Congratulations to Bordeaux on her son David Stringer being named to the ESPN The Magazine District 8 All Academic Baseball First Team. In between his 26 appearances this spring on the mound, he has managed a 3.88 cumulative GPA in Mathematical and Computational Sciences at Stanford. Simply amazing!

A very fine young man who has obviously worked hard, on and off the field, and should have his picture in the dictionary under "Student Athlete".

quote:

In between his 26 appearances this spring on the mound, he has managed a 3.88 cumulative GPA in Mathematical and Computational Sciences at Stanford. Simply amazing!

Huge congrats to David and Bordeaux - I am a big fan of this talented young man

I guess he can outsmart hitters.

.
The competition faced in this acheivement...

Pac 10 athletically...

Stanford academically...

makes this something beyond special...

44

Congratulations to Bordeux and family-what a wonderful Mother's Day present. Hard to imagine how difficult that major is. You should be very proud of how hard your son works, on and off the field.

Bordeaux, could you please explain what that major involves? It sounds very interesting (and tough).

Thanks

Thank you all. This was indeed a very lovely surprise and yes, well-timed for Mother's Day!

With regard to what the major is, this may be more than you were asking for, but.....I look at the books and they are all Greek to me (literally! all those Greek symbols!) so I went to the department website and copy below their own description of the department. In 2 words, it is like applied mathematics.

====================================================

Department Description

Mathematical and Computational Science is an interdepartmental undergraduate program designed as a major for students interested in the mathematical sciences, or in the use of mathematical ideas and analysis of problems in the social or management sciences. It provides a core of mathematics basic to all mathematical sciences and an introduction to the concepts and techniques of automatic computation, optimal decision-making, probabilistic modeling, and statistical inference. It also provides an opportunity for elective work in any of the mathematical science disciplines at Stanford.

The program utilizes the faculty and courses of the departments of Computer Science, Mathematics, Management Science and Engineering, and Statistics. It prepares students for graduate study or employment in the mathematical and computational sciences or in those areas of applied mathematics which center around the use of computers and are concerned with the problems of the social and management sciences.


Department Goals

Mathematics, by its nature, is a broad and varied discipline, straddling virtually all fields of science. The advent of computers has further broadened the importance and impact of mathematics. As a consequence, there has been an increased demand in academic institutions and industry for employees trained in mathematics and operations research.

The goals of our program are ambitious: we aim to provide a broad and deep understanding of mathematical issues in the information sciences. The variety of topics covered in the courses making up the degree program require expertise in a wide selection of subject disciplines; by utilizing the resources of several departments in teaching the courses, we hope to grant the students the best possible introduction to mathematical and information sciences.

Department History

In 1975, four professors created an interdisciplinary group: Rupert Miller from Statistics, Richard Cottle from Operations Research, John Herriot from Computer Science, and Paul Berg from Mathematics felt the need to have an undergraduate program for students interested in applied math. The program immediately met with great success and soon, the number of Mathematical and Computational Science majors reached 120-150 students per year.

In the 1980s, the Department of Computer Science branched off into its own undergraduate program, which now graduates approximately 80 students per year. The average number of M&CS majors has recently been about 40 students.

================================================
One of his courses this quarter is "Mathematics of Sports", described below. How cool is that?

"The use of mathematics, statistics and probability in the analysis of sports performance, sports records and strategy. Topics include mathematical analysis of the physics of sports and the determination of optimal strategies. In each sport an attempt will be made to find new diagnostic statistics and strategies. Essentially all sports will be considered and any necessary mathematics will be used."

Boy, that sounds like a great major if you love math. Thanks for the explanation. My son does love math and we're searching for a major so I'll have him read this.

Wonderful honor to show just how hard David works on and off the field. Some people don't realize how difficult it is, especially with tough majors and tough schools.

Congrats to David. I am sure, Bordeaux, that the apple didn't fall far from the tree based on some beautiful look-alike ladies in your family as well.

David Stringer is a doggone stud! I've known this kid and his family since he was about 13. He is a doggone STUD! Did I ever tell you guys how he nearly threw a no-no against East Cobb Astros in the 15U AAU Nationals in an elimination game? He's a stud alright!

I tried to hire the kid, but I guess he's too smart for NASA!

As I told you in person...congratulations Nanette. Absolutely the very best kind of honor a student athlete can get. Period!

Mrs. Justbaseball and I both had very happy mother's days. Erik pitched a fabulous game today and we won a series as a result! He has blossomed into the awesome pitcher we all expected and it is a pleasure to watch him. He truly looks like a major leaguer out there on the mound. Mr. JBB looks a bit nervous at times is all . No reason to any more, I don't think!!

Not too smart for NASA Tom, he just likes the financial aspects of the business world is all!