ASHLAND MEETING - June 2006
The annual
meeting of the Pacific Northwest MAA section was held at Southern Oregon
University in Ashland, Oregon, June 22-24, 2006. The attendees were
treated to a well planned meeting, thanks to Dusty Sabo, the local arrangements
chair, and the rest of the organizers from SOU and from around the
section. The weather and location were also beautiful, although it is not
clear that the organizers deserve credit for that.
The meeting began on
Thursday, June 22 with Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) and two
minicourses. Duane DeTemple of Washington State University led a group in
a minicourse called ÒUsing The Geometer's Sketchpad in Teaching and Research.Ó
The minicourse was intended for college math instructors with limited
experience with Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP). He focused on the use of GSP in
calculus, math education courses for preservice teachers, combinatorics, math
history, and geometry. He then examined GSP as a tool for mathematical
discovery and exploration.
Donald Saari of University of California Irvine gave
his first of three presentations at the meeting in a minicourse titled
ÒMathematics of Voting.Ó Saari showed that the choice of the optimal
voting rule is a very interesting problem mathematically. The applicable
mathematics range from simple algebra and geometry to combinatorics and even
algebraic topology and the orbits of permutation groups. And he was true to his
word, as his abstract claimed that those who attended should Òexpect to leave
wondering whether, in your last election, the correct person was elected.Ó
On Friday morning, Saari
gave his invited talk at a plenary session of the meeting. His focus was
on the N-body
problem in a presentation titled ÒThe Chaotic Evolution of Newton's Universe.Ó
Jim Tattersall of Providence
College was the next invited speaker. After lunch on Friday, Tattersall
gave a brief history lesson of Cambridge University with ÒEpisodes in the Early
History of the Lucasian Chair.Ó
After a busy day of
contributed talks and meetings, the banquet was held Friday night and, in
addition to a delicious meal, a number of important announcements were
made. The section heard from our out-going governor, Rob Beezer of the
University of Puget Sound and was also introduced to our newly-elected
governor, Nancy Ann Neudauer of Pacific University. The new Project NExT
fellows were introduced to the section by Jenny McNulty. Jim Morrow of
the University of Washington was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award and
was introduced by Yves Nievergelt of Eastern Washington University. John
Thurber of Eastern Oregon University was elected as the new chair-elect of the
section, and Chris Black was elected as the new secretary-treasure for the PNW
MAA section. Finally, longevity was the focus with recognition of those
members of the sections who have been members of the MAA for 25 or 50 years.
After the meal, the
audience was treated to the third and final presentation of Donald Saari.
His theme was ÒThe Power and Beauty of MathematicsÓ and he showed how Ò[we
mathematicians] don't make physical, social, and biological advances, we make
them both possible and better."
The final day of the
meeting included many contributed talks and the final invited speaker, Rob
Beezer. Beezer gave a brief introduction to establishing trusting
relationships in cyberspace in ÒCheats, Liars, Posers and Thieves:
Cryptographic Protocols for Insecure Networks.Ó
Congratulations and
thanks to the organizers, Dusty Sabo, Chris Hallstrom, Nancy Ann Neudauer, Curtis
Feist,,and Jenny McNulty, for putting on another great meeting.
_____________________________________________________________
PROJECT NExT IN ASHLAND
The fellows and
consultants of Project NExT began
their meeting in Ashland on Wednesday evening, June 21, with a dinner and
discussion at the Great American Pizza restaurant. The dinner was a great
way to get reacquainted and catch up since the last meeting in Tacoma.
The theme of the discussion was ÒWhatÕs Happening in Your Department?Ó and was
organized by John Thurber of Eastern Oregon University.
The schedule continued
the next morning with the introduction of the new section fellows: Cheryl Beaver of Western Oregon University,
Jennifer Halfpap of the University of
Montana, Cristina Negoita of the
Oregon Institute of Technology, and Meike
Niederhausen, Hans Nordstrom,
and Aaron Wootton, all of the
University of Portland.
The first session was
dedicated to research opportunities for undergraduates in
mathematics. Shannon Overbay of Gonzaga University organized the panel
discussion of different modes of research at three northwest
institutions. Chris Black of Central Washington University then presented
in the second session. Her focus was ÒTeaching Abstract Algebra through
the Dihedral Group on a Square.Ó Black showed how she has used this group
as the recurring theme in her abstract algebra course for returning students.
In the third session,
Jenny Laveglia of Belleview Community College talked about ÒAcademic Life
Beyond Teaching and Mathematics.Ó Laveglia discussed her own experiences
at her institution and how she has worked to find a balance between her
classroom and non-classroom activities. In the fourth session, which was
organized by Stuart Boersma of Central Washington University, the attendees
split into two discussion groups, according to interest. The first group
discussed and swapped ideas and projects for courses at or below
calculus. The second group exchanged ideas, projects and techniques in
courses after calculus.
The last session
featured Klay Kruczek and Maria Fung of Western Oregon University presenting
their work ÒPreparing Future Teachers.Ó The activities then ended
Thursday evening with an informal dinner at the Standing Stone Brewery.
Thanks to Jenny McNulty,
the Project NExT Coordinator, for another successful meeting. As always
there were many opportunities to learn and exchange new ideas with good
conversation along the way.
Interested in Project NExT?
Project NExT (New Experiences in
Teaching) is a professional development program for new or recent graduates in
the mathematical sciences (including pure and applied mathematics, statistics,
operations research, and mathematics education). It addresses all aspects
of an academic career: improving the teaching and learning of mathematics,
engaging in research and scholarship, and participating in professional
activities. It also provides the participants with a network of peers and
mentors as they assume these responsibilities.
1. What are the requirements for
the national program?
Applicants for the national program must
have a Ph.D. in the mathematical sciences and be in the first two years of a
full-time college/university teaching position. For more information,
visit
http://archives.math.utk.edu/projnext
2. What are the requirements for
the PNW Project NExT section?
Applicants for the PNW section must have
a Ph.D. or a masterÕs degree in the mathematical sciences and be within the
first four years of full-time teaching at a college, university, or community
college. For more information, visit
http://www.math.umt.edu/pnwnext/
3. How often do we meet?
Participants in the national program meet
at two consecutive MathFests and at the intervening Joint Meetings of the AMS
and MAA. Participants in the section NExT meet at two consecutive PNW MAA
meetings, and in addition to new and returning section fellows, all national
NExT fellows are welcome and encouraged to attend the section NExT meetings.
4. When can I apply?
The deadlines for the
PNW section program is February 9, 2007. For more information, visit the
website or contact Jenny McNulty at McNulty@mso.umt.edu. The
deadline for the national program is in April but has not been announced as of
yet.
_____________________________________________________________
Interested in Project ACCCESS?
Project ACCCESS (Advancing Community
College Careers: Education, Scholarship, and Service) provides
professional development and mentoring for new mathematics faculty at two-year
colleges. It is funded by a grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation. The
project, jointly developed by the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year
Colleges (AMATYC) and the MAA, has as its goal the development of a cadre of
two-year college mathematics faculty who are active and effective members of
their profession. New two-year college faculty with full-time renewable
contracts are eligible to apply if they were hired after July 1, 2004.
Faculty must have a master's degree or higher in mathematics or a related field.
Information, forms, and deadlines are available at http://www.maa.org/ProjectACCCESS.
_____________________________________________________________
2007
PNW MAA Section Meeting
April
13-14 at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon
Keynote
Speakers: John Conway, Elwyn Berlekamp, and David Wolfe
Tentative
Schedule:
Friday,
April 13
Morning:
Project NExT Meeting
Afternoon
Minicourses:
ÒA
Tour of Combinatorial Games,"
Elwyn
Berlekamp, UC Berkeley, and David
Wolfe,
Gustavus Adolphus College.
"An
Approach to Population and Biological Modeling for Pre and Post Calculus
Students,"
Sharon
Brown and Chris Dugaw, Humboldt
State
University.
Evening:
John Conway (open to public)
Saturday,
April 14
All
day: Section Meeting
Evening:
Banquet at Evergreen Aviation
Museum
Local
Arrangements Chair: Jennifer Nordstrom jnordstrom@linfield.edu. For more
information please see the meeting web site
http://web.clark.edu/math/PNWMAA/.
_____________________________________________________________
SECTION NEWS
Alaska
Colleen Ianuzzi has
joined the University of Alaska Southeast
faculty at the Ketchikan campus as the sole faculty member there.
British Columbia
The British Columbia Institute of Technology
Mathematics Department came up a big winner in the Institute Employee
Excellence Awards. Alan Isaak
received the Teaching Excellence Award for the school. Elizabeth
Gray won the first Innovation in
Teaching with Technology Award for her work on MapleTA. Louise Routledge won the Leadership Award for her work
as Chair of the Mathematics Department and as an instigator and co-chair of the
institute-wide PD Day. In addition, the BCIT Mathematics Department
welcomed their latest hire, Laura Billing. Laura has a Bachelor of Applied
Science (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Waterloo and a Master
of Applied Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto.
This is her first faculty appointment. In her Masters program she researched
mathematical models and modified Fortran code for the flow over an airfoil to
improve gradient-based optimization results. Eric Hiob has just returned from a year's
professional development leave to further develop his Algebra Coach software (http://www.mathonweb.com/).
Andrew McConnell will be taking a
professional development leave in spring term to pursue fluid mechanics
modeling. David Holloway received
school funding this year to pursue modeling and software development for shape
change in plants, as well as continuing his NIH-sponsored research on
variability and noise propagation in fruit fly development.
Montana
Carroll
College
has been awarded a 3-year, $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation
for the project Math QUEST: Math QUestions to Engage STudents. The co-PIs
on the project, Kelly Cline , Mark Parker, and Holly Zullo, will be writing and
testing classroom voting questions for use in differential equations and linear
algebra courses. The first round of differential equations questions will be
ready for class-testing this spring, with linear algebra questions ready to be
tested in fall 2007. If you are interested in class-testing these materials, or
for more information on the project, please visit http://mathquest.carroll.edu.
Oregon
At Reed College, two faculty have published
books recently. Professor Jamie Pommersheim co-authored a book Number Theory: A Mathemythical
Approach.
This title is published by Key College Publishing and is available now.
Professor Irena Swanson wrote the
book Integral Closure of Ideals, Rings and Modules. This title is being
published by Cambridge University Press and will be available in late
October.
Dr. Charlie McCoy,
C.S.C. started his position as Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Portland this fall.
Charlie earned his Ph.D. in 2000
from the University of Notre Dame, and did a post-doctoral fellowship at the
University of Wisconsin- Madison from 2000-2002.
Caleb Emmons joins the factulty at Pacific University. Caleb
received his Ph.D. in June 2006 from University of California at San
Diego. His dissertation work was in number theory, specifically in
extending Stark's conjectures and investigating the arithmetic properties
of special values of zeta and L-functions attached to number fields. His
interests include algebra, class field theory, excellent teaching, basic
questions of arithmetic, juggling, and both mathematical and
non-mathematical poetry. Chris Lane is working with the Oregon Health
Sciences University in expanding the use of his program designed to
assist physicians in assessing the quality of life for prostate cancer
patients. Michael Boardman has been appointed the next Chief Reader
for the AP-Calculus program. Nancy Ann Neudauer was elected to serve as the Governor of the
PNW-MAA section and appointed to the Committee on Sessions of Contributed
Papers. Christine Guenther is on sabbatical this year, working in Spain,
Germany, and later at UC Berkeley.
At Lewis and Clark College Naiomi Cameron has joined the faculty as an assistant
professor of mathematics this fall. Naiomi earned her Ph.D. at Howard
University, in the area of enumerative combinatorics. Before coming to Lewis
& Clark, Naiomi taught at Occidental College and Harvey Mudd College.
Professor Robert Owens will retire
at the end of fall semester after 32 years at Lewis & Clark. He will
be missed. In the spring of 2006, Peter Drake , assistant professor of
computer science, published a textbook Data Structures and Algorithms in
Java
(Pearson-Prentice Hall). In addition, there was an article in the August 16,
2006 issue of the Oregonian entitled "Go, digital" about Peter
Drake's research into programming a computer to play the game of Go. Roger
Nelsen published the second
edition of his An Introduction to Copulas (Springer), and a new MAA book Math
Made Visual: Creating Images for Understanding Mathematics (co-authored with
Claudi Alsina). There were also two student research projects during the
summer 2006. Jeanie Karns '06 and Matt Lang '07 researched shapes called
orbifolds with Professor Liz Stanhope
for 10 weeks. They asked, if an orbifold were struck like a drum
what would it sound like? In particular they computed the vibrational
frequencies (Laplace eigenvalue spectra) of various orbifolds shaped like
footballs. Students Rowena Held '08 and Brian Van Koten '07 worked with
Professor Iva Stavrov on a project
entitled "Riemannnian Geometry of the Octonionic Projective Plane."
Since the octonionic projective plane cannot be defined using classical
homogeneous coordinates due to the non-associativity of the octonions, they
considered restricted homogeneous coordinates introduced by I. Porteous.
They expressed the metric and the curvature of the octonionic projective plane
in terms of these coordinates and proved that the resulting Riemannian manifold
is isometric to the octonionic projective plane defined using Jordan algebras
and/or exceptional Lie groups. Their methods extend to the semi-Riemannian
setting, where they consider non-degenerate but not necessarily positive
definite metrics.
During the summer at Linfield College, Dr. Stephen Bricher worked with a student, Brandi Harrison
Ô07, on a research project investigating nonlinear reaction diffusion
equations, which can be used as a mathematical model for various
biological phenomena, as well as to model problems in combustion theory.
Specifically, they used both analytical and numerical techniques to investigate
traveling wave solutions and were able to estimate the rate of decay of the
traveling wave solutions. In one particular case, this estimate was nontrivial
to prove because the typical linear methods failed to work. However, they
were able to use center manifold theory (a nonlinear technique), which is one
of Dr. Bricher's areas of expertise, to determine the rate of decay.
Professor Martha Van Cleave is
spending the fall on sabbatical working on a study on student discourse in
college mathematics classrooms. During the summer she co-led a two-week
MSP institute on probability and statistics for middle grade teachers in
Washington County. Finally, math major Kira Durand Ô07 spent spring
semester 2006 in Hungary participating in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics
Program.
At Western Oregon University, the outstanding
mathematics major graduate of 2006, Jennifer Carmichael, participated in
research with Mike Ward on the
connections between Sudoku and group theory. She was awarded the prize
for outstanding student research and exposition from the Council on
Undergraduate Research at MathFest in Knoxville, Tennessee for her presentation
"When Are Cayley Tables Sudoku Puzzles?" Avery Cotton, a senior
this year, also gave a presentation at MathFest, entitled "Modular
Prime Sieve.Ó Laurie Burton co-authored Mathematics for Elementary
Teachers: An Activity Approach, 7/e with Albert B. Bennett, Jr., and L. Ted
Nelson. Faculty member Cheryl Beaver was selected as a National Project
NExT Fellow. Finally, the Delta Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon had another
successful induction ceremony in May with an address by Sam Hall on
"Eduoard Lucas: Sequences for Fun, Fame, and Secrecy."
Washington
Seattle
University
Mathematics Department welcomes their newest faculty member, Dr. Sandra Spiroff
, who just completed a three-year post-doctoral appointment at the University
of Utah. Following her undergraduate work at Indiana University, Sandy
completed her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Her research area is commutative algebra. During the past summer, two
members of the department traveled to other continents to participate in
special activities related to mathematics. In August, Dr. John
Carter visited the Pontificia
Universidad Cat—lica de Chile, located in Santiago, by invitation of
PUCC. John gave a number of lectures on mathematics education and worked
with the Engineering School and the Mathematics Department on topics relating
to teaching mathematics to engineers. Sister Kathleen Sullivan ,
Associate Professor of Mathematics, was invited to be part of a U.S. delegation
participating in a conference in Seoul, Korea. Funded by the National
Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Technology in Korea, and the
Korean Science and Engineering Foundation, the forum, "Attracting
Gifted/Talented Students into Science and Engineering," included a
presentation by Sister Sullivan on "Science Splash", a four-week
summer enrichment program for high-achieving middle school girls. This
program, developed and coordinated by Sister Sullivan, has been hosted by
Seattle University for the past 14 summers.
Central
Washington UniversityÕs mathematics department welcomes three new faculty members
this year. The departmentÕs most recent tenure-track hire is Chris Black. Chris
teaches classes for the Career Switchers and the Two Plus Two programs at CWUÕs
Lynwood branch. Chris did her undergraduate work in mathematics and computer
science at the University of Puget Sound, and she earned her Ph.D. at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her dissertation was on Riemann surface
theory. Her current interests, however, lie in secondary mathematics
teacher training and interdisciplinary mathematics. The department also has two
new instructors in Ellensburg. Doug Olson has taught math at various
locations around the world. He has also worked in the insurance industry
and earned a masters degree in mathematics from Washington State
University. Jessica Giglio
comes to CWU from a position at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany,
Oregon. She completed her masters degree at Oregon State University,
studying the RSA cryptosystem. She also did an REU at Cal Poly as an
undergraduate, which resulted in a paper on q-derangement problems.
Her non-mathematical interests include dance, drawing, and writing
poetry. The department is also very pleased to announce that their chair,
Stuart Boersma , received the Trevor Evans Award in recognition for his Math
Horizons article, "A Mathematician's Look at Foucault's Pendulum."
Clark
College
mathematics faculty member Chris Milner
won the 2006 Clark College Exceptional Faculty Award. This award
is given annually to a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding classroom
instruction and service to students. In winning the award, Chris was
acknowledged for his professionalism, his dedication to student success, his
patience, and his sense of humor both in and out of the classroom.
Members of the Math
Department at Whatcom Community College
have been busy over the past summer. Jeannette Stephens, Heidi Ypma, and
Ed Harri attended a weeklong
workshop presented by the Whatcom and Skagit Math Partnership. Ed Harri
was also a presenter at this workshop with a session that integrated mathematics
with both history and economics. Heidi Ypma attended the Transitions Math
Project Summer Institute and will be working with the Whatcom County Project
grant over the next year. Will Webber is on sabbatical this fall and is
working on several fascinating geometry articles.
_____________________________________________________________
GOVERNORÕS REPORT by
Nancy Ann Neudauer
The 2006 MathFest found
us in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee, in the foothills of the
Appalachians. Knoxville is the home of the Volunteers of the University
of Tennessee, sits on the broad Tennessee River, and is a short drive from the
Great Smoky Mountains, our most visited national park. Knoxville is undergoing
a renovation which was evidenced by the trendy sidewalk cafŽs of the
pedestrian-only Market Square and the free Trolleys traversing the city's
streets. With more flexibility for MathFest than for the
Joint Meetings (because of the smaller size), the national officers scour
mid-sized cities for meeting sites, getting us off the beaten track.
I want to thank members
of the Pacific Northwest section for electing me as your Governor; it is an
honor to serve the section at the national level. The Board of Governors
met for the day preceding MathFest -- we needed a full day as the agenda was
109 pages long! In addition to hearing reports from the staff, officers,
and committees, the Board of Governors approved several section's Bylaws
changes and nominees for prizes and editorial boards. I will share some
highlights.
Students first. A
new position, Associate Director for Student Activities (now hiring), has been
created to coordinate existing student programs, provide more information for
students on the website, and work on initiatives coming out of the student segment of the Cycle II
strategic planning. There was a focus at the meeting on student
activities. This has prompted me to consider our own student activities
and how we connect our students to the MAA; perhaps you can do the same and
consider how we might get students more involved, both through our own
departments and as a section.
The MAA Regional
Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences has received three additional years of
NSF funding; 73 conferences were funded by the first grant, and it is expected
that a similar number will be funded under the second grant. There was a
conference funded under this program in our section at the University of
Portland in March 2005. More information is at www.maa.org/rumc.
The organizers of the
American Mathematics Competitions are seeking colleges and universities
interested in administering the AMC 10 and AMC 12 on 21 February
2007. For information on the American Mathematics Competitions see www.unl.edu/amc.
A documentary film, Hard Problems, about students at the USA Math Olympiad is in
production and should be ready in a year; it is similar to the book Count
Down
and the film Spellbound.
Both MAA staff and the
MAA's Science Policy Committee expressed concern over cuts in
undergraduate-oriented programs at the NSF and in the small increase in funding
of mathematics in the 2008 NSF budget. They urged all members of the MAA
to continually remind elected officials of the importance of mathematics.
The MAA's financial
position is strong. The MAA is working toward the goal of having an
unrestricted endowment equal to one year's operating budget, and this year a
budget surplus of about $600,000 was transferred to investments. The
MAA's assets are now at the $15 million level.
Executive Director, Tina
Straley, reported on a number of developments, including the renovation of the
Carriage House. This renovation, funded primarily from a generous gift of
Paul and Virginia Halmos, was completed the end of August. The century
old building has been transformed into a state-of-the-art mathematical meeting
center that can accommodate groups of up to 60 people. The Carriage House
will be used for mathematical programs (both local and national) and will be
rented out to provide revenue. The opening ceremonies will take place with
an exciting program on April 19-21, 2007.
Under Straley's
leadership, the MAA has instituted a program of continual strategic
planning. Cycle I is almost complete, and the Governors should receive
reports at the Joint Meetings in January on the three areas studied (revenue,
professional development, and mathematics competitions). Cycle II
(governance, students, and membership) has just begun. We were directly
involved in part of the governance planning; at this yearÕs Board of Governors meeting
we broke into focus groups to discuss how to enhance the role of the Governors
in the governance of the MAA.
The most exciting and
heated discussion of the meeting ensued when inspecting several sections'
proposed Bylaws changes. While all changes were approved and no section
was held up on this point, the general feeling was that sections should have a
reasonable quorum specified in their Bylaws. Since none of us wants to be
held to the default definition (a majority of the membership), we should state
what definition the section will use. It was made clear that ÒThose who
are presentÓ is not in the spirit of a quorum, does not fit the definition of a
quorum, and makes calling for a quorum a ridiculous act. It could
not be agreed as to whether this definition is illegal, vacuous, or
simply nonsensical. The national officers are consulting with their
lawyers on this point. Since our section does have this language in our
Bylaws, we should visit this issue.
William Hawkins, Jr.
reported on a new program funded by the Tensor Foundation, called the MAA
Tensor-SUMMA program. College and universities, working in collaboration
with middle and high school teachers, may apply for grants of up to $5000 to
support enrichment programs for middle and high school minority students
Project NExT begins each
year at MathFest. This year Project NExT has 84 new fellows, including 8
from our section. This year Project ACCESS (the two-year college version
of NExT) has 30 fellows.
The MAAÕs publication
program continues to be very successful -- 17 new books are currently in the
pipeline. The online journals JOMA (Journal of Online Mathematics and its
Applications) and other parts of the MathDL and Math Gateway continue to
attract new readers.
The MAAÕs Professional
Enhancement Program (PREP) is funded through 2008 -- watch for the list of next
summer's PREP workshops at www.maa.org/prep. Next summer's Mathematical Study
Tour, 1-16 July 2007, will focus on Euler, and will visit St. Petersburg,
Berlin, and Basel. In 2008 the Study Tour to Peru will be led by Joel
Haack.
President Carl Cohen
reported on the Third International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics
in Istanbul, Turkey (that was supported by the MAA). He believes that it
is important for the MAA to foster international discussions of college
teaching issues, and he encourages the MAA to expand international
collaborations.
I hope to see a strong
showing from our section at next year's MathFest, which will be nearly in our
backyard in San Jose, California, August 3-5, 2007.
I am interested in any
ideas you have for the MAA. Please feel free to phone or e-mail me.
There are several positions open in the MAA; please see the web site and
nominate anyone (including yourself) for these positions. I look forward
to seeing you at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in New Orleans in January, and
at our Section Meeting at Linfield College in April. It appears that an
exciting program is under way!
_____________________________________________________________
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
It was great to see so
many PNW MAA members in Ashland last June! Once again, special thanks to
Dusty Sabo and all of our wonderful hosts from Southern Oregon
University. I particularly enjoyed our invited talks. We learned a
bit of history from Jim Tattersall while Donald Saari and Robert Beezer got us
all thinking about information: both how to convey it securely as well as how
it can be put to use (or misuse) once that information has been obtained.
The meeting also saw some change in the governance of our section. John
Thurber (Eastern Washington University) was elected Chair-elect and Chris Black
(Central Washington University) was elected secretary-treasurer. Be sure
to attend the next Business Meeting in order to see the applied side of Donald
SaariÕs theory (i.e. come and vote!).
Our by-laws state that
our (PNW-MAA) purpose Òshall be to assist in the improvement of education in
the mathematical sciences at the collegiate level.Ó I had a wonderful
opportunity this summer to attend a variety of meetings outside of my ÒusualÓ
haunts. I was inspired by the number of people, organizations, colleges,
universities, and high schools dedicated to this very same purpose:
Project NExT and the MAA, the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of
Undergraduate Education (and their national workshop on Learning Communities),
the Transition Math Project and all of their Phase II project teams across
Washington State. At all of these meetings I learned that the Pacific
Northwest is full of dedicated educators who recognize the importance of
college-level mathematics in todayÕs society as well as the inherent
difficulties in such education. I applaud everyone who is dedicated to
this single purpose.
_____________________________________________________________
A STUDENTÕS PERSPECTIVE by
Elise Lockwood
My participation in the
PNW-MAA conference in Ashland last June prompted me to reflect upon mathematics
as a profession. As a student, I anticipate my professional life with a
mix of eagerness and trepidation. Observing my departmental faculty, I
see composed, competent mathematicians and educators who contribute novel,
important ideas to their fields. As exciting and triumphant as their
accomplishments are, I often feel that their successes are a culmination of
years of work that I find nothing less than daunting. I have left many a
classroom and meeting wondering if I, a mere grad student, could ever be
capable of such achievement. I am hopeful, yes – but at the same
time uncertain. Will those elusive credentials ever follow my
name?
There are a handful of
practices that mark the professional mathematician, setting him or her apart as
an active member of the mathematical community. While research and
journal publication may top the list, conference participation must not be
forgotten. So, when the opportunity arose last June to present a talk
about the teaching of mathematics, I sensed it was too valuable an opportunity
to pass up. Feeling more than a little unqualified, I prepared a
15-minute talk about teaching combinatorics using rooks on a chessboard,
drawing directly from my MasterÕs project I had completed in May.
At the conference, I
participated in three types of activities. I listened to a handful of
paper presentations, I attended the conference banquet, and, of course, I
delivered my talk. As I reflect now, I see that each of these activities
provided me with an invaluable insight that has affected and will continue to
shape my development as a mathematician.
First, as students and
professors presented numerous ideas, I was reminded of the sheer breadth of
mathematics that is currently being explored. I may never study product
calculus or differential equations as deeply as these speakers have, but
gaining exposure to these topics furthered my own appreciation of the diversity
of mathematics.
Second, I found the
conference to be a wonderful opportunity to meet and connect with other
mathematicians. At the banquet I spoke with professors from a community
college in Washington. From them I gained insight into how other colleges
function (besides my own PSU), and I got a deeper sense of what mathematicians
do. Even after my brief time with them, I firmly believe that I could, in
coming years, contact them for advice.
Finally, I would say
that the greatest benefit from my involvement with the PNW-MAA conference was
feeling like I came one step closer to full membership in the mathematical
community. The experience of giving my talk was, simply, incalculable.
I learned practical things like preparedness and poise, but I also engaged in a
professional rite of passage in a safe and forgiving environment. Now,
having successfully completed a conference talk, I truly believe that the lives
my professors lead are that much more attainableÉand that just might be enough
to get me through another year.
_____________________________________________________________
If
you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning the newsletter,
please contact
Chuck
Dunn
Department
of Mathematics
Linfield
College
900
SE Baker Street
McMinnville,
OR 97128
503.883.2273
_____________________________________________________________
Nominations for
Distinguished Teaching Award
Officers of the PNW section of MAA
solicit your nominations for the Distinguished Teaching Award. This award
is given once a year to one college teacher in the Pacific Northwest. The
recipient of the award from our section is then a nominee for the Deborah and
Franklin Tepper Haimo Award of the MAA. Eligibility requirements and
guidelines for the nomination are given below.
Eligibility
College or university teachers assigned
at least half time during the academic year to teaching a mathematical science
in a public or private college or university (from two-year college teaching
through teaching at the Ph.D. level) in the United States or Canada. Those on
approved leave (sabbatical or other) during the academic year in which they are
nominated qualify if they fulfilled the requirements in the previous year.
At least five years teaching experience
in a mathematical science.
Membership in the Mathematical
Association of America.
Guidelines for Nomination
The nominees should
be widely recognized as extraordinarily
successful in their teaching. "Teaching" is interpreted in its
broadest sense (it may include activities such as preparing students for
mathematical competitions at the college level, for example, the Putnam Prize
Competition or the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, or attracting students to
become majors in a mathematical science or to become Ph.D. candidates).
have teaching effectiveness that can be
documented.
have had influence in their teaching
beyond their own institutions. This can include demonstrated lasting
impact on alumni, influence on the profession through curricular revisions in
college mathematics teaching with national impact, influential innovative books
on the teaching of college mathematics, etc.
foster curiosity and generate excitement
about mathematics in their students.
If you would like to nominate someone,
please print out, complete, and return the attached preliminary nomination
form. Preliminary nominations will be screened by the Section Screening Committee
who will select the finalists. The home institutions for the finalists
will then be asked to prepare a complete nomination portfolio. Complete
nomination portfolios include
a letter of support by the nominator,
two letters of support by colleagues,
two letters of support by students, and
additional evidence of distinguished
teaching
Deadline for submission of preliminary
nominations is January 12, 2007. For additional information please
contact
Chris Black
Mathematics Department
Central Washington University, Lynnwood
Center
20000 68th Ave. West
Lynnwood, WA 98036-5999
Office: (425) 640-1574 x3871
Fax: (425) 640-1488
Email: Blackc@cwu.edu.
Distinguished
Teaching Award PNW-MAA Section
Complete
this form and return to
Chris Black
Mathematics
Department
Central
Washington University, Lynnwood Center
20000 68th
Ave. West
Lynnwood,
WA 98036-5999
Office:
(425) 640-1574 x3871
Fax:
(425) 640-1488
DEADLINE:
JANUARY 12, 2007
Nominee Information
Name of
Nominee_______________________________________________________________________
Name of College or
University_____________________________________________________________
Work
Address__________________________________________________________________________
Work Phone _____________________________Home
Phone____________________________________
Number of years teaching experience in a
mathematical science_______________
Has the nominee taught at least half-time
in a mathematical science for
the past 3 years (do not count
sabbaticals)? ____________________________________________________________________________
Activities related to teaching, if
any (list only 5 most significant)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Membership and significant activities in
relevant professional organizations
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Previous
awards for teaching, if
any_________________________________________________________
Additional relevant
information____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Nominator Information
Name_________________________________________________________________________________
Address_______________________________________________________________________________
E-mail________________________________________________________________________________
Work
Phone____________________________________________________________________________