Kenneth Ward

Kenneth Ward (known to friends as Jacob), 36, passed away in late June 2019 in North Bethesda, Maryland. Services will be held Saturday, June 29, at the Thos. L. Shinn Funeral Home, located in Manahawkin, N.J. Ken was born September 19, 1982 in Euclid, Ohio to Anne and Michael Ward. His gift for mathematics started early in his upbringing in Minnetonka, Minnesota, where he excelled not only in his high school courses, but also at a myriad of activities. Ken was a multi-hyphenate in its highest form — he was exceptional at every challenge he took on, from Odyssey of the Mind to Eagle Scouts to junior varsity baseball, and beyond. A superb piano and guitar player, he also dabbled in the arts, even starring in opera productions while attending the University of Chicago, where he graduated with degrees in Economics and Mathematics. During his senior year in 2006 Ken presented one of the top papers — Equilibria in Games with “Auction-Like” Discontinuities (https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/559576/CRP-I.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) — at the Carroll Round at Georgetown University, where he was very excited to have met John Nash, who attended the conference that year, and whom Ken admired greatly. Most recently, after obtaining his Ph.D. in Mathematics at Oklahoma State University, Ken was a valued member of American University, where he served as a professional lecturer in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics. There, he worked, among other things, in mathematical gaming and arithmetic algebraic geometry, impressing colleagues and industry leaders with published works boasting titles that rivaled the brilliance inside. Ken was particularly excited about his current work in the theory of circles in modular arithmetic (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071579719300425?dgcid=author), a completely new approach. Ken had a true passion for teaching mathematics and exploring the boundaries where math spilled over to the visual arts, music, social science, and language. He believed that mathematical research and teaching mathematics were not two separate undertakings, but were one and the same. Ken was a central member of the DC Math Circle (https://edspace.american.edu/dcmathcircle/about/), where he taught young aspiring mathematicians. Just recently, at the 2019 National Math Festival, Ken introduced Triumph (https://www.nationalmathfestival.org/2019/new-math-game-invented-at-2019-nmf/), a game he created where graph theory meets fun, reflecting a beautiful piece of mathematics that is destined to entertain many for years to come. Above all, Ken will be best remembered for his drive, intellect, and eccentric and contagious sense of humor, which he deployed regularly while sharing Internet memes, bad movies, and delightfully corny jokes with family and friends. He is survived by his parents, Anne and Michael Ward; sister, Kate Ward; and brother-in-law, Peter Schlendorf, as well as extended family and friends and his published works. In lieu of flowers, please visit Kenneth (Jacob M) Ward Memorial Fund's Go Fund Me page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/kenneth-jacob-m-ward-memorial-fund), which is accepting donations to establish an undergraduate scholarship or award in American University's Department of Mathematics & Statistics. To leave online condolences for the family, please visit www.shinnfuneralhome.com