Eastern Student Thomas Luckner of Fairfield Presents at Northeast Regional Honors Council

2016 Apr 21

Two Eastern Connecticut State University students presented their mathematics research at the Northeast Regional Honors Council annual conference this April in Cambridge, MA. Thomas Luckner '18, a Mathematics and Economics major from Fairfield, presented "Number Theory: Study of Special Cases in Prime Numbers" at the multiday conference.

Luckner presented the joint project with a classmate. Mentored by Mathematics Professor Mizan Khan, the research contributes to the branch of mathematics known as number theory. "This research is a study of prime numbers and patterns that can be found among them," the students said in a joint statement.

"Having Dr. Khan as a mentor has given me connections to people I would never have met otherwise," said Luckner. "Because of this, I will have these connections to help me in my future endeavors."

"Our work focuses on proving that prime numbers are infinite, so by proving that our patterns are infinite, we have created an efficient way to predict future prime numbers and triples," said the students. "Our research could potentially find a way to predict large prime numbers in a more efficient way."

"It is such a rewarding experience to have worked for a year and a half on a project and be able to show our hard work to a group of intellectuals who will appreciate the time and effort we put in," said Luckner.