Who Wants to Be a Mathematician, Michael A. Breen, AMS, and William T. Butterworth, DePaul University
Time:1:00 p.m.: Room 6C
Description: Show your support for top high school students from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. in the first international Who Wants to Be a Mathematician as they compete for a US $5,000 first prize for themselves and US $5,000 for their school's math department. Come match wits with the contestants and support their mathematical achievement.
Mathematical Art Exhibition
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Exhibit Hall
Description: Don't miss this unique opportunity for a different perspective on mathematics. On display are works in various media by artists who are inspired by mathematics, and by mathematicians who use visual art to express their findings. Topology, fractals, polyhedra, and tiling are some of the ideas at play here.
"Mathematics to the Rescue: How to Fold a Tie," James Tanton, MAA
Time: 10:00 a.m.: Room 6C
Description: James Tanton explains: I have a personal problem. I travel a great deal and often have to pack a tie in my suitcase. I can't lay the tie out flat in the case, nor can I fold the tie in half and lay out the folded tie, as the case is too short. Folding the tie into quarters leaves a crease mark later visible on my chest. Ideally, I should fold my tie into perfect thirds. How does one do that? Actually, years of careful data gathering shows that I tend to wear my ties with twenty-seven sixty-fourths of their length showing at front. Can I fold my tie at that position? Fortunately, brilliant mathematics can solve my personal tie folding problem. Let me show you how! (And can this mathematics solve other problems in my life too?)
"Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant," Vi Hart
Time: 11:00 a.m.: Room 6C
Description: Watch an entertaining, thought-provoking mathematics and music video by Vi Hart, 2018 JPBM Communications Award winner, that explains mathematical concepts through doodles. Hart is well known among the younger generation for videos, which include the series "Doodling in Math Class" and have an audience of millions.
Math Wrangle
Time:: 11:00 a.m.: Room 6D
Description: Math Wrangle will pit teams of students against each other, the clock, and a slate of great math problems. The format of a Math Wrangle is designed to engage students in mathematical problem solving, promote effective teamwork, provide a venue for oral presentations, and develop critical listening skills. A Math Wrangle incorporates elements of team sports and debate, with a dose of strategy tossed in for good measure. The intention of the Math Wrangle demonstration is to show how teachers, schools, circles, and clubs can get students started in this exciting combination of mathematical problem solving with careful argumentation via public speaking, strategy and rebuttal.
Matt Parker: Stand-up Mathematician
Time: 11:10 a.m.: Room 6C
Description: Matt Parker, stand-up comedian, author, YouTube personality, and 2018 JPBM Communications Award winner will delight the audience with his two passions of mathematics and stand-up. Originally a math teacher in Australia, Matt is now the Public Engagement in Mathematics Fellow at Queen Mary University of London and works both as a stand-up comedian and a math communicator. He'll sign autographs after his talk, starting around noon.
Who Wants to Be a Mathematician Championship, Michael A. Breen, AMS, and William T. Butterworth, DePaul University
Time: 1:00 p.m.: Room 6C
Description: Show your support for top high school students from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. in the first international Who Wants to Be a Mathematician as they compete for a US \$5,000 first prize for themselves and US \$5,000 for their school's math department. Come match wits with the contestants and support their mathematical achievement.
Math Circles for Students and Teachers
Time: 1:00 p.m.: Room 6D
Description: A math circle is an enrichment experience that brings mathematics professionals in direct contact with pre-college students and/or their teachers. Circles foster passion and excitement for deep mathematics. This demonstration session offers the opportunity for conference attendees to observe and then discuss a math circle experience designed for local students. While students are engaged in a mathematical investigation, mathematicians will have a discussion focused on appreciating and better understanding the organic and creative process of learning that circles offer, and on the logistics and dynamics of running an effective circle.
"Political Geometry: Voting Districts, 'Compactness,' and ideas about Fairness," Moon Duchin, Tufts University, Porter Public Lecture
Time: 3:00 p.m.: Room 6AB
Description: The U.S. Constitution calls for a census every ten years, followed by freshly drawn congressional districts to evenly divide up the population of each state. How the lines are drawn has a profound impact on how the elections turn out, especially with increasingly fine-grained voter data available. We call a district gerrymandered if the lines are drawn to rig an outcome, whether to dilute the voting power of minorities, to over represent one political party, to create safe seats for incumbents, or anything else. Bizarrely-shaped districts are widely recognized as a red flag for gerrymandering, so a traditional districting principle is that the shapes should be "compact"-since that typically is left undefined, it's hard to enforce or to study. I will discuss "compactness" from the point of view of metric geometry, and I'll overview opportunities for mathematical interventions and constraints in the highly contested process of electoral redistricting. To do this requires a rich mix of law, civil rights, geometry, political science, and supercomputing.
