Visiting Fulbright Scholar Dr. Thurya Abdulla says spending the past six months at MTSU and Murfreesboro has been a “great opportunity.”

Abdulla, who received her doctorate in mathematics from Imperial College at the University of London and teaches at the University of Bahrain, has made use of her Fulbright opportunity with the MTSU Department of Mathematical Sciences.

Dr. Thuray Abdulla

“It has been an honor and pleasure to have Dr. Thuraya Abdulla as a visiting Fulbright Scholar this past academic year,” says Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of the Middle East Center at MTSU.

“Those around campus who have met Dr. Abdulla have been impressed by her warmth and openness to learning about MTSU and the Middle Tennessee region.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, Abdulla will stray momentarily from the field of mathematics to give a presentation on “Pearl of the Gulf: A View of Bahrain.” The presentation is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. in the University Honors College amphitheater, Room 106, in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. A reception will follow her presentation.

“She will share her views on contemporary life and culture in the vibrant, strategically important Arab Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain,” Hibbard says.

The free lecture, sponsored by the Honors College, the Middle East Center, the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Office of International Affairs, is open to the public.

Abdulla says her main interest in research is solving initial value problems of differential equations. She also is interested in the quality of math teaching and learning how to promote math among high-school students.

Abdulla, who began collaborating with the math department last September, currently is working with Dr. Abdul Khaliq on solving Black-Scholes equations for option price numerically. She will continue her Fulbright work through March.

For more information about Abdulla’s talk, call Hibbard at 615-494-8809 or email allen.hibbard@mtsu.edu.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)