathematics, is the project director and principal investigator of a proposal that was awarded an $84,998 grant from the state’s Teacher Quality Grant Program. The grant will fund her proposal, “ Achieving Student Success with Effective Teachers,” which will deliver six hours of graduate education to 20 selected middle school teachers from Region 16 with priority given to teachers of math. | 
