Haines is drawn to the elegance and power of mathematical thought.
“Mathematics is one of the greatest creations of the human mind.”
Haines quotes the 5th century commentator Proclus “This, therefore, is mathematics: she reminds you of the invisible form of the soul; she gives life to her own discoveries; she awakens the mind and purifies the intellect; she brings light to our intrinsic ideas; she abolishes oblivion and ignorance which are ours by birth.”
His interest in this “creation” is why Haines enjoys the history of mathematics and bringing the history into the classroom. “Even if one only thinks in terms of investment instead of beauty, studying mathematical history invariably leads to deeper understanding and new results.” Haines also believes that the ability of prospective K-12 teachers to integrate history into their future classrooms will help their students understand mathematics.
For his research, Haines likes to think of mathematics as a puzzle. “We are given some pieces and try to see how they fit. We don’t have the box cover with the big picture. To a large extent, that picture is what we try to figure out.” For example, he recently co-authored a result piecing together a connection between simple weighted voting games and geometric combinatorics.
Haines says that students interested in mathematics at Augsburg have an excellent opportunity. “The wide range of expertise of the mathematics faculty and the constant interaction of students and faculty in the mathematics department forms an enjoyable mathematical community.”
- B.A. St. John’s University
- M.S. Lehigh University
- Ph.D. Lehigh University