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A couple of weeks
before the joint meetings I
needed to cancel my plans to travel to
I have been told that it was a good meeting and that the reports on the usual issues (financial, publications, AMC, membership, committees) were, for the most part, positive. Simply said, the MAA is in good shape. However, during the past couple of years, the leaders of the MAA have been investigating what more can be done. We are in the third and final cycle of strategic planning. Preliminary reports were given on issues studied in cycle II (AMC, Professional Development and Revenue) and it was decided that Meetings, Sections and STEM would be the three topics to undergo review in cycle III. I will include more information in my next report.
In addition, governors participated in breakout discussions during the January meeting. They were asked to discuss the MAA’s vision, programs and services, publications, student chapters, and section and national meetings. Here is a brief summary of the notes I received. Many believed the MAA needs to do a better job of attracting and retaining graduate students. Questions about services for high school students were raised. Should we be reaching out to talented high school students? How do we reach future math leaders? How do we “get to” the parents of talented students? Should the MAA sponsor math enrichment programs for high school students? There was consensus on the popularity and value of Math Horizons. Many spoke to wanting student pages in FOCUS, a student insert periodically in FOCUS, or an e-newsletter so that students get the MAA news periodically. Whatever it is, it should contain highlights from national and section meetings, student chapters, and MAA Undergraduate Student Conferences. There was general agreement that the current model of student chapters is not working, and even some confusion as to what the definition of a student chapter is. The MAA has not taken full advantage of the possibilities offered by student chapters. Most believed that MathFest is an incredibly good experience for students. I look forward to being involved in future discussions on these topics and will keep you informed. Please feel free to contact me about any thoughts you have on these topics.
I fully intend on
participating in the Board of
Governors meetings at MathFest in
It’s my pleasure and
privilege to welcome you for MAA
Wisconsin Section’s 75th Annual Spring Conference to be held
in UW-
Eau Claire on April 20-21, 2007. This
year also marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of
Leonhard Euler
(1707-1783). Please join us in celebrating the life and work of Euler. Already the celebrations are underway. MAA had an Euler short course, “Leonhard
Euler: Looking back after 300 Years” at the Joint Meeting of the
MAA-AMS,
January 3-4, in
Chair – Elect Mohammad Ahmadi (UW-Whitewater) and the site coordinator Simei Tong (UW-EC) are collaborating with our Public Information Officer Benjamin Collins (UW-Platteville) in putting together an excellent conference for April 20 and 21. As of today (2/2/07), this two day event has twenty-two 25 minute presentations (including three presentations by out of state speakers), thirteen 50 minute presentations (including two invited addresses and a panel) and the popular mathematics game show, “Face Off” for college students. Please encourage your students to give 25 minute presentations and nominate a colleague (or yourself) for the Wisconsin Section Distinguished Teaching Award.
I hope you enjoy reading
the new section “Know Your Wisconsin
Mathematician” in your newsletter. We
will continue with this item. MAA-Wisconsin Section High School Contest
Examination is going smoothly under the leadership of Laura Schmidt
(UW-Stout). According to our new
treasurer Mark Snavely (
Don’t forget that the 76th
annual MAA(WI) will be
held at
American
Mathematics Competitions
The AMC 8
competition
was held on November 14, 2006. A total
of 2107
The AMC 10
and 12
contests will be held on February 6 and 21, 2007. Data
will be reported at the Spring Meeting.
The
Section contest
examination was given on Thursday, December 7, 2006.
There were 4085 high school students’ scores
reported from 85 schools. This
year,
there were 29 perfect scores reported. The
cutoff score for the top 1% was 115 out
of 120. More details will be available for the Spring 2007 meeting.
Dr. Laura
Schmidt has
reported a smooth transition of the contest from
At the
spring meeting
of MAA Wisconsin section, Project NExT-WI will have lunch followed by a
panel
discussion on Saturday. The topic will
be “Keeping Your Research Alive.” The topic is selected as much of the
new faculty
(recent PhDs) find it difficult to keep up with their research while
teaching 3
or more classes (9 or more credit hours) per semester. The panel will
consist
of faculties who have been successful in doing research while meeting
their
teaching obligations. This will give the participants a chance to learn
from
the experiences of the panel members and help answer some of their
questions
related to this issue.
Project
NExT-WI also
holds annual Fall Workshop (during last week of September or first week
of October)
in
Currently
we have 29
active members in NExT-WI and we are always looking for new members.
There is
no deadline to apply for the membership. One can apply any time during
the
academic year.
Project
NExT-Wisconsin
is open to all full-time faculty members in mathematics departments in
the
Wisconsin Section who are within their first four years of
undergraduate
teaching. You may also be eligible if you have more teaching
experience, but
are new to the Wisconsin Section. To
apply, contact me at
The co-Coordinators,
Ken Price and Steve
Szydlik, are pleased to report on opportunities for
We are particularly
grateful for all of the past
support and interest in the fast-paced math game show “Face Off!” It will return to the MAA section
meeting. Students who have taken Calc I
or above are eligible to compete for their department in teams of 2-4
players.
You can expect questions to come from the broad realm of
mathematics. And we do mean broad!
Categories might
include: Chances Are..., Log Jam, Name That Theorem, Off Limits, or
Quick Trigger. Expect some serious fun! Contact Ken (pricek@uwosh.edu) or Steve (szydliks@uwosh.edu), or check the
“Face Off” web site at http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/mathematics/mathclub/faceoff.htm
for more details.
“Face Off!” was a part of Madison Area Technical College’s fifth annual Math Fest, organized by the Wisconsin MAA chair, J. “Sri” Sriskandarajah, and the twenty-first annual Pi Mu Epsilon Regional Undergraduate Math Conference, organized by Rick Poss at St. Norbert College. John Koker, our MAA-Wisconsin governor, is usually the host, but our public information officer, Ben Collins, took a turn as host at MATC. Our secretary-treasurer, Mark Snavely, helped out with the scoring at the PME meeting.
The Wisconsin
Mathematics Council’s Annual Green
Lake Conference is scheduled for May 3-4.
Anyone interested in any level of mathematics education in
We look forward to student participation in state events and hope you encourage some of your students to attend conferences and to give presentations. Please let us know if you have ideas of ways to make the section more student-friendly. We’re always looking for suggestions!
Respectfully submitted by Ken Price and Steve Szydlik, UW-OshkoshAndy Matchett,
Andy Matchett is in his
24-th year of teaching
at UW-La Crosse. He has been active in the
MAA
as Secretary-Treasurer
(1985-2006). He has been a member
of both the MAA and AMS for over 20
years. He received his Ph.D. from
Andy has published papers in matrix theory and integral group rings, but his research interests are eclectic and he has given talks on principal components, rainbows, dynamical systems, and curriculum reform.
Matchett's professional
life has been devoted
mainly to undergraduate teaching. His current research interests are in
probability and statistics.
top
10:30
- 12:00 noon Preconference Workshop: Educational Resources -
Mathematics Digital LIbrary.
Organized by Erick Hofacker. For more information, see below.
Noon – 5 PM Registration
Noon – 5 PM Exhibits, MAA Book Sale, Math Lab
1:00
– 1:25*
Andrew Grzadzielewski (Education
Management Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA)
Two
alternatives to the standard method of solving exponential equations
Taking the log of both sides is the standard way of solving exponential
equations, but students often do not understand, appreciate, or
remember the
method. Two alternatives will be presented, either or both of which may
be used in place of or in conjunction with the standard
method. One involves rewriting the equation to equalize the bases, so
that the
equation can be solved by exponent comparison. The other involves
“stretching” the graphs into lines by re-plotting the graphs on
log paper, or by using technology to re-plot the equations if desired.
Data
will be presented that shows student retention of the method is
superior to retention
of the standard method, and also that student knowledge of the
alternative
methods transfers to other types of problems.
1:00 –
1:50
Walter M.
Reid (UW- Eau
Claire)
Distribution
Analysis using PPC-Continued Fractions
This talk introducing the distribution
analysis problem (DAP) will begin with a review of its predecessor, the
frequency analysis problem (FAP). The DAP consists of finding an
unknown
distribution function on the closed interval [-
,]
using sequences of real number readings XN(m), m
= 0, 1, 2,...,N-1, N = 2I+1, for I in the natural numbers, obtained
from a
signal of superpositions of sinusoidal waves determined by the
distribution
function. The method of interpolation
used in the DAP, called the Nm-process, is similar to the N-process, a
time
series method used in the FAP to determine the frequencies of the
signal and
their amplitudes. Both the Nm-process
and the N-process employ the even approximants of positive
Perron-Caratheodory
continued fractions (PPC-fractions), determined by the XN(m)
data.
For the Nm-process it is shown that, the even approximants of the
PPC-fraction
converge to the Herglotz transform of the distribution function as N
and m
approach infinity.
The long-term goal is the treatment of
general distribution
functions. However, this first study is restricted to a differentiable
distribution function having as derivative a bounded, even function on
[-,].
1:00 –
1:50*
James Swenson (UW – Platteville)
How can computers rank football teams?
When an athletic competition has crowned a champion, we sometimes end
up with
the feeling that the “best team” didn't win. However, it's hard to
distinguish
the notions of “best team” and “champion.” In many sports,
various
individuals and media outlets publish power rankings in an ongoing
effort to
identify the best teams. We shall study a few mathematical methods of
ranking
teams, and see how questions in multivariable calculus and linear
algebra arise
naturally.
1:00 –
1:50
Michael
Wodzak (Viterbo University)
How the Irish Saved Graph Theory
The knotwork found in the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Kells and
other
early Celtic Christian texts is so precise and so minute that one is
drawn to
conclude that it must be based on mathematical constructions and
principals. I will show how I incorporate a unit on constructing
these
knots in my 100 level Math Survey course at Viterbo University,
including such
topics as tessellations and their duals, map coloring (with a sidetrack
into
the story of Little Red Riding Hood), and traversable graphs, which
brings us
back to the Seven Bridges of Konigsberg.
1:30 –
1:55*
James
S. Walker (UW- Eau Claire)
LeCRewTA--A synthesized approach to
teaching mathematics
LeCRewTA stands for Lecture and Collaborative Review with Technological
Assistance. It is a method that synthesizes the traditional
lecture-based
approach with more recent approaches based on collaborative learning
and
technological assistance. (Based on the dictum: “When faced with a
dichotomy,
look for a dialectic”.) I will outline how I used LeCrewTA in teaching
Calculus
I, but it should apply to all mathematics courses.
1:30 –
1:55*
Yongjun Yang (UW-Sheboygan)
Euler's totient theorem and its
applications
In this talk we present some work by the great Euler in the number
theory. We
introduce Euler's totient function and the corresponding Euler's
theorem. Then
we give some interesting results in determining the digits of large
numbers
using this theorem. An elementary proof of the theorem is discussed as
well.
2:00
–
2:25*
Mu-Ling Chang (UW-Platteville)
How many zeros are in the end of the
factorial 100! ?
Last year there was a student activity, “Face off”, in the Wisconsin
Section of
the MAA meeting at Whitewater. During this activity a question was
asked: How
many zeros are in the end of 100!? In this talk, I will solve the
problem, find
a formula for the general case, and show an application on Number
Theory.
2:00
–
2:25*
Irfan Ul-haq (UW-Platteville)
Leslie Matrix
We show that Leslie Matrix can be used to address questions regarding
long term
behavior of the population.
2:00
–
2:25*
Bruce O'Neill (Milwaukee School of Engineering)
Inverse Eulerian Numbers
Binomial coefficients, all with positive signs, and binomial
coefficients, with
alternating signs, bear an interesting inverse relation to each other.
So do
Stirling Numbers of the First Kind (which alternate in sign) and
Stirling
Numbers of the second Kind (which are all positive). The triangle of
Eulerian
Numbers also has an inverse triangular array, which we develop and
investigate.
2:00
–
2:50*
Simei Tong, Don Reynolds, Andrew Balas, Alex Smith (UW-Eau
Claire)
Building the Capacity of a Department
of
Mathematics to Engage in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
During the 2005-06 academic year, the Department of Mathematics at the
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, supported by a grant from the UW
System,
undertook three separate projects involving the scholarship of teaching
and learning. One project sought an improved
understanding of how to facilitate students' transition to abstract
mathematics; a second project studied the implementation of cooperative
learning methods in lower division classes; and a third project studied
the
implementation of a particular instructional technology across the
curriculum
and its effect on student learning. Four of the participants will
report on this
experience and the outcomes of these projects.
2:30
–
2:55*
Robert Kreczner (UW-Stevens Point)
Euler's Substitutions and Rational
Points
on Conics
In this presentation we will consider two problems apparently
unrelated:
One deals with integration of functions involving a square root of a
quadratic
expression by using the well-known Euler's substitutions. This approach
is completely different from how this is usually
taught in calculus courses. The second one is about solving quadratic
equations
over rational numbers. We will show that the underlying ideas and
techniques are the same for these two problems, and when
they are considered together, it becomes clear how Euler's
substitutions might
have been discovered. The talk is accessible to any student who is
familiar with Calculus One. But calculus teachers will also have
an opportunity to gain a different perspective at these two topics
2:30 –
2:55
James
Peirce (UW - La Crosse)
Motion of a vortex line in an
averaged
velocity field
One approach taken to understanding turbulence is the development of
asymptotic
equations for the movement of thin tube-like filaments with intense
vorticity.
I will begin by reviewing known results on filament motion. The
primary
focus of the talk will be to discuss the dynamics of a vortex line
immersed in
a three-dimensional averaged fluid velocity field governed by the
Lagrangian
averaged Navier-Stokes(LANS-alpha) equations. The LANS-alpha equations
are a
set of equations designed to capture the large scale dynamics of the
fluid
motion by averaging, or filtering, motion at spatial scales smaller
than a
chosen parameter alpha. Preliminary results show that Lagrangian
averaging
replaces the core structure of the filament. Consequently, the
relationship
between the velocity and rotation of the fluid is no longer singular
and the
induced velocity at any point in the presence of a vortex line can be
determined throughout the fluid domain. The main tools come from PDEs
and
asymptotic analysis. The talk will be appropriate for students who have
taken a
differential equations course.
3:00 –
3:25
Petre
Ghenciu (UW-Stout)
300th birthday of Euler. Should we be
lighting the candles?
This talk will focus on the progress that the mathematics community
made in the
last 300 years. Are there any ideas or techniques that we lost in the
process?
What can be done about this?
3:00
–
3:50*
Panel
Discussion
Robert Wilson (UW-Madison, Moderator), Gail Burrill (Michigan
State University),
Martha Siegel (Towson University, MAA Secretary), Michael Bleicher
(Clark
Atlanta University)
What mathematical habits of mind and ways of thinking should university graduates have when they leave as prospective teachers?
The Carnegie sponsored Teachers for a New Era has engaged 11 universities in reconsidering their teacher education programs, with one of the goals that of strengthening the connection between arts and sciences and the school of education. Postulating that this is a worthwhile goal, the panel will consider questions such as the following: What should prospective teachers know about mathematics when they leave your university? What sense of mathematics should they take from their university work into their K-12 classrooms? What should they be able to convey to their students about what mathematics is? Is the set of prescribed courses adequate or is there a list of important topics? Are the topics all of equal importance? Are the goals for prospective elementary teachers different from those for secondary teachers? The audience will be encouraged to add to the discussion.
3:00 –
3:50*
David Harpster (UW-Stevens Point)
Archimedes: An Example of the Proof
Process in Ancient Greece
The methods and proof process used by Archimedes to show that the
volume of
right cylinder, circumscribed about a sphere, is 3/2 that of the sphere
will be
outlined in this presentation.
3:00 –
3:50*
Steve Deckelman (UW– Stout)
A Case Study in Disease Ecology:
Mathematical Modeling of Avian Flu
Avian influenza or “bird flu” has recently been the subject of much
media
attention and public interest. Opinions on its potential to spawn a
global
pandemic have ranged from the alarmist to the cautiously skeptical.
This talk
will describe what bird flu is, the current state of the bird flu
scare,
assessment of the pandemic risk, and the question of how to
mathematically
model bird flu. Some computer simulations will also be presented.
This
talk will be of interest to both faculty and staff as well as students.
Students who have taken differential equations will find this talk
especially
interesting.
3:30 –
3:55
Akhtar
A. Khan (UW - Barron County)
Inverse problems for variational and
quasi-variational inequalities with multivalued operators
Numerous physical models lead to variational and quasi-variational
inequalities
involving certain parameters describing physical properties. This talk
will
focus on the inverse problem of identifying these unknown parameters.
The basic
idea is to solve a minimization problem to obtain optimal coefficients.
Several
related issues will be discussed. Numerical results will be presented.
3:30 –
3:55
Ken
Krause (UW - Fond du Lac)
Euler and Eau Claire
Let's celebrate Leonhard Euler's 300th birthday. Find out what it
was
like being a mathematician back then compared to now - 2007.
4:00
–
4:25*
Todd Will (UW-La
Crosse)
Interactive
Graphics for Teaching Introductory Linear Algebra
We will explore a website for teaching introductory linear
algebra. The
site features interactive graphics for visualizing linear
transformations,
least squares solutions, and the singular value decomposition.
The site
can be used for classroom demonstrations or, when combined with on-line
homework exercises, can be assigned as an outside activity.
4:00
–
4:25*
Donald Crowe
(UW-Madison, Retired Professor of Mathematics)
An
unexpected discovery in the heart of Africa:
the "duality" between p4g and pgg
Andreas Speiser was the first to suggest
that the 17 plane crystallographic groups could be used for the study
of
real-world plane patterns. In his 1927 group theory book he
described the
invention of the p4g pattern by the ancient Egyptians as "a
mathematical
discovery of the first magnitude". He was wrong -- the pattern is
an
automatic product of over-under weaving -- but p4g in its various
manifestations does have world-wide occurrence and importance. Examples
will be
shown, with special emphasis on two carved table tops from the Congo
which reveal a kind of "duality" between the two patterns p4g and pgg
4:00 –
4:25
Stan Russell (Pima Community College-West)
What about a growth model with
"end-of-life" behavior?
The exponential law of (unconstrained) growth describes well many
natural
phenomena, with the associated function exp(rt) and constant e
fundamental
entities in mathematics. The concept that "nothing grows forever" has
led to the logistic equation of Verhulst, a model of constrained growth
which
itself has contributed greatly to mathematics (nonlinear dynamics and
chaos
theory). What about the concept that "nothing lasts forever"? This
surely applies to many things in this world ranging from individual
living
beings to entire civilizations to the stars in the universe. Motivated
by his
experience in industry with empirically based fatigue laws, the author
poses
the question in the title of this talk, talks about a couple of his own
(feeble) attempts and poses this challenge to his mathematical audience.
4:00 – 4:25*
Benjamin
V. C. Collins
(UW- Platteville)
A Marvelously Terrible Algorithm from
Leonard Euler
Leonard Euler was unquestionably
one of the greatest mathematical minds of all time. However, from
the
vantage point of the 20th century, many of his techniques seem to lack
rigor. I will present an algorithm for solving polynomial
equations that
author Peter Flusser states is "based on nothing but wishful
thinking."
But, as with almost everything from the mind of Euler, it works!
4:00 –
4:25
Ki-Bong Nam (UW-Whitewater)
Some open problems on algebra and
beyond
Recently, a lot of associative, Lie, and non-associative algebras are
defined
by many authors. We will introduce some of them and some results of
them. We will
list some open problems on the algebra and on some number theory.
4:30 – 5:25* Invited Address
Michael
Bleicher (Clark Atlanta University, Emeritus
Professor of Mathematics, UW-Madison)
From
Euler to the Riemann Hypothesis
We begin with a discussion of Euclid's
ingenious proof of the infinitude of the prime numbers, his approach to
unique
prime factorization, and the necessity of using addition to demonstrate
this
totally multiplicative property. Euler
was the first to find an essentially different proof of the Prime
Number
Theorem. Euler's proof used geometric
series and infinite suns and products. Various versions of the prime
number
theorem were conjectured by several mathematicians. Euler's ideas lead
to the
consideration of the Riemann Zeta Function and the use of complex
analysis in
number theory. The best results for the error term in the Prime Number
Theorem.
Better error terms follow automatically from larger zero-free regions
in the
critical strip.
5:30-6:30 Reception and cash bar
5:30-6:30 “Face Off!” The
Mathematics Game Show Tamarack Room, Davis Center
Organized
by Dr. Ken Price (pricek@uwosh.edu)
and Dr. Steve Szydlik (szydliks@uwosh.edu)
For more information about “Face Off!”, see below.
6:30
Banquet
Invited Address: Gail Burrill (Michigan State University)
The Mathematical Knowledge Needed for
Teaching at the Secondary Level: What is
the Role of mathematics departments?
Researchers are beginning to argue that in addition to knowing
mathematics
there is a kind of mathematical knowledge that is unique to teaching,
just as
there is mathematical knowledge that is useful to engineers. Knowing
mathematics for teaching implies that teachers should have a broader
knowledge
of mathematics specific to their work, knowledge on which they can draw
to make
decisions about what they choose to teach, when and how. What are some
examples
of this knowledge and how do teachers acquire it? Mathematics
departments
can have a role in this task; one that should be carefully considered
in terms
of mathematics courses that prospective teachers take and how
mathematicians
can interact with mathematics education in productive ways. The session
will
explore what this means and discuss some possible options.
8:00 – 10:00 Registration
8:00 AM – Noon Exhibits, MAA Book Sale Hibbard Humanities Hall (220)
8:00 – 8:50 Business meeting
9:00
–
9:25*
Andrew
Grzadzielewski (Education Management Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA)
Optimization
Problems - An Alternative Pedagogical Technique with a spreadsheet
When presenting optimization problems, we sometimes naively hope that
our
students will proceed directly to the function, and if they struggle
why doing
so, we may not be sure what to do. Using a spreadsheet to break down
such problems
may prove to help students understand the concept step by step
9:00
–
9:25
Tony
Thomas (UW-Platteville)
Sum-Preserving Rearrangements of
Infinite Series
It is well known that any rearrangement of an absolutely convergent
series of
real numbers converges to the same sum as the original series; however,
the
situation is quite different for conditionally convergent series.
In
fact, Riemann proved that any conditionally convergent series may be
rearranged
to converge to an arbitrary real number, or even diverge. In this
talk we will discuss
necessary and sufficient conditions for a specific rearrangement to
preserve
both the convergence and the sum of an arbitrary (conditionally)
convergent
series.
9:00 –
9:25
Xueqing Chen (UW-Whitewater)
Root Vectors, PBW and Canonical Bases
of Ringel-Hall Algebras and Quantum
Groups
Let g = g(C) be the
Kac-Moody Lie algebra associated to a Cartan matrix C and U = Uv(g)
its quantum group. A key feature in quantum groups is the presence of
several
natural bases (like the PBW-basis and the canonical basis). There are
different
approaches to the construction of the canonical basis: algebraic
approach
(Lusztig, Kashiwara, Beck-Chari-Pressley, Beck-Nakajima), geometric
approach
(Lusztig) and Ringel-Hall algebra approach (Ringel, Lin-Xiao-Zhang). In
this
talk, we will recall algebraic and Ringel-Hall algebra approaches to a
PBW
basis and a canonical basis of U when C is finite or affine. Meanwhile,
the root vectors in Ringel-Hall algebras will be discussed.
9:00
–
9:50*
Norbert Kuenzi (UW– Oshkosh, Retired
Professor of
Mathematics)
Math Recreations--More Than Just
Fun and Games
Many people find math recreations both intriguing and entertaining.
However,
math recreations can offer much more than entertainment. They provide
us with a
rich source of problems and examples which can be used to illustrate
mathematical concepts and problem solving strategies. A few of my
favorites
will be presented.
9:00
–
9:50*
Jeanne Foley (UW-Stout)
Incorporating online assignments and peer
tutoring
into general education
math
classes: An update on the Math TLC approach
Many university mathematics departments have historically struggled
with the
challenge of preparing entering students for college level mathematics,
and
success in first-year math courses is a strong predictor of retention
into the
second year of college. At last year's meeting, we reported on
the results
produced in our Beginning Algebra (Math 010, MPT Level 0) and
Intermediate
Algebra (Math 110, MPT Level 1) courses since the UW-Stout Math
Teaching and
Learning Center was commissioned in Fall 2004 to combine online work
with
required daily classroom sessions and a new tutoring service.
With five
semesters now completed, combined failure and withdrawal rates continue
to drop
in both classes, with average F/W rates reduced by an average of 62% in
Beginning Algebra and 42% for Intermediate Algebra compared to the
previous
four-year average. Nearly 95% of students are now completing all daily
homework
assignments, with scores averaging over 90%. Lecture attendance
is also
averaging above 90%, and we are logging 150-200 student visits each
week to the
Math TLC tutor lab which is staffed by course instructors and
undergraduate
peer tutors who are specially trained for working with students in
these two
courses. In the current academic year we have been adapting some
of these
practices (online assignments, course-targeted tutoring) to some of our
higher-level general education math courses. We will report on
the
results of these new initiatives and share lessons learned and best
practices.
Participants in the session will also be given information about a new
series of
professional development workshops to be held at UW-Stout beginning in
July of
2007 and supported by a 3-year U.S. Department of Education grant from
the Fund
for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. The 5-day workshops
will allow
attendees to prepare fully functional hybrid classroom/online courses
for pilot
sections of Beginning and Intermediate Algebra using the course
structure and
policies developed and refined over the past three years in the
UW-Stout Math
TLC program.
9:30 –
9:55*
Linda Thompson (Carroll College)
Now and Then
Observations on how mathematics instruction has changed and how it has
stayed
the same over the past 100 years. These observations are based in
part on
material discovered in a set of old mathematics education textbooks
that date
back to the early 1900s.
10:00
–
10:25* Simei Tong (UW- Eau
Claire)
Team based learning in calculus class
Abstract: This talk will present the results of student learning in
calculus
class with team activities: team presentations, team projects, and team
quizzes. The talk hopes to promote a discussion of engaging and
challenging both students and faculty in mordern mathematics education.
10:00
–
10:25 Eric
Kuennen (UW - Oshkosh)
Remedial Mathematics Placement
Placement has been identified as an important component of improving
the
effectiveness of remedial mathematics, but what factors should we look
at when
making the decision whether a student needs a developmental mathematics
course? This talk will present results from a two-semester
study at UW - Oshkosh which attempts to identify which factors ought to
be
included in the mathematics placement at the undergraduate level, and
to assess how well current placement practices succeed
in identifying students in need of remediation.
10:00
–
10:25* Robert Coffman (UW -
River Falls)
Random Convex Triangles in a Circle
A problem on this year's Putnam Exam asks for the probability that four
points
chosen at random in the interior of a given circle form a convex
quadrilateral.
Here, we will outline one solution and give the broader historical
context in
which this problem lies.
10:00
– 10:50* James S. Walker (UW-
Eau Claire)
Music: A time-frequency approach
Using
mathematics we produce 2D images, “time-frequency portraits”, of
recorded
music. Passages from Western classical music, Chinese folk music,
Western
popular music, bird songs, and experimental “fractal” music will be
analyzed,
processed, and synthesized using these time-frequency portraits.
Some
insight into the nature of musical perception and composition will be
gained.
10:00
– 10:50* Matthew Bloss (UW-
Eau
Claire)
Using
L. Dee Fink's Significant Learning Framework in a Modeling-Based
College
Algebra Course
Over the past few years I have been developing a course called Earth
Algebra. This is generally a terminal course for students.
The emphasis
is on modeling and the environment. I have designed the course
around Fink's six goals of significant learning: Foundational
Knowledge,
Application, Integration, Human Dimension, Caring, and Learning How to
Learn.
I will talk a bit about Fink's framework for significant learning
and how
teaching and learning happens in the course. I will share
materials, techniques,
and ideas, and I look forward to some dialogue with the attendees.
10:00
– 10:50* Robert
Hoar, Becky Ledoc, Jenn Kosiak, and Helen Skala (UW-La Crosse), Sherrie
Serros
(UW-Eau Claire), Kathy Ernie and Erick Hofacker (UW-River Falls)
The PRAXIS WI Project
The PRAXIS Wisconsin Project is a multifaceted project involving
faculty-student teams from around the System in the creation of
web-based,
flash-driven learning objects in math and science. The results are
interesting
and impressive. The presentation will include information about the
Design
Model, the Team Structures, the benefits to the faculty team leaders,
the
benefits to the student team members, and the benefits to the
end-users.
Examples of the project results will also be presented. This project
will
likely continue, and potential opportunities for getting involved will
also be
discussed.
10:30
– 10:55* Alex Lavrentiev (UW-Fox)
The Method of Intervals and
Trigonometric Inequalities
The method of intervals is widely used to solve polynomial and rational
inequalities. But it can also be very effective when applied to various
other
types of inequalities. I will talk about applying the method of
intervals to
solving some of the more complicated trigonometric inequalities. I will
provide
a number of examples.
11:00
– NOON Invited address
MAA Speaker, Martha Siegel (Towson University, MAA Secretary)
Applied Mathematics for Fun and
Profit
I will describe some fascinating projects that illustrate what
undergraduates
can accomplish in tackling real-world problems. I hope to
encourage
colleges and universities to design an undergraduate research
experience in
applied mathematics. The problems are challenging, fun, and our
clients
really want the answers!
top
Erick
Hofacker
Over the past five
years
there has been tremendous growth in the field of digital resources
which can be
used within the mathematics classroom at the higher educational level. In order to use these resources, one must
first seek out and find the resources.
This can be accomplished by doing a Google search on a
particular mathematical
topic. Unfortunately Google will often
times return numerous irrelevant resources that are not quite what the
user had
in mind when performing the search. Due
to this rapid growth in resources, finding quality materials has become
more
challenging for the user. Thus MAA and
NSF have recently supported the creation of digital libraries which are
an
organized point for a potential user to access and search for resources
relevant to their needs. It is the hope
of these projects that these libraries can provide users easier access
to
finding materials that may be of interest to them, rather than simply
doing a Google
search.
Last fall I was
invited to
partake in a two-day workshop which discussed three of these different
digital
libraries: MathDL, MathGateway, and
NSDL. Each of these libraries provides
links to numerous educational resources which can be used inside and
outside of
the mathematics classroom. Available
resources include: virtual demos,
historical information in mathematics, content information, projects,
journal
articles, research, virtual homework sets, and more.
This workshop
should serve
two purposes to its participants. One,
it will disseminate and demonstrate to participants the types of
resources that
are available to them via electronic means.
Secondly, it will discuss how to successfully use these
libraries to
find resources relevant to the participant’s needs in a timely manner. The workshop should give everyone a small
sampling of the mathematics teaching resources available on the web.
The workshop will
be
conducted within a computer lab so all participants will have access to
performing their own searches and seeking out materials relevant to
them. It is recommended that if you are an
MAA member
you should bring with your MAA membership number in order to fully
access all
features of all of the digital libraries.
Materials and handouts will be available for participants to
take back
to their campus and share with colleagues.
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What is it? Face Off is a
mathematics quiz show with
questions from the broad realm of mathematics. And we mean broad! Teams of 2-4 students representing their
schools compete to answer these questions. Each team gets a sign with
the face
of a mathematician (For example, your team could play as Descartes,
Gauss,
Hilbert, Noether, or
When is it? Friday, April
20, 5:30-6:30 pm., as part of
the MAA-Wisconsin Section meeting
Where is it? Tamarack Room,
Sample Questions:
The Off Limits category
contained the following questions.
20 pts. What is limx->pi/2
sin(x)/x?
40 pts. What is limx->2
(x-3)/(x-2)?
60 pts. What is limx->0|x|/x?
80 pts. What is limx->1
(2x-2)/(x-1) ?
The Take a Number category
contained the following questions.
20 pts. How many pips are on a standard die?
40 pts. What prime number is both the sum of two primes and the
difference of
two primes?
60 pts. What two-digit number has a cube root equal to the square root
of the
sum of its digits?
80 pts. What is the smallest non-palindromic number whose square is a
palindrome?
Please contact one of the
organizers if you would like to enter a team. Any student who has taken
or is
enrolled in Calculus I is eligible to join a Face Off team representing
their
school. If a school doesn’t have enough
interested students, contact the organizers anyway – we can combine
interested
students to form hybrid teams. Space
will be limited, so form a team soon and let us know of your interest!
Face Off Organizers:
Dr.
Ken Price (pricek@uwosh.edu,
(920)424-1057),
Dr. Steve Szydlik (szydliks@uwosh.edu,
(920)424-7346),
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/mathematics/mathclub/faceoff.htm
top
From the
South or East,
approaching on I-94W:
Driving west on I-94 take
exit 70, the first Eau Claire exit
onto U.S. 53. Take exit 87 onto
(1) Your next exit will
be to the left so get or stay in the
left most lane. There may be
construction on
(2) You can now see
Hibbard Hall to the left. It is an eight
story red brick building. Immediately
after the first stop light on the
left is the Hibbard Hall Parking lot, this will be available for
parking on
Saturday but not on Friday. On Friday
proceed past the Hibbard Hall parking lot and turn left at the next
stop light. Drive across the bridge over
the
(3) To walk to Hibbard Hall from the Water street parking lot, cross Water street at the cross walk and walk across the footbridge over the Chippewa river and turn left and walk to the eight story red brick building (Hibbard Hall) and follow signs to registration.
From the
South,
approaching on Wisconsin 93 (alternate route from the East on I-94 take
exit 68
onto
After you cross I-94 at
exit 68 proceed to the first stop
light and turn left onto
From the
West,
approaching on I-94E:
Driving east on I-94 take
exit 65, the second
From the
North or East,
approaching on
Take exit 87 onto
A total of 90 rooms are blocked at the Plaza and the Quality Inn. .
At the Plaza call 715-834-3181 or 800-482-7829 to reserve, mention the group number 5408. Rooms are $62.00 for single and $82.00 for double. Deadline March 27.
At the Quality Inn, call 715-834-6611 and mention "Wisconsin MAA Group Block". Room rates are $58.00 single queen, $62.00 two beds (doubles or queens). Deadline March 27.
Other area hotels on the in-state lodging list (a group of rooms are not held):
Interview
with Prof. Phil Straffin by J.
Sriskandarajah
What impression did grade
school have on you mathematically? Was
that where you became interested in mathematics?
What town did you grow up
in?
And your undergraduate
school was Harvard , M.A from
At Harvard it was
assumed—or at least I thought it
was assumed--that if you were good in mathematics you would take the
graduate
sequences in real and complex analysis in your junior and senior years,
which I
dutifully did. And I took courses from
some wonderful mathematicians: Oscar
Zariski, Lynn Loomis, John Tate, David
Mumford. I learned that mathematics was
hard and deep, but I still didn’t have a sense that it was beautiful or
exciting.
At
How did you end up at
When were you and Judy
married?
Judy and I were married
just before we went to
And how about your
son?
Ethan was born at the
end of my first year at
Did your expectations for
the students change ability-wise or activity-wise over the years?
I think my students
would tell you that I’ve always
had them do a lot of work. Surely doing mathematics is the only way to
learn
it, and I’ve also wanted my students to do projects in which they learn
mathematics on their own, organize it, and present it clearly to me and
to their
peers. I taught Beloit’s first
“cooperative Moore method” courses in the late 70’s, and developed our
Mathematical
Modeling course in which student teams work on real problems and write
and
present consulting reports.
However, I have cheered
for and followed--and
perhaps help lead through the ACM/GLCA Calculus Reform Project--the
trend
toward more activity-based and cooperative learning of mathematics.
Although I
like to lecture and may still do it for part of a class, I have
students
working in groups in almost every class.
I enjoy circulating to help, and the feeling of clearing up
problems
quickly and reinforcing good problem solving techniques.
In all my classes for the past five years
I’ve allowed students, if they wish, to turn in problem sets in pairs. I’ve found that doing that works very well
for many students.
As for your own
professional career, what areas of mathematics did you study?
My thesis was in
algebraic topology, systematizing
the construction of secondary twisted cohomology operations, and my
first paper
was about new algebraic identities in the Steenrod algebra. Teaching in
Also in the 1970’s I was
inspired by Li and Yorke’s
paper “Period Three Implies Chaos” to find a graph theoretic proof of a
generalization of Li and Yorke’s result, which we in the West later
learned had
been proved in 1964 by Sharkovsky. This
interest led to a sophomore level course on in chaotic dynamical
systems at
In the 1990’s Darrah
Chavey created a course on
ethnomathematics at
Finally, with the
collaboration of Bob Messer at
How long were you
department chair?
I was Chair from 1980 to
1990. My first initiative was to formalize
What does your wife think
of mathematics?
Judy is an English
professor and a poet. She likes to hear me
talk about mathematics,
but more for the sound of the language than the mathematics. Since
she’s
listened to so much mathematics, she writes pretty good mathematical
doggerel. When we got married and went
to
How about your family,
your son? Did any of them show any
promise in mathematics?
Ethan has an MA in
Computer Science from Stanford
and writes parsers which turn the print versions of science and medical
journals into web versions. As an
undergraduate CS major he took a fair amount of mathematics, but he
never was
seriously attracted to it. I remember
Ethan’s best friend Chris, now a mathematics professor at Williams,
trying to
explain why abstract algebra is beautiful, and Ethan not quite
believing it.
What are your hobbies,
rock climbing….
Well, I’m not really a
rock climber, but I am a
pretty good non-technical mountaineer.
I also like choral
singing, classical music and
curling up with a good book on rainy days.
What do you think is the
best part of mathematics and being a mathematician?
As a mathematics
teacher, the best part is the
people you get to work with.
As a mathematician, the
best part the ideas you get
to spend your time thinking about. Are
there other areas where you can get so engrossed in a problem that when
you
look up it’s several hours later (and maybe students are standing at
the door
telling you you’re late for class)? Or
wake up at night with a
How about the worst part?
Grading!
I’ve
always believed that to learn mathematics students need to turn in work
and get
feedback from me every week, and that they need to write.
At three classes per semester, that’s a lot
of student papers
What of your work do you
like the best? What are you most proud
of?
Well, I certainly love
teaching, and I’m proud of
the first Wisconsin Section Teaching Award and of the Haimo Award. But I also love writing, though I find it
hard work. In each area of mathematics
I’ve worked in, I’ve tried to write something I could be really pleased
with. In game theory, I’m most proud of
the game theory book; in political science, a 1984 Mathematics Magazine
paper
on parliamentary coalitions with Bernie Grofman, which won an
Allendoerfer
prize; in ethnomathematics, Mathematics Magazine papers on the Maori
game Mu
Torere in 1995, and Chinese mathematician Liu Hui in 1998; in topology,
the new
Topology book.
top
Spring Math Club Events:
Jan. 29, 3:30 PM, Room 209
Monthly
Presentation # 58, Professor Ranjan
Roy,
Leonhard Euler’s 300th Birth Anniversary, Let’s Celebrate!
Feb 21, 3:30 PM, Room 209
Monthly
Presentation # 59, Professor
Wine Bottles and
Pizza Sharing
Mar. 2, 3:30 PM, Room 209
Monthly Presentation # 60, Professor Clint Sprott, UW Madison Physics Dept.
A Fractal View of the World
Apr. 26, 3:30 PM, Room 321
Monthly
Presentation #61, Professor Jane
Tanner,
Do You Do Sudoku?
Apr. 27, 9:00 – 12:00 am, Mitby Theater
Monthly
Presentation # 62, Professor Laura
Taalman,
Sudoku: Questions, Variations, and Research
Professor Jonathan Kane, UW-W & MATC Math Faculty present:
Who Wants to be a
Sudoku Master?
May 4, 3:30 PM, Room 209
Monthly Presentation # 63, Professor Norbert Kuenzi, UW Oshkosh
Some(Sum)
Numerical Curiosities for 2007
Further information is available at http://matcmadison.edu/studentlife/clubs/mathclub
Milwaukee School of Engineering
submitted by Karl David
Professor Emeritus Peter K.F. Kuhfittig has had his paper, "Seeking exactly solvable models of traversable wormholes supported by phantom energy," published in Classical and Quantum Gravity, Volume 23 [2006], pp. 5853-60.
UW-Eau Claire
submitted by Simei Tong
“The Department of Mathematics at UW Eau Claire has had a tremendously successful year,” as the chair, Dr. Andrew Balas, wrote in the newsletter for alumni of UWEC.
Dr. Mohamed Elgindi and Dr. Michael Howe received a $269,740 National Science Foundation grant, “Research Experiences for Undergraduates,” (REU) in pure and applied mathematics. The program will start in the summer of 2007. The “Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics” scholarship program has been funded. This program is a continuation and expansion of the “Excellence in Mathematics and Computer Science Scholarship Program”. It will provide $5,000-$10,000 a year to qualified students majoring in mathematics or certain sciences. A Department faculty member received a grant from UW System to promote diversity and gender equity in mathematics within the UW System. Last, but not least, during the 2005-06 academic year the Department initiated a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project that involved 14 Department faculty members. The program was so successful that it has expanded to a UW System initiative involving faculty from eight campuses. Preliminary results of the project will be presented at the Wisconsin 2007 MAA meeting.
The Department of Mathematics is saddened by the sudden death of a dear colleague, Dr. Eberth Alarcon, 40, who succumbed to Leukemia. We miss him very much.
Three faculty members retired from the Department, Dr. Robert Langer, Dr. Jo Ingle and Mr. Stanley Ediger. Three new faculty members joined the Department: Dr. Sherrie Serros, Ph.D. in Mathematics; Dr. Christopher Hlas, Ph.D. in Mathematics Education; and Jessica Kraker, (almost) Ph.D. in Statistics.
UW-Milwaukee
submitted by Jay H. Beder
The
2007 Marden
Lecture in Mathematics will be given by David Keyes, Fu Foundation
Professor of
Applied Mathematics in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied
Mathematics at
The
UWM Alumni
Association has given Professor Jon
Kahl this year’s "Teaching
Excellence" award. A monetary award
was presented to him at the Association's Annual Awards Program in
December,
and a plaque will be presented to him at its Annual Awards Program and
Reception on May 19. In addition to his
outstanding teaching at UWM, he has been engaged in public education
about
atmospheric science, including a series of books for children
(http://www.uwm.edu/~kahl/Books/).
The
Department
mourns the loss of Professor Mark Teply,
who died on November 10, 2006, after a 2 ½-year-long struggle
with cancer. He joined the Department as
full professor in
1985 after 17 years at the University of Florida, and until his illness
had
served for many years as the Department’s graduate coordinator. In that capacity he secured Dept. of
Education GAANN grants for the support of the Department’s graduate
students
starting in 1990, and continuing to the present day.
Mark
became
Editor-in-Chief of Communications in
Algebra in 2000, and served for many years on the editorial boards
of Communications in Algebra, the Kyungpook
Math. Journal, and two
monograph series published by Dekker. He
had directed 10 Ph.D.’s in addition to
one in progress. A number of these are
on the faculty of various UW System mathematics departments. Mark authored 70 refereed papers in addition
to a number of monographs and book chapters. He had many collaborators,
and
gave numerous invited talks in the
Mark’s
specialization was in rings and modules, particularly torsion theory
and Krull
dimension. He received all his degrees
from the
UW-Whitewater
submitted by Mohammad Ahmadi
The Department is conducting a search to fill two tenured-track positions in statistics and mathematics education
Jonathan
Kane
gave a talk at the joint meetings in
The Purple Comet Math Meet http://purplecomet.org will take place April 16 – 20, 2007 which is run by our department.
Fe Evangelista, Julie letellier, Thomas McFarland, Geetha Samaranayake, and Joan Stamm received a grant for a Lesson Study Grant for Finite Mathematics.
1.
2.
Woo
Jeon, Ki-Suk Lee, and
3.
Woo Jeon
and
Cartan Type”, Vol. 4, No.3, JAADS, 165-175, 2006.
Martin
Engert, long
time member of the Wisconsin Section, passed away on January 15,
2007.
Martin did his undergraduate work at
Two
of
our mathematics faculty were presenters at the annual AMS/MAA meetings in
Dave Gebhard presented a paper
entitled “Building
Communication Skills—a Gradual Process” for the MAA session on “Getting Students to Write and Discuss
Mathematics.”
Dave Schulz (computer science)
filed 6 patent applications during 2006. The
first 5 were all related to building and
testing TTS (text-to-speech) computer voices.
The most recent is entitled “Method for Pronouncing Non-Arabic
Names
Written in Arabic Script”.