Biographical Information - Bruce Ikenaga

I retired from Millersville on August 14, 2020 after 26 years at MU. Before coming to MU, I spent twelve years in the Department of Mathematics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but I grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. I graduated from Punahou School in 1972.

I majored in math at M.I.T. and graduated with a B.S. in Math in 1976. I did my graduate work at Cornell and received a doctorate in math in 1982. My thesis advisor was Kenneth S. Brown.

In math, my primary areas of interest are group cohomology and homological algebra, group theory, and topology. But I enjoy some other areas of math as well.

Most of my professional life was devoted to teaching. I did not become a mathematician in order to teach, but I found out as I did it that I liked it, and that it was very rewarding. I maintain web pages with over a thousand pages of notes and other math-related materials.

In retirement, I'm enjoying doing the math I didn't have enough time to do earlier, and learning about lots of other stuff.

Things I enjoy besides doing and teaching math:

• Working with computers I use TeX, inkscape, maxima, and emacs lisp to do my work. Linux is my operating system of choice. (Currently, I use Debian Testing.)
• Exercise I've done strength training since 9th grade (I use soloflex and free weights). I ran regularly for 30 years, but stopped after hurting my knee. Now I do fast walking (with some running) and exercise bike.
• Reading I usually have bookmarks in ten or twenty books (aside from math books). I read about history, economics, social issues, physics, philosophy, religion, and some fiction.
• Gardening I used to hate yard work when I was a kid. Now it seems really rewarding, and it's good exercise. I have tons of stuff in my yard, and a small vegetable garden.
• zazen I began learning about Buddhism in an asian history class in 11th grade. I've had a Buddhist meditation practice since around 1999. (I do not identify as a Buddhist, however.)

Contact information

Bruce Ikenaga's Home Page