Alan Howard

Alan Howard received his B.A. from Rutgers University and his Ph.D. from Brown University. He is currently professor of mathematics and associate chair at University of Notre Dame, where he has won numerous teaching awards, including the Madden Award for excellence in teaching freshmen, the Shilts/Leonard Teaching Award, the Notre Dame President's Award, and the Kaneb Teaching Award. He has published research papers in complex manifolds and complex analysis. Alan was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where the only stars he ever noticed were those who played baseball for his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. Alan's undergraduate major was English literature, and he has maintained a lifelong interest in reading and writing fiction. In the mid-1980s he was fortunate to have two mystery novels published under the pseudonym of N.J. McIver: Come Back, Alice Smythereene by St. Martin's Press and An Assassin Prepares by Doubleday. Alan is also an enthusiastic amateur musician, whose taste runs the gamut from Claudio Monteverde to Bill Monroe. His most persistent daydream these days is of sitting in as guest mandolinist with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. While waiting for that to happen, he enjoys music sessions with his wife, daughters, and granddaughters, singing such timeless classics as There Ain't No Flies on Me and The Teddy Bears' Picnic.