"Math was my least favorite class in elementary school," says David Grynkiewicz '01 of his first experiences with the subject. "After my first year in high school, I didn't find that I really learned much either. When I got to Bates, I started learning again."

At Bates, Grynkiewicz's initial distaste for math turned to intense enjoyment. A study abroad opportunity, exposure to engaging coursework and a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program fueled his transformation into a math major.

Math opportunities in college dwarfed Grynkiewicz's expectations, particularly on a junior semester abroad program in Hungary. "My abroad experience exposed me to a new level of math, and it was there that I took my first course in combinatorics." After the initial exposure, Grynkiewicz was hooked. He pursued combinatorics further, first in an REU program funded by the National Science Foundation in summer 2000 at the University of Idaho, and then again, as part of his honors thesis on combinatorics and additive number theory.

Undaunted by the absence of a combinatorics specialist on campus, Grynkiewicz undertook the most intrepid research project of his academic career independently. "Thesis wasn't frightening at all," Grynkiewicz says, "I had done the research, so I became the specialist."

Grynkiewicz recently converted his research into four separate papers, which he has submitted to peer review journals, including the Journal of Number Theory, Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics, Probablity and Computing — a feat completed by less than one-percent of undergraduates nationwide. "David's thesis is by far the most original thesis I've advised in terms of his independence. It's definitely one of the best theses I have advised," said Peter Wong, associate professor of mathematics.

Grynkiewicz is not finished learning, either. He will pursue a Ph.D. in combinatorial math at California Institute of Technology this fall.

-- By Nick Bournakel '01