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Featured Faculty: Joe Coyle, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematics

I began my career at Monmouth in the fall of 2002 as an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department, and I have really enjoyed my time here. I am definitely a fixture in the department; the only full-time faculty hired before me is Dr. Liu!

It’s almost a completely different department now than when I started. We have great faculty here who have a lot of energy and who are dedicated to their professions, and I am proud to be a part of the department. I recently became the department chair, a challenge I have fully embraced, and I am looking forward to helping to guide the department in a positive way. I have also just received a recommendation for promotion to full-professor from the Provost. It has been an exciting year! I look forward to helping the department continue grow and remain an integral part of the university.

In particular, the School of Science has a new set of strategic goals that should help guide the school as we move forward over the next few years. The development of these goals was significantly faculty-driven so there appears to be a good bit of support behind them from within the school. We are in the process of setting our departmental goals and objectives for the next academic year, and we have used the School’s strategic plan goals to influence that work.

My academic interest is in the area of numerical analysis. It is an area of mathematics that sits mainly on the cusp of theory and application. In particular, most of my work has been in the area of computational acoustics, or scattering theory. The process of taking a realistic problem, casting the behavior in a mathematical framework, and then proving that your method of approximation converges is a lot of fun. The balance between theory and application provides a stimulating dynamic.

Our students are a significant part of the reason I enjoy being here at Monmouth. It’s a privilege to be part of their growth academically, but it is also equally fulfilling to see them mature and gain confidence during their time here. It truly is a fun environment and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it. Although by end of the spring semester, I definitely feel ready for the summer break, I always look forward to the start of the fall semester so I can see them all again.