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Physical & Biological Sciences Division
Teaching Professor
Faculty
Remote work location
McHenry Building Room #4163
Mathematics Department
Frank Bäuerle did his undergraduate work in Mathematics and Computer Science at the Technische Hochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, after which he received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. Frank did his research work in Recursion Theory and Complexity Theory, an area lying at the intersection of Applied Logic and Theoretical Computer Science. He is currently a Teaching Professor in the Mathematics Department at UC Santa Cruz. Together with his colleague Anthony Tromba he has developed the UC-wide online calculus course sequence, Calculus I,II,III & IV for Science and Engineering, which so far has been taken successfully by about 35,000 students.
Frank Bäuerle has been in the trenches of undergraduate mathematics education at UC Santa Cruz since his arrival in Fall of 1994. He just concluded his latest stint as undergraduate vice chair, a position that he has held on and off for the last decade. He has worked on statewide projects to improve Mathematics Instructions across all three systems of higher education in California.
Most importantly, over the last decade Frank, together with his colleague and friend Tony Tromba, has developed the online versions of the Calculus sequence for Science and Engineering. These courses thus far have been taken by about 35,000 students and are open for enrollment and articulated for major's credit to students from all nine undergraduate-serving UC campuses (the first and only such courses in the 157 year history of UC).
Frank Bäuerle’s research in Mathematics primarily is in recursion theory and complexity theory. In particular, he is interested in the interplay between properties and relationships of algebraic structures (such as fields and vector spaces) in regard to their complexity theoretic content (or feasibility). His work uses proof methods from classical recursion theory— now often referred to as computability theory. He is also interested in certain recreational Mathematics problems and their complexity-theoretic properties.
Since his arrival at UC Santa Cruz, Frank Bäuerle has taught developmental math courses (Algebra, Trigonometry, Precalculus), all Calculus courses and Differential Equations, and a number of upper-division courses, primarily Math 100 (Introduction to Proofs and Problem Solving), Math 160 (Mathematical Logic I, mostly Proof Theory) and Math 161 (Mathematical Logic II, mostly Set Theory). He has developed another course in the sequence, Math 162, on computability theory, and hopes to offer this course in the near future.
Frank also taught a module on "Logic, Riddles and Paradoxes" for fifteen summers for COSMOS, the California State Summer School for Math and Science, at UC Santa Cruz. He was co-director of the program for one year. As part of the program, he collaborated with local high school mathematics teachers.
Interesting fact: Frank believes that the hardest class he has ever taught was an enrichment course for a small group of about a dozen fifth graders. Hat's off to all K-12 Mathematics teachers!
- Excellence in Teaching Award, University of California, Santa Cruz, June 2000
- Universal Design of Instruction Award, , Disability Resource Center, University of California, Santa Cruz, June 2010
- Excellence in Teaching Award, University of California, Santa Cruz, June 2014
