(For updated locations, see the timetable; All locations are subject to change)
Other AMS Sessions
Administrative Strategies for Dealing with Budget Cuts, organized by Al Boggess, Don Allen, and Jill Zarestky, Texas A&M University; Wednesday, 2:15 p.m.-3:35 p.m. This panel will give chairs of mathematics departments the opportunity to share strategies for dealing with budget cuts. Topics covered include: the effect of increasing class size on student learning, balancing teaching and research, differential teaching loads, the changing role of teaching assistants, the appropriate use of technology as an alternative or supplement to lecture, and the use of electronic textbooks. Our target audience will be public universities that have both teaching and research missions. We will first develop a survey of baseline data regarding responses to current budget cuts well before the meeting. The panel (members to be announced) will begin with a presentation of survey results. This will be followed by a discussion on the above topics with heavy participation by members in the audience. Sponsored by the AMS and the MAA.
Supply, Demand, and the Math Ph.D. Program, organized by Julius Zelmanowitz, University of California, Santa Barbara; Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Is there an oversupply of Ph.D. mathematicians? What effect should hiring patterns have on Ph.D. programs in term of size, curriculum, or advising? These and other contentious questions will be addressed by C. Allen Butler, Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc.; Nancy Heinschel, National Security Agency; Ellen Kirkman, Wake Forest University; Richard McGehee, University of Minnesota; Carol Wood, Wesleyan University; representatives from academic institutions; and government and private sector employers. Audience participation is encouraged. The panel will be moderated by Julius Zelmanowitz and is sponsored by the Committee on the Profession.
Conversation on Nonacademic Employment, Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-noon. This session will concentrate on how to find nonacademic positions, types of jobs, the interview process, work environments, and advancement opportunities. The discussion will be led by a panel of mathematical scientists working in government and industry. Panelists are Grant Boquet, Metron, Inc.; Sara Del Valle, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Andy Niedermaier, Jane Street Capital, LLC; Bonita Saunders, National Institute of Standards and Technology; and Charles Toll, National Security Agency. This session will be moderated by C. Allen Butler, Daniel H. Wagner Associates, Inc.
Summer Math Camps: The AMS (and Mathematician's) Role, organized by Glenn Stevens, Boston University, and Irwin Kra, SUNY at Stony Brook; Thursday, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. The AMS Epsilon Fund, endowed by contributions from mathematicians, supports summer mathematics camps for mathematically talented high school (including junior high school) students. The Young Scholars Awards Committee (YSAC) is sponsoring this event and allocates roughly US$100,000 per year to about ten applicants representing about 3% of the total budgets of these summer programs. Panelists Moon Duchin, Tufts University, representing the Canada/USA Mathcamp; Glenn Stevens, and Max Warshauer, Texas State University, representing Texas Mathworks, will give short presentations on their successful programs and discuss the main features, recruiting and selecting students and faculty/mentors, and budgets and funding. We hope these presentations will generate interest among the mathematical community to get involved in starting and supporting such activities. Ample time will be available for audience participation, including a question and answer period.
Report on the Findings of the 2010 CBMS Survey of Undergraduate Mathematical and Statistical Sciences in the U.S., organized by Ellen J. Kirkman, Wake Forest University, and James W. Maxwell, AMS; Thursday, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. A comprehensive survey of undergraduate programs in the mathematical sciences, sponsored by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, was conducted with funding from the National Science Foundation during fall 2010; a similar survey has been conducted every five years since 1965. The survey requested data including: detailed enrollments, the demographics of majors and faculty, the mathematical preparation of teachers, the major, dual enrollment and distance learning, and how college algebra and elementary statistics are taught. The report will be published in the spring 2012. This presentation will preview the interesting findings of this survey.
Who Wants to Be a Mathematician—National Contest, organized by Michael A. Breen, AMS, and William T. Butterworth, DePaul University; Friday, 9:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. See ten of the nation's best high school students compete for a US$5,000 first prize for themselves and US$5,000 for their school's math department. Semifinals are at 9:30 a.m. and finals at 10:30 a.m. You are invited to come and take part in this educational and fun presentation.
Current Events Bulletin, organized by David Eisenbud, University of California, Berkeley; Friday, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Speakers in this session follow the model of the Bourbaki Seminars in that mathematicians with strong expository skills speak on work not their own. Written versions of the talks will be distributed at the meeting and also be available on line at www.ams.org/ams/current-events-bulletin.html after the conclusion of the meeting.
Forum for Community Input on the Proposed NSF Division of Mathematical Sciences Name Change, Friday, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. This session provides an opportunity for members of the community to provide their views to representatives of the National Science foundation on the proposal to change the name of the of the division of Mathematical Sciences to the Division of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. Sponsored by the AMS, MAA, and SIAM.
Grad School Fair, Friday, 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Here is the opportunity for undergrads to meet representatives from mathematical sciences graduate programs from universities all over the country. January is a great time for juniors to learn more, and college seniors may still be able to refine their search. This is your chance for one-stop shopping in the graduate school market. At last year's meeting about 300 students met with representatives from 50 graduate programs. If your school has a graduate program and you are interested in participating, a table will be provided for your posters and printed materials for US$65 (registration for this event must be made by a person already registered for the JMM), and you are welcome to personally speak to interested students. Complimentary coffee will be served. Cosponsored by the AMS and MAA.
The Changing Landscape of Research Funding, Friday, 2:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. The speaker will be Subra Suresh, Director, National Science Foundation. Sponsored by the Committee on Science Policy.
Congressional Fellowship Session, organized by Samuel M. Rankin III, AMS; Friday, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Find out more about the AMS Congressional Fellowship program and its unique public policy learning experience. AMS Congressional Fellow Richard Yamada will give his perspective on the value of science-government interaction and how fellows can impact the decision-making process in Congress. Application deadline for the 2012-13 AMS Congressional Fellowship is February 15, 2012.
Models for Engaging Undergraduate Students in Research, organized by Steven J. Miller, Williams College, and David Damiano, College of the Holy Cross. This panel of faculty and students, including Dean M. Evasius, National Science Foundation; Joe Gallian, University of Minnesota Duluth; Jake Levinson, University of Michigan; Steven Miller, Williams College; Gina-Maria Pomann, North Carolina State University; and Ivelisse Rubio, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, will discuss various types of research experience available to undergraduates. Sponsored by the Committee on Education.