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New Mexico State University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Mathematical Sciences

David R. Finston

School Address
Department of Mathematical Sciences
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8801
Phone: (575) 646-2637
E-mail: dfinston@nmsu.edu

Education
·B.A. University of Rochester 1976

·M.A. University of Rochester 1977

·Ph.D. University of California, San Diego 1983

Professional Experience
·1995-present
Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

·1999-2003
Professor and Department Head
Department of Mathematical Sciences
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

·1990-1995
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

·1989-1990
Associate Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia

·1987-1988
Honorary Fellow
Department of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

·1983-1989
Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia

·1980
Research Assistant
Fachbereich Mathematik
Fernuniversitat Hagen
Hagen, Germany

·1978-1983
Teaching Assistant
Mathematics Department
University of California, San Diego

Research Interests
·Algebra, Group Actions on Varieties

Research Publications

  1. Finston, D.R. (with Mehta, P.D.) Factorial Threefolds with Ga action. (Submitted)
  2. Finston, D.R., Maubach, S. The automorphism group of certain factorial threefolds and a cancellation problem. Submitted.
  3. Deveney, J.K., Finston, D.R. Additive group actions with finitely generated invariants. Osaka J. Math, to appear
  4. Deveney, J.K., Finston, D.R., van Rossum, P. Triangular Ga actions on C4 Proc. AMS 132 (2004) 2841-2848.
  5. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Sliced Ga actions. Int. J. of Alg. and Comp. 11 (2001) 19-24.
  6. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Free Ga actions on C3. Proc. A.M.S. 128 (2000) 31-38.
  7. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Twin triangular derivations. Osaka J. Math. 37 (2000) 15-21.
  8. Deveney, J.K., Finston, D.R. Local triviality of proper Ga actions. J. Algebra 221 (1999) 692-704.
  9. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Determining local triviality of Ga actions. Comm. Alg.,27 (1999) 3031-3039.
  10. Finston, D.R. (with Walcher, S.) On a class of Additive Group Actions on Affine Three-Space, Rocky Mountain Journal of Mathematics, Vol. 28, Num.2, summer 1998, pp.463-485.
  11. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) On Locally trivial Ga Actions. Transformation Groups2, (1997) 137-145.
  12. Finston, D.R. (with Walcher, S.): Centralizers of locally nilpotent derivations. J. Pure and Applied Alg.,120 (1997) 39-49.
  13. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Algebraic aspects of additive group actions on complex affine space. In Automorphisms of Affine Spaces 179-190, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995.
  14. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Ga actions on C3 and C7 Comm. Alg. 22 (15) (1994) 6295-6302.
  15. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.): A proper Ga action which is not locally trivial. Proc. A.M.S. 123 (1995), 651-655.
  16. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K., Gehrke, M.) Ga actions on Cn Comm. Alg., 22 (1994), 4977-4988.
  17. Finston, D.R. (with Messer, K., Staniswalis, J.G.)Kernel estimators for multivariate regression. J. Nonparametric Statistics, 3 (1994), 103-121.
  18. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Fields of Ga invariants are ruled. Canadian Math. Bull. 37 (1994), 37-41.
  19. Finston, D.R.: Algebras and differential equations with additive symmetry. Linear and Multilinear Algebra, 31 (1992) 235-243.
  20. Finston, D.R. (with Deveney, J.K.) Rationally triangulable automorphisms. J. Pure and Appl. Alg., 72 (1991) 1-4.
  21. Finston, D.R.: Rigidity and compact real forms for complex semi-simple Jordan algebras. Communications in Algebra, 18 (1990), 3323-3338.
  22. Finston, D.R.: Endomorphisms and null subalgebras revisited. Archiv der Mathematik, 54 (1990), 352-357.
  23. Finston, D.R.: On the growth of nomial extensions. Algebras, Groups, and Geometries, 6 (1989), 453-462.
  24. Finston, D.R. (with Rohrl, H.) Nomial homomorphisms of arbitrary algebras. Algebras, Groups and Geometries, 5 (1988), 151-186.
  25. Finston, D.R.: Endomorphisms and null subalgebras of finite dimensional algebras. Manuscripta Mathematica, 58 (1987), 229-244.
  26. Finston, D.R. (with Farrand, S.M.) On the multiplication ideal of a nonassociative algebra. Archiv der Mathematik, 48 (1987), 298-302.
  27. Finston, D.R.: Polynomial Algebras have Polynomial Growth. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, 300 (1987), 535-556.
  28. Finston, D.R.: On Multiplication Algebras. Transactions of the American Mathematical Society, 293 (1986), 807-818.
  29. Finston, D.R.: Seperable Polynomials over Nonassociative Algebras. Communications in Algebra, 13 (1985), 1597-1626.

Educational Publications
·Finston, D.R. Minority doctorates in mathematics and the pipeline. Submitted to Proceeding on MAA Special Session on Increasing Diversity in Mathematics Programs, January 2006. Finston, D.R., Morandi, P.: An Introduction to Abstract Algebra via Applications. Text for Mathematics and Secondary Mathematics Education majors. Under review.

·Finston, D.R. with Alvarez, J. et. al. Calculus instruction at New Mexico State University through weekly themes and writing assignments. Primus, 3 (83-98), 1993.

Honors and Awards
·2002-present Director, Sloan Minority Doctoral Program
·2000-01Supervisor, Fulbright Scholar in Residence
·2000-02 NSF/CSEMS Grant
·2000-05 Activity Coordinator, Title V Grant, Dept. of Ed.
·1999-2003 NASA Grant
·1998-1999 Eisenhower Teacher Education Grant
·1996 National Security Agency Research Grant
·1994 NMSU Minigrant To support summer research in Germany
·1994 National Security Agency Grant to support the 1994 Holiday Symposium
·1993-1996 Systemic Initiative for Math and Science Education (National Science Foundation, Eisenhower Foundation) Five Teacher Education Grants
·1992-1993 National Security Agency Research Grant
1992-1994 National Science Foundation Grants to support the 1992 through 1994 Holiday Symposia
·1991-1995 National Science Foundation Teacher Enhancement Grant
·1991 Joint Vice President/College Research Award New Mexico State University

Theses Directed

Jeanne Marie Draper: In Search of Indempotents, Master's thesis, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1989.

Kristopher Jorgenson: On Classes of Examples of Additive Group Actions on C4. Doctoral thesis, New Mexico State University, 1998.

Parag Deepak Mehta: Ga Actions on Affine Spaces. Doctoral thesis, New Mexico State University, 2004.

Significant Service

Elected member of the University Research Council 2005-07

American Mathematical Society Committee on Teaching Assistants and Part Time Instructors. Member, 2002-2004.

Search Committee for Dean of NMSU Graduate School. Member, 2001-02.

NMSU Educational Council. Member 2001-03

College of Arts and Sciences Research Affairs Committee. Member 1992-95, Chair 1994-95.

Reviewer for Mathematical Reviews, National Science Foundation, and National Security Agency.

Referee for Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra, Communications in Algebra, Rocky Mountain Mathematics Journal, Journal of Research in Mathematics Education.