MAA Posters and Other Sessions

The Dolciani Award Lectures, organized by Tina Straley, Mathematical Association of America; Wednesday, 2:15–2:45 pm. Presentation by the Mary P. Dolciani Award winner for 2019, Joseph Gallian, The current state of undergraduate research in mathematics in the U.S. He will speak about the current state of undergraduate research in mathematics and his personal experiences with undergraduate research which started in the 1970s. Dr. Gallian is one of the leading pioneers and proponents of undergraduate research in mathematics and his work and support has significantly contributed to its acceptance and spread as part of the undergraduate program in mathematics.

Relatively Prime Live: Truthiness in the Mathematical Domain, organized by Samuel Hansen, University of Michigan and ACMEScience.com; Wednesday, 3:00–3:55 pm. Did you ever wonder if the Galois story was simply too good to be true (it is) or if Kronecker was really Cantor's victim (he wasn't)? Then this live recording of the award-winning mathematics podcast "Relatively Prime" is for you. Hosted by Samuel Hansen, and featuring wonderful guests, this live Relatively Prime will dig into the famous stories we all tell about mathematics and try and sort the wheat from the chaff. There will even be a secret audience participation element, and it includes a special prize!

Premiere of a Documentary Film about the Duluth REU, organized by Shah Roshan Zamir, University of Nebraska Lincoln; Wednesday, 5:00-6:00 pm. Curious about Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs? Join us for the first ever public showing of a film about the Duluth REU, the longest running REU in the nation. This documentary highlights the life and career of Joe Gallian, the daily operations of the REU, and interviews with many participants. See the trailer of Joe Gallian's documentary here.

Estimathon!, organized by Andy Niedermaier, Jane Street Capital; Thursday, 10:00 am–12 noon. They're called Fermi problems...

- How heavy is the Eiffel Tower?
- How many prime numbers have distinct digits?
- How many calories would you be eating if you had "one of everything" at the Cheesecake Factory?

If you're looking for a mindbending mixture of math and trivia, look no further! Jane Street Capital presents The Estimathon contest: teams will have 30 minutes to work on 13 problems, ranging from totally trivial to positively Putnamesque. Can your team beat the all-time best score? The top teams will receive prizes!

We will run 2 contests. Feel free to show up to either one!

(Please show up 15 minutes before the start time of the contest you want to join.)

Our target schedule is as follows:
10:00 am Welcome, overview of rules and scoring.
10:15 am Estimathon contest #1
11:00 am Estimathon contest #2

This event is sponsored by Jane Street Capital and the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Students (CUS).

MAA Student Poster Session, organized by Chasen Smith, Georgia Southern University, and Eric Ruggieri, College of the Holy Cross; Friday, 4:30– 6:00 pm. This session features research done by undergraduate students. First-year graduate students are eligible to present if their research was completed while they were still undergraduates. Research by high school students can be accepted if the research was conducted under the supervision of a faculty member at a post-secondary institution.

Appropriate content for a poster includes, but is not limited to, a new result, a new proof of a known result, a new mathematical model, an innovative solution to a Putnam problem, or a method of solution to an applied problem. Purely expository material is not appropriate for this session.

Participants should submit an abstract describing their research in 250 words or less by midnight, Friday, October 4, 2019. Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent in early November. See http://www.maa.org/programs/students/undergraduate-research/jmm-student-poster-session for further information on what should be included in the abstract and a link to the abstract submission form.

Posters will be judged during the session, and certificates will be sent to presenters afterwards. Trifold, self-standing 48" by 36" tabletop poster boards will be provided. Additional materials and equipment are the responsibility of the presenters. Participants must set up posters between 2:30 and 3:30 pm and must be available at their posters from 3:30 to 6:00 pm Judging will begin at 3:30 pm, and general viewing will begin at 4:30 pm Judges' feedback will be available at the MAA Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall on Saturday. Questions regarding this session should be directed to Eric Ruggieri eruggier@holycross.edu and Chasen Smith csmith@georgiasouthern.edu. This session is sponsored by the MAA Committee on Undergraduate Students (CUS).

MAA Poster: Projects Supported by the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education, organized by Jon Scott, Montgomery College; Thursday, 2:00–4:00 pm. This session will feature principal investigators (PIs) presenting progress and outcomes from various NSF funded projects in the Division of Undergraduate Education. The poster session format will permit ample opportunity for attendees to engage in small group discussions with the PIs and to network with each other. Information about presenters and their projects will appear in the program.

Mathematically Bent Theater, featuring Colin Adams and the Mobiusbandaid Players; Friday, 6:00–7:00 pm. Why is π funnier than e? Did the Bernoulli brothers have bunk beds and if so, who was on top? And if you were the one who pointed out the counterexample to the main theorem in my talk at the last JMM, could you send along the details? These are just a few of the questions we will not answer during this theatrical presentation of several short humorous mathematically inclined pieces.

Backgammon! organized by Arthur Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College, and Jason Lee, Montgomery College; Friday, 8:00–10:00 pm. Learn to play backgammon from expert players. It’s a fun and exciting game where players with a good mathematics background have a decisive advantage. Boards and free lessons will be provided by members of the US Backgammon Federation. Stop by anytime!

Town Hall Meeting: Swap Session for Teaching Aligned with the Instructional Practices Guide, organized by Carolyn Yackel, Mercer University, and Chris Oehrlein, Oklahoma City Community College; Saturday, 8:00-9:20 am. The MAA’s Instructional Practices Guide gives readers evidence based ideas for classroom, assessment, and design practices. Many members already make use of some of these practices, and others are interested to learn how to incorporate new strategies to enhance their teaching. This session allows participants to share an IP aligned strategy, absorb new techniques, or do both. Presenters will give 2-3 minute brief introductions to the way that they implement the Instructional Practice Guide aligned activities, designs, or themes in their courses. Following these informative teasers, participants will break into interest groups to discuss ideas and learn from one another. Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit presentation ideas and slides to the organizers one week prior to the session so that interest blocks can be created. However, all presentations will be welcome. The organizers encourage presenters to bring take-home materials for participants. This session is sponsored by CTUM (Committee on the Teaching of Undergraduate Mathematics) and CTYC (Committee on Two-Year Colleges).

MAA Mathematical Competition in Modeling (MCM) Winners, organized by Ben Fusaro, Florida State University; Saturday, 9:00-10:15 am. About 20,000 teams, each consisting of three undergraduates, entered the 2019 Mathematical Contest in Modeling in February. Teams chose one of two real-world problems. Teams have four days to deal with the MCM challenge and may use or access any inanimate source – computers, libraries, the Web, etc. MAA judges choose a winner for each problem. The two MAA winning teams of students will present their results of the MCM four-day challenge.

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, organized by Thomas J. Clark, Dordt University, Mark Saul, Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, Hector Rosario, Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, and Phil Yasskin, Texas A&M University. Saturday, 1:00-3:00 pm. The Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF) is an outreach event with many tables, each consisting of a mathematical game, puzzle, problem set, or activity. Participants (students, teachers, and faculty) will move among the tables, choosing for themselves which activity to engage in and the length of time they spend on the activity. Facilitators will manage the work, guiding and offering hints, but not demonstrating or teaching – creating a space for participants to discover, explore, and enjoy mathematics. The activities are highly interactive, will vary in complexity, and will evolve in structure in response to the choices made by participants. The event will also provide faculty and teachers and opportunity to experience the JRMF for themselves and learn how they might bring it back to their own university, school, or math circle. This session is sponsored by SIGMAA-MCST.

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