At a professional hockey game, it is unlikely that any spectators are doodling math problems between periods -- unless Dennis DeTurck is in attendance.
The passion the newly appointed College dean shows for his field of study is evident to almost anyone who has met him, as he has been known to keep a notepad with him nearly constantly so he can jot down equations whenever he likes.
His enthusiasm for math began at a young age.
"I was always interested in mathematical puzzles," DeTurck says. "So that just continued. That's always been with me."
Another of DeTurck's lifelong interests may not be as readily apparent.
"Music has always been a part of my life," says the Belmar, N.J., native, who studied piano from age seven at the suggestion of an elementary school teacher.
Since he decided to focus his efforts on math by accepting an invitation to study at Drexel University as an undergraduate, he has remained involved with music primarily through his wife Mary, a pianist and teacher.
DeTurck studied at Penn as a graduate student and -- after a two-year stint at New York University -- returned to Penn to join the faculty in 1982.
While he has been teaching at Penn for 22 years, DeTurck is still enlightened by his students.
"I just really like 18-year-olds," DeTurck says.
"You're at this wonderful stage where you get really excited about something and can really do it."
DeTurck also offered a unique comparison to the thrill he gets from another facet of his profession -- his research.
"Doing math research is like sex, in the sense that it's a very powerful thing," DeTurck says. "When you do it, it's this moving experience and you want to do it again, but there's always this fundamental insecurity that you don't know if you're going to be able to."
Despite having recently taken on a high-profile administrative position, DeTurck is described by his son Gary, a Yale freshman, as extremely humble.
"You can't tell he's a professor if you're just talking to him on the street," Gary says of his father. "Except for the tweed jacket."
DeTurck says he feels some trepidation and excitement about his move from David Rittenhouse Laboratory to Logan Hall.
"It actually feels like I'm jumping on to a moving train," since he took on the position of College dean mid-year, he says.
While he may be sketching out ideas for the new College curriculum rather than partial differential equations at the next professional sporting event he attends, DeTurck's commitment to his duties is unlikely to waver.
"At the root of it is the question 'How can I help?'" DeTurck says. That's "how I go into most situations."
Dennis DeTurck
Joined faculty in 1982n Served five years each as chairman and undergraduate chairman of the Department of Mathematics (1997-2002)
Grew up in Belmar, N.J.n Went to Drexel for undergraduate degree, Penn for graduate schooln Plays flute and piano (played in Kimmel Center with son)
Has kids, Greg, 22 (first year grad at Julliard) and Gary, 18 (freshman at Yale)
Wife, Mary, is a pianist, as well as giving piano lessonsn Received first-ever Evan C. Thompson Endowed Term Professorship for Excellence in Teaching
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