February 4, 2013
Mesalands Community College is pleased to announce that Dr. Forrest Kaatz, Math Success Specialist and Adjunct Faculty at Mesalands, has had two articles accepted for publication in the international Journal of Mathematical Chemistry. Articles “Statistical properties of carbon nanostructures” and “Power law statistics of rippled graphene nanoflakes,” were both accepted for publication in December 2012.
“My research involves some mathematical calculations of some nanoforms of carbon. Nano refers to a metric prefix of a billionth of a meter. In the past 10 years there has been a lot of research in nanostructures. These structures are requiring people to think in terms of ultra-small materials and devices. Properties of materials change as the dimensions change,” Dr. Kaatz said. “It’s a very important field in material science and in science in general. These forms of carbon are currently being studied for a variety of uses and applications.”
Dr. Kaatz said over the years his research has been published 25 times in various journals.
“It’s always gratifying to be cited. It’s just a pat on a back that you did a good job,” Dr. Kaatz said.
Dr. Kaatz has a Ph.D. and a M.S. Degree in Materials Science from the University of Pennsylvania. His B.S. Degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison is in Mathematics and Physics.
From 1998-2002 Dr. Kaatz was a full-time Physical Sciences and Mathematics faculty member. From 2002-2007 and in 2011, Dr. Kaatz was an Adjunct teaching the same subjects. In 2012 he started on full-time at Mesalands as the Math Success Specialist. In his new position, Dr. Kaatz oversees the new Math-Science Learning Center at Mesalands that is a result of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) grant the College received in 2011.
Dr. Kaatz’s chapter, “Modeling Finite Nano Systems” is currently under review for the reference book “Handbook of Functional Nanomaterials.” He said he will find out at the end of the month if it’s accepted.
“Mesalands Community College is fortunate to have a scientist of his caliber as a staff member,” Natalie Gillard, Vice President of Academic Affairs said. “His work is timely and may lead to improvements in the field.”
