Congratulations to Professor Neal Brand, who was recently awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Texas Section of the Mathematical Association of America in recognition of his outstanding service to the Texas Section, where he recently served as Governor of the Texas Section.

Professor Brand has also recently been selected as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor in honor of his outstanding teaching of mathematics over his career at UNT and was also a recent recipient of UNT's President's Council Teaching Award.

Professor Brand received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford University in 1978, under the supervision of Gregory Brumfiel. Dr. Brand's research is in the areas of the homotopy theory of branched coverings and combinatorial graph theory.

Professor Brand has supervised six Ph.D. dissertations and five masters projects here at UNT. He is one of the department's most well-regarded instructors and takes an active interest in curriculum development. Dr. Brand's recent curriculum efforts include the design of the MathQuest Center, a computer lab staffed with mathematics tutors that allows students to develop their math skills in an emporium model making use of software that adapts to the individual needs of the students. Dr. Brand also developed our new course, "Functions and Modeling," a course where future teachers participating in the Teach North Texas Program learn how to develop teaching strategies that involve the guided self-discovery of mathematical concepts by the students themselves. Professor Brand has also made important innovations in the teaching of real analysis and calculus, takes an active interest in the instruction of students in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, and has served as an instructional mentor to many graduate students and new faculty members.

Professor Brand served eight years as department chair, just completed a two-year term as Associate Chair, and he is actively involved in the promotion of mathematics across Texas through his service to the Mathematical Association of America.