Sloan Despeaux

Biography

Sloan Despeaux has called Cullowhee home since 2002, when she began her career at WCU.

Education

• Ph D, University of Virginia, Mathematics
• MS, Florida State University, Mathematics
• BA, Francis Marion University, Mathematics

Teaching Interests

Despeaux has taught a variety of courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In particular, she has taught Freshman Seminars (on Fractals), Upper Level Perspectives (on the Scientific Revolution), and senior Capstone courses. She is cofounder of the North Carolina Network of Math Teachers’ Circles and is active in her local Smoky Mountain Math Teachers’ Circle.

Research Interests

Her research interests include the history of mathematics (especially the mathematics, mathematicians, and scientific journals in nineteenth-century Britain). As WCU Hunter Scholar for 2019-2020, she had the opportunity to work with a history graduate student and two Computer Science undergraduate students on creating an online database for the <i>Educational Times</i>, a nineteenth-century journal containing a wealth of mathematical communication.