Gordon Wade

Associate Professor

Phone: 419-372-0240
Email: gwade@bgsu.edu
Address: Office: 419 Mitchell B. McLeod Hall
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403-0206

Research Career

I have been practicing, teaching, and researching mathematics for most of my adult life. Early in my career, I was a successful software engineer in computer aided design. Eventually, however, I realized that I was drawn toward more fundamental research and problem solving, and so obtained the Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University, specializing in numerical analysis of partial differential equations and inverse problems (e.g., model calibration). I have published some twenty peer reviewed articles in functional analysis, numerical analysis, and inverse problems, with applications in porous media fluid flow, mathematical biology, and tomography.

Teaching experience

I have taught diverse courses at all levels from remedial algebra to advanced graduate courses. These include:
• All levels of calculus including vector calculus and variational calculus.
• Differential equations, both ordinary and partial.
• Numerical analysis, both elementary and advanced.
• Linear algebra at the elementary level and the advanced applied level.
• Optimization and approximation theory and methods.
• Discrete mathematics
• Probability Theory
• Actuarial Mathematics including theory of finance, short-term risk models, and life contingencies.

Because I care deeply about my students leaving my courses with an authentic understanding of the material, I am always experimenting with new teaching methods, for example using the methodology of the flipped classroom and reviving the practice of oral exams as a way of making sure each student grasps the concepts behind the formulas.

BGSU Honors College

In recent years my interests have expanded to include the philosophy and social analysis of science. Because of the extent that our culture values science, both as a methodology and as a worldview, it is essential for well-educated citizens to understand its philosophical foundations and hidden assumptions. To this end, I have designed and (since 2018) conducted seminars for the Critical Thinking program of the BGSU Honors College. These include “Resistance, Breakthrough and Revolution in the History of Science” and “Indigenous Wisdom and Global Perspectives in Science.” In these, we take a critical look at the sometimes-subtle ways in which scientific thought and practice is influenced by unexamined Western cultural assumptions and hidden biases. We also explore how modern systems theory aligns in many ways with indigenous worldviews, and what the latter may offer to us in terms of the global sustainability crises facing us all.

Looking Forward

The most urgent matters facing our society and our world today are the multiple, connected, and global sustainability crises. I’m eager to bring my expertise in dynamical systems theory into broader, collaborative efforts to raise awareness of these crises, and to be part of exploring creative solutions.