loi.tex: Adjust for Pierce College

diff --git a/loi.tex b/loi.tex
index 03aab5c7e85c5657fa16351657c35640b94fc95f..1135a6837cf49d52387ac7218f34ef7a726a66a9 100644 (file)
--- a/loi.tex
+++ b/loi.tex
@@ -55,20 +55,22 @@
 
 \begin{document}
 
-\begin{letter}{Pacific Lutheran University \\
-  Department of Human Resources \\
-  Tacoma, WA 98447-0003 }
-
-\opening{Search Committee,}
-
-Thank you for reviewing my application for the position of Visiting
-Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering.  Over my years working on
-my Ph.D. studies at Drexel University, I have been looking forward to
-teaching at a liberal arts college.  I look forward to working at a
-school such as PLU which clearly has a strong commitment to teaching
-excellence and teacher training.  Besides teaching computer
-engineering, I am also interested in advancing the science of
-teaching.  Over the past year I have been active in the
+\begin{letter}{
+  District Human Resources Office \\
+  Pierce College \\
+  1601 39th Avenue SE \\
+  Puyallup, Washington 98374}
+
+\opening{Sir or Madam,}
+
+Thank you for reviewing my application for the position of Adjunct
+Professor of Mathematics.  Over my years working on my Ph.D. studies
+at Drexel University, I have been looking forward to teaching at an
+undergraduate-oriented college.  I look forward to working at a school
+such as Pierce which clearly has a strong commitment to teaching
+excellence and teacher training.  Besides teaching mathematic, I am
+also interested in advancing the science of teaching.  Over the past
+year I have been active in the
 \href{http://software-carpentry.org/}{Software Carpentry}
 organization, which trains scientists around the world in current
 software development and data management techniques.  Software
@@ -78,68 +80,16 @@ Carpentry
 a boot boot camp at the University of Washington, and I look forward
 to continuing this outreach in the Puget Sound area.
 
-While I have not yet been in a position to design my own courses, I
-have enjoyed building some supportive tools.  Over the past several
-years, I have developed an open source
-\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/}{course website
-  framework} and
-\href{http://git.tremily.us/?p=course.git;a=tree;f=asymptote;hb=HEAD}{graphics
-  libraries} for illustrating
-\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/Mechanics-test.svg}{mechanics},
-\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/ElectroMag-test.svg}{electricity
-  and magnetism},
-\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/Circ-test.svg}{circuits},
-and
-\href{http://blog.tremily.us/posts/Course_website/stickfigure-test.svg}{stick
-  figures}.  I've also designed the
-\href{https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pygrader}{pygrader} framework for
-collecting and grading homework assignments that students submit via
-email and the \href{https://pypi.python.org/pypi/quizzer}{quizzer}
-framework for managing online quizzes and surveys.  These tools will
-make it easier for me to maintain class notes, homework, tests, and
-lecture material, which gives me more time to focus on engaging
-students directly.  Downloadable class notes also give students more
-time to focus on the concepts and applications instead of focusing on
-transcription.  I look forward to tying these pieces together and
-building cohesive courses to introduce new students to computer
-engineering.
-
-While I have a long history of interest in science and mathematics, it
-was my scientific research that lead to my interest in computing and
-electronics.  I have fond memories of building digital circuits in my
-electronics and instrumentation course at Colgate, but my interest in
-computing really took off as I moved into the open source ecosystem
-while automating single molecule protein unfolding
-experiments\citep{king10,king13}.  I have spent the last few years up
-to my elbows in an open source experiment control stack\citep{king13}
-as well as developing and troubleshooting the associated electronics
-hardware.  On the side, I've spent a bit of time tinkering with
-microcontrollers such as the
-\href{http://www.atmel.com/devices/atmega32u4.aspx}{ATMega32u4}.  I
-look forward to leveraging this interest in open source software and
-inexpensive hardware to engage students with accessible hands-on
-experience.
-
-As a scientist, I feel that teaching itself can be improved through
-the scientific method.  By testing the effect of different classroom
-approaches---and by building on the research of my peers---I intend to
-gradually refine my teaching to improve student engagement, critical
-thinking, and content retention.  I am especially excited to try
-active learning approaches\citep{hake98,crouch01,prince04}, especially
-thinking-aloud pair problem solving
-(TAPPS\citep{lochhead87,felder09}), which has been shown to increase
-student performance\citep{johnson99}.  Of course, not
-\emph{everything} can be measured with sufficient clarity to support
-this approach.  Developing quantitative evaluations of student
-learning is tricky, but---at least at a basic level---it is possible.
-Several Software Carpentry collaborators (especially
-\href{http://michigancomputes.wordpress.com/}{Cait Pickens}) are
-experts in assessment design and validation, and between their
-experience with standard practices and my talent for software tooling
-and rigorous analysis, I expect we'll develop a robust system for
-monitoring student progress.  By promoting this system in our own
-research and SWC outreach, we can also spread the practice of teaching
-research through the wider academic community.
+I have always had a strong interest in math, and early in my career I
+was able to devote enough time to the subject to double-major in math
+and physics.  I have especially fond memories of my number theory and
+formal logic courses at Colgate, as well as complex analysis during my
+semester in Wales.  As I advanced through my graduate training, there
+was less time to devote directly to formal math, but I taught myself a
+good deal of statistics in support of my research (especially the
+Gumbel distribution\citep{king10,king13}).  Physics and math are bound
+tightly together, and I look forward to returning to the analytical
+side of this pairing.
 
 On a more prosaic level, I am excited about moving from the
 mid-Atlantic---where I have spent most of my life---to the Northwest.