Professor Profiles: Juggling, unicycle riding professor entertains students while teaching math

To some of his students, math professor Bryan Bornholdt said it might seem like he will do anything to get his students interested in coming to class.

From bringing a unicycle to class, juggling and having students work out math problems that deal with rock climbing, Bornholdt said he wants to get his students interested in coming to class.

“I’m excited about mathematics; I’m excited about teaching it,” he said. “Students aren’t going to come to class if they don’t think it’s worth their while and if I can do anything to motivate them to come to class, to make it interesting or valuable – that’s my goal.”

Even if it means that students are coming to class just to see what he will do next, at least they are coming. One way Bornholdt has tried to get students excited about early morning math classes was drinking energy drinks. He said it may have made him somewhat obnoxious, but it got him wired for class.

But it’s not just about entertainment.

The point Bornholdt said he is trying to get across is that if students can learn to do something they thought they couldn’t do before, like math or riding a unicycle, then they can learn to do anything. All it takes is a little hard work and some feedback. Students can’t sell themselves short.

Unicycling has opened a whole new world to Bornholdt. Along with the people he has met and the new talents he has learned, he said it has made him realize he can accomplish things he hadn’t even thought about before.

Bornholdt said he began unicycling 27 years ago, when he met some friends in college that were interested in it. He said, aside from getting him interested in unicycling, some of those friends went on to become doctors – an inspiration to Bornholdt, who said he had never even thought about graduate school. Now, he has a Ph.D. under his belt and is in his third year teaching at USU.

He began his teaching career in Grand Junction, Colo., at Mesa State. After a few years there, he left to work as a computer programmer. But after Sept. 11, 2001 and the economic downturn, Bornholdt decided to return to academia and ended up at Utah State.

Since he started unicycling, Bornholdt said he’s tried to take advantage of “stuff” that’s different or interesting.

The result: Bornholdt is virtually a one-man circus.

It’s not an easy life though. Bornholdt said he had to work really hard to become good at unicycling – something he still has to work hard at. This year, he said he made a goal that when he was walking his dog, he would ride his unicycle … backwards.

“I’ve gotten a lot better riding backwards. Is it important? No. Who cares?” Bornholdt said. “My neighbors probably take their children inside [when I ride by]. But I don’t care; it’s fun.”

Learning how to unicycle is something that can be difficult. The best way to learn, Bornholdt said, is to find a long segment of pavement by a uniform wall – a wall without windows or doors. Then it’s just a matter of figuring out how to lean forward far enough to stay balanced while pedaling fast enough to stay in control.

Bornholdt said he has seen some people using crutches to help stay balanced. However people learn how to do it doesn’t matter.

“Just go buy it and do it. Stick with it and do it,” he said.

-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu

Bryan Bornholt unicycles to class every day. He has been riding for 27 years.