Professor Irl C. Bivens, recipient of the Merten M. Hasse Prize for Expository Writing in Mathematics and the George Polya Award, received his A.B. from Pfeiffer College and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both in mathematics. Since 1982, Dr. Biven has taught at Davidson College, where he currently holds the position of professor of mathematics. A typical academic year sees him teaching courses in topology, geometry and calculus. He also enjoys mathematical history, and his annual History of Mathematics seminar is a perennial favorite with Davidson mathematics majors.

Dr. Bivens has published numerous articles on undergraduate mathematics, as well as research papers in his specialty, differential geometry. He has served on the editorial boards of The College Mathematics Journal and the MAA Problem Book series and is a reviewer for Mathematical Reviews. When he is not pursuing mathematics, Professor Irl enjoys walking, swimming, juggling, and spending time with his son Robert.