FOCUS October 2007

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October 2007 FOCUS

1 FOCUS October 2007

FOCUS is published by the Mathematical Association of America in January, February, FOCUS March, April, May/June, August/September, October, November, and December. Editor: Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College; Volume 27 Issue 7 [email protected] Managing Editor: Carol Baxter, MAA Inside [email protected] Senior Writer: Harry Waldman, MAA [email protected] 4 Michael Henle Named Next Editor of Please address advertising inquiries to: The College Mathematics Journal [email protected] By Harry Waldman President: Joseph Gallian 4 Gerard Venema Elected Associate Secretary of the MAA First Vice-President: Carl Pomerance, By Harry Waldman Second Vice-President: Deanna Haunsperger, Secretary: Martha J. Siegel, Associate 4 Kauffman Will Be Pólya Lecturer Secretary: James J. Tattersall, Treasurer: By Fernando Gouvêa John W. Kenelly Executive Director: Tina H. Straley 5 Teaching Time Savers: Modular Curriculum Files By Larry Lesser Director of Publications for Journals and Communications: Ivars Peterson 6 FOCUS on Students: Applying for an Academic Job By Robert Vallin FOCUS Editorial Board: Donald J. Albers; Robert Bradley; Joseph Gallian; Jacqueline 8 In Memoriam Giles; Colm Mulcahy; Michael Orrison; Peter Renz; Sharon Cutler Ross; Annie Selden; 9 Abbott and Torrence Named Editors of Hortensia Soto-Johnson; Peter Stanek; Ravi Math Horizons Vakil. By Harry Waldman Letters to the editor should be addressed to Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College, Dept. of 10 MathFest Short Takes Mathematics, Waterville, ME 04901, or by By Fernando Gouvêa email to [email protected]. Subscription and membership questions 11 On Being a Mathematical Citizen: The Natural NExT Step should be directed to the MAA Customer By Lynn Steen Service Center, 800-331-1622; e-mail: 13 MathFest 2007: A Rock Musician Finds Mathematics [email protected]; (301) 617-7800 (outside By Ryan Miller U.S. and Canada); fax: (301) 206-9789. MAA Headquarters: (202) 387-5200. 14 MathFest 2007 in Pictures Copyright © 2007 by the Mathematical Association of America (Incorporated). 18 Educational institutions may reproduce articles Joint Mathematics Meetings for their own use, but not for sale, provided that the following citation is used: “Reprinted San Diego, CA, January 6–9, 2008 with permission of FOCUS, the newsletter of the Mathematical Association of America 46 Employment Opportunities (Incorporated).” Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send On the cover: The view of San Diego from Point Loma. Photograph courtesy of the address changes to FOCUS, Mathematical San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Association of America, P.O. Box 90973, Washington, DC 20090-0973. FOCUS Deadlines ISSN: 0731-2040; Printed in the United States December January February of America. Editorial Copy October 12 November 10 December 8 Display Ads October 26 November 22 December 22 Employment Ads October 10 November 8 December 6

2 October 2007 FOCUS

China Girls Math Olympiad: Success for U.S. Teams

By Harry Waldman

Sherry Gong, from Exeter, N.H., There were about 180 students from 42 The teams went to Beijing, then to Wu- earned a gold medal and tied for first teams in the China competition. Zhuo han, the capital of Hubei province, in place at the 2007 China Mathematical Chen, from Wuhan, China, tied Gong central China, for the competition. For Olympiad for Girls, which was held in for first place with 114 points (out of photos and messages from the girls dur- Wuhan, China, from August 11–16. 120). U.S. team member Wendy Hou re- ing their travels, see http://www.msri. ceived a silver medal, while Wendy Mu, org/specials/gmo. The MAA co-sponsored the participa- Patricia Li, and Mariana Mao garnered tion of two four-member teams of high bronze medals. Coaches for the U.S. team were Mela- school girls — one made up of par- nie Matchett Wood, a graduate student ticipants from the eastern U.S. and one The Olympiad problems that the partici- at Princeton who was the first female to from the western U.S. This was the first pants tackled are available at http://www. make a U.S. International Mathematical time the U.S. participated in that math msri.org/specials/gmo/files/cgmo07.pdf. Olympiad (IMO) team; Alison Miller, olympiad, which has been held annually a member of the 2004 U.S. IMO team; since 2002. To get ready for the contest in China, and Zuming Feng of Phillips Exeter the young high school women spent Academy and director of the Mathemat- The East team members were Sway July 16–Aug. 6 at the “AwesomeMath” ical Olympiad Summer Program since Chen (Lexington, Mass.), Jennifer Igle- summer program, in Dallas, which was 2003. sias (Aurora, Ill.), Wendy Hou (Tampa, designed to hone their problem-solv- Fla.), and Sherry Gong. The West team ing skills up to the Olympiad level; that Other sponsors of the U.S. teams were members were Marianna Mao (Fre- is, to help them think creatively about the IBM Almaden Research Center; mont, Calif.), Wendy Mu (Saratoga, mathematical concepts. This preparation Akamai Foundation; Mathematical Sci- Calif.), Colleen Lee (Palo Alto, Calif.), gave them a chance to get to know one ences Research Institute; Shiing-Shen and Patricia Li (San Jose, Calif.). These another, build team spirit, and develop Chern Foundation for Mathematical students were chosen from the ranks the confidence to participate in interna- Research; and Sunlin and Priscilla Chou of the top female finalists in the 2006 tional competition. Foundation. USAMO. An Interesting America COMPETES Act Signed Into Law Meetings Issue! By Harry Waldman Or at least we hope so. Up to now, On Aug. 9, 2007, President Bush math, science, and critical foreign lan- it has been our custom to devote the signed into law the America COM- guages in high-need schools. entire October issue and the entire PETES Act, now known as Public Law April issue of FOCUS to material on 110-69. As is common in legislative The legislation provides $22 billion to upcoming meetings: the Joint Mathe- acts, COMPETES is an acronym that NSF over fiscal years 2008–2010, put- matics Meetings in October, MathFest stands for “Creating Opportunities to ting it on a path to double its budget in in April. As you’ll notice from this is- Meaningfully Promote Excellence in approximately seven years. Particularly sue’s table of contents, we’ve decided Technology, Education, and Science.” strong increases are provided in fiscal to change that. About one third of this year 2008 for K-12 education programs issue contains the usual news and ar- The measure, proposed by Rep. Bart at NSF. These programs, including the ticles you’ll always find in FOCUS. Gordon of Tennessee and 21 co-spon- Noyce Teacher Scholarship program The other two thirds are devoted to sors, authorizes a 10-year doubling of and the Math and Science Partnerships the meeting, but we have changed that budgets for the National Science Foun- program, will help to prepare thousands part too. We’ve tried to devote more dation (NSF), the Department of Ener- of new science and mathematics teach- space than usual to invited speakers gy’s Office of Science, and the National ers and provide current teachers with and other attractive events — and we Institute of Standards and Technology content and pedagogical expertise in have tried to do it in a way that makes (NIST). The legislation also authorizes their area of teaching. for interesting reading. The rest of the December January February a program that would try to expand low- meetings information is presented in Editorial Copy October 12 November 10 December 8 income students’ access to Advanced The full text of the legislation can be fairly compressed form, with pointers Display Ads October 26 November 22 December 22 Placement and International Baccalau- found online at the Thomas congressio- to where you can find more information online. We hope this will work Employment Ads October 10 November 8 December 6 reate coursework by training more high nal web site; visit http://thomas.loc.gov school teachers to lead AP/IB courses in and search on COMPETES. well for you… let us know!

3 FOCUS October 2007 Michael Henle Named Next Editor of The Kauffman Will Be College Mathematics Journal Pólya Lecturer

By Harry Waldman By Fernando Gouvêa

At MathFest, Henle is a graduate of Swarthmore Col- the MAA Board lege and earned his PhD in mathematics of Governors from Yale University. At Oberlin since approved the 1970, he served as mathematics depart- selection of Mi- ment chair for ten years and has taught chael G. Henle courses in computer science, algebra, of Oberlin Col- analysis, differential equations, discrete lege as the next mathematics, non-Euclidean geometry, editor of The and topology. Henle is the author of the College Math- textbooks A Combinatorial Introduction ematics Journal to Topology and Modern Geometries: (CMJ). Henle Non-Euclidean, Projective, and Dis- will be Editor-Elect beginning in Janu- crete. He has published articles in both ary 2008, and will become the Editor in CMJ and Mathematics Magazine. ouis H. Kauffman of the University January 2009. L of Illinois at Chicago was elected Pólya Lecturer for 2008–2010 by the Board of Governors. Kauffman is an expert on Gerard Venema Elected Associate knot theory. He has a very broad view Secretary of the MAA of the subject, including its connections with statistical mechanics, quantum the- By Harry Waldman ory, algebra, combinatorics, and logic. He is an accomplished lecturer, having, in particular, given talks at MSRI in The MAA’s securing invited speakers for the scien- Berkeley and the Adler Planetarium in Board of Gov- tific programs of the national meetings; Chicago. He writes a regular column on ernors has and overseeing the organization of mini- “Virtual Logic” for Cybernetics and Hu- elected Gerard courses, short courses, social events, and man Knowing, an interdisciplinary jour- A. Venema of other activities held in conjunction with nal dedicated to “new understandings of Calvin College these meetings. Additional responsibili- self-organizing processes of informa- in Grand Rap- ties include participation in logistics and tion in human knowing.” His lectures ids, MI, as the on-site support. Venema will work with “combine deep mathematics, stunning organization’s the MAA’s Executive Committee, with pictures, and surprising and provocative next Associ- AMS officers, and with MAA and AMS connections.” Kauffman’s web site is at ate Secretary. meetings staff. He will chair the MAA’s http://www.math.uic.edu/~kauffman. He begins his MathFest Management Committee and five-year term in January, 2009. Begin- alternate chairing the Joint Meetings As Pólya Lecturer, Kauffman will be ning in January 2008, he will be Associ- Committee with the Associate Secretary available to speak at meetings of Sec- ate Secretary Elect, which means he will of the AMS. tions of the Association in the 2008–09 work with the current Associate Secre- and 2009–10 academic years. Named tary, James J. Tattersall of Providence Venema, a specialist in topology, has for George Pólya, who “embodied the College. been a member of the MAA for more high quality of exposition that the MAA than three decades. Currently an as- seeks to encourage,” the Pólya Lecture- As the MAA’s Associate Secretary, sociate editor of The American Math- ship has made great speakers available Venema will oversee the scientific pro- ematical Monthly, Venema has served to MAA sections since 1991. For more grams of the MAA’s two national meet- as a member of the CUPM Subcom- information on the Pólya Lecturers, visit ings: the Joint Mathematics Meetings, mittee on Research by Undergraduates; the MAA web site at http://www.maa. held in conjunction with the American as a consultant to Project NExT; and as org/awards/polyalecturers.html. Mathematical Society (AMS); and the Chair of the Michigan Section. He has MAA’s summer meeting, MathFest. an impressive record of publications and Venema’s primary responsibilities will invited talks and extensive experience in include putting together sessions and organizing workshops and conferences.

4 October 2007 FOCUS

Teaching Time Savers: Modular Curriculum Files

By Larry Lesser

When I first started to teach (as a not only made it easier to teach these plications that will have file folders cre- graduate student) in 1988, I began keep- topics in a way that was more interac- ated for them as you create and collect ing files for each class I taught. The files tive and connected to the real-world, but materials the first time you use them. also facilitated writing scholarly articles contained organizational information Time saved: roughly half of the time that connect a “broad net” of topics (e.g., specific to the institution, course, and you spend preparing for any particular [1]). This modular, topical filing system textbook involved and included slides class which draws upon your collection has also proven handy for quickly put- for particularly interesting activities or of folders and the savings only seems to ting together talks on specific interesting examples that I knew I would want to increase throughout your career. use again. As my teaching career un- topics for the local student math club or for local high schools. folded (it has spanned three universi- References: ties before my PhD and another three since my PhD), it became clear that it I don’t bother creating files for mate- [1] Lesser, L. M.; “Critical Values and was not efficient to look for that cool rial that is common in textbooks, but Transforming Data: Teaching Statistics statistics activity by going through files rather I focus on particularly insightful with Social Justice,” Journal of Sta- labeled STA 309, MAT 52-213, Math metaphors or demonstrations (e.g., [2], tistics Education, 15(1), March 2007, 20, BADM 34, Stat 150, Math 2200, [3]) or “beyond the book” connections http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/ Stat 1380, etc. (Even worse, my original to compelling but atypical realms (e.g., v15n1/lesser.html. filing system simply said “notes on Ch. art, music, lottery, culture, ethics, social 8,” as if I would always teach or think in [2] Martin, M. A.; “‘It’s like… you justice, etc.) that I want to have avail- know’: The Use of Analogies and Heu- terms of that textbook I happened to use able for my teaching whether or not they the first two years of my career.) ristics in Teaching Introductory Statisti- are in the textbook I happen to be using. cal Methods,” Journal of Statistics Edu- This naturally helps make my teaching cation, 11(2), July 2003, http://www. While struggling to keep up with one more and more activity oriented as my semester’s particularly high teaching amstat.org/publications/jse/v11n2/mar- repertoire grows. Another benefit is that tin.html. load (14 hours, four different prepara- by viewing what I teach in a modular, tions, including two new ones), I sought topical way, I am less tied to any partic- [3] Sowey, E. R.; “Striking Demonstra- advice from my colleague Susan Ouzts. ular textbook and therefore expend less tions in Teaching Statistics,” Journal of She kindly showed me how her file time or emotional energy when a de- Statistics Education, 9(1), March 2001, cabinets were full of materials (resource partmental committee decides to change http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/ notes, camera-ready handouts or activity a textbook or is charged with dissolving v9n1/sowey.html. sheets, etc.) that were grouped by self- and reconfiguring a collection of courses contained topics that could be quickly to address credit hour mandates. Larry Lesser is an Associate Professor grabbed for a variety of classes. I adopt- at The University of Texas at El Paso ed and adapted her idea and it has paid I have not completely abandoned my and his home page is http://www.math. off. If I develop a neat lesson or activity original by-course filing system, be- utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/. on, say, the line of best fit, then a “line cause it is still helpful to keep a skeletal of best fit” folder with this activity is file for each course with information now ready to go whether I am teaching such as the syllabus, exams, and grade Teaching Time Savers are articles a college algebra course, a math mod- sheet. But I have significantly reduced designed to share easy-to-implement eling course, an introductory (or some my class preparation time as well as activities for streamlining the day-to- other) statistics course, or some “math time spent searching for items. And day tasks of faculty members every- for teachers” course. I have reduced the amount of paper I where. If you would like to share your store because those activity sheets that favorite time savers with the readers If I encounter a great clipping or graphi- once went into files for all the courses of FOCUS, then send a separate email cal display in the newspaper that illus- for which that activity was relevant or description of each activity to Michael [email protected] trates a commonly-taught mathematical used now can be stored in just one file Orrison at . Make or statistical topic, I can put the clipping folder for that topic itself. sure to include a comment on “time in the file folder I already have on that spent” and “time saved” for each ac- topic rather than in some folder with a Time spent: minimal; a more-or-less tivity, and to include pictures and/or generic name like “clippings” which one-time selection of key topics or ap- figures if at all possible. would be inefficient to search. Such files

5 FOCUS October 2007 FOCUS on Students: Applying for an Academic Job

By Robert W. Vallin

Once again we are at hiring season. about how unnecessary and unfair it was letter of every line was a larger font-size Hundreds of applicants are each sending to make each packet meet the needs of than the rest. Bold-faced, they stood out. out triple-digit numbers of applications, each school. “Too busy with his other Put together, these letters spelled out the trying to find a post-doctoral, tenure- stuff,” he told his friends. In the end, name of the applicant. Funny? Yes. Hir- track, or temporary position. This time- all the tenure-track jobs passed him ing material? No. The moral: You’re consuming process keeps the applicants by. Near the end of the school year he trying to be my colleague, not my enter- worried and guessing about their future. was lucky enough to find a temporary tainer/cheerleader. It is a hair-pulling experience also for job. The moral: The requirements for the department committee looking for your packet and department web site are Curriculum Vitae that elusive “best fit.” Departments are there for a reason. well aware that a wrong move could As the Latin translation implies, this is end up being a 40-year mistake. Hav- Schools can, for the most part, be sorted your life. Like a résumé, this should be ing served on several search committees into one of three categories: Research a history of your work. Unlike a résu- as well as having compared notes with Institutions, Liberal Arts Schools, and mé, this does not have to be short. Usu- colleagues about their own adventures, “the Rest.” When I was at a “the Rest” ally a CV starts at two pages and then I have decided to put pen to paper and university and a cover letter said how grows. Everything should be included: give some help to those looking for em- the applicant’s goal was to teach at a lib- personal information, education, dis- ployment. If you would like to find some eral arts school, my only thought was, sertation title and advisor, teaching ex- more complete thoughts on the process “Then why are you wasting my time?” perience, research experience, papers I recommend going to the American Unwanted material will have the same (research, pedagogical, and expository) Mathematical Society’s page on advice effect, such as sending a teaching or re- published or submitted, talks given, for new PhDs at http://www.ams.org/em- search statement to a school which did awards, service work, grants and fel- ployment/job-articles.html. not request one. That says you either lowships received, workshops or mini- didn’t read the ad or just don’t care. courses taken, meetings attended, and Each job has its own nuances and it is professional memberships. The page important that you research these. This Cover Letter http://www.resumesandcoverletters.com/ department emphasizes research. That Academic_CV.pdf is a good sample of an one refers to excellence in teaching in This is the first thing the committee will academic CV. It’s a bit long, but it shows its advertisement. Perhaps department A look at. It is your pitch, telling them the numerous items that can go on a CV. has someone who does research in ana- why you are exactly what they’re look- Be warned though, a CV means some- lytic number theory just like you. May- ing for. These are much different from thing different in Europe. It is more of be department B has someone who is an non-academic cover letters in that the a résumé. When looking to the web for officer in a group in which you wish to readers are not the people you will work help, you’ll find lots of information that be active. This type of information can for, they are the people you will work may be true in other countries (such as easily be found via the department web with, your potential future colleagues. including a photograph), but that is not site. Departments are looking for a col- Any letter that is bland enough to be correct for an academic job in the U.S. league who will be a good fit for them, sent to every place you apply will not and showing that you know details about help you make any short lists. As with True story: The committee member their mission or faculty makes a good anything you sign your name to, make could not tell you if she was qualified. impression. It is easy to write one cover sure someone else (really at least two He did not know how her CV read. He letter and just keep changing the address someones) reads it. Typos must be cor- couldn’t get past the pink paper. Neither of the department, but such generic let- rected. If your letter refers to the school could anyone else. The moral: Stand ters may get pushed to the bottom of by name, make sure that it is spelled out with your hard work and thoughtful the pile. Try to tailor each application correctly. Now is not the time to impress presentation, not with the eye-catching to the situation. Also, even though you with fancy fonts or over-the-top gushing trappings. are the one looking for a job, this is not enthusiasm. Instead impress them with all about you. It is about those doing the your professionalism. Remember, if you Teaching and Research Statements hiring, too. are sending out 100 applications, the committee is reading at least twice that Read the ads carefully to make sure True Story: He was about to graduate. many. these are requested. Again, when they Very sure of himself, he would tell any- are included but not asked for, they can one and everyone who would listen how True Story: The cover letter read well. give the impression that the applicant is organized he was. He also complained However, in the first paragraph, the first using an assembly line approach and not

October 2007 FOCUS paying attention. After the first 100 or unintelligible for most of the commit- sored by the AMS. Visit this site and so applications the committee does not tee. Finally, it is helpful if the writer is think about using it to put together your desire anything extra to read. someone people will know, but only if application packet. what that person has to say is both sub- If you are required to write a teaching stantive and positive. Still to come will be the phone inter- or research statement, be concise and be view, the on-campus interview, and honest. If you have experience using ap- True Story: This was a letter from some- negotiating the deal. We’ll cover those plets to teach or have taken a minicourse one who was well-known regardless of in a later article. One last tip: Seeking on group work in discrete math courses, what field you were in. Even the enve- a job is a long river to navigate and not talk about it. Any involvement in re- lope was impressive. Too bad the con- all of its twists and turns are clear. At form movements should be noted. But tents were not. They said, “I met this no point should you argue with the com- if you haven’t done any of these, don’t person once when he gave a talk in a mittee about the paperwork or the pro- despair. Just talk about what you do in session on our mutual interest. His pre- cess in general. Be accommodating and the classroom and what you’d like to sentation was good. I’m sure he’ll do an be collegial. Hopefully you now have do in the future. Do not talk negatively. excellent job teaching whatever class some help in getting the process started. Saying how much you dislike “the sage you give him.” The consensus among Good luck to everyone searching to be on the stage” will immediately put you the hiring committee was that the ap- that perfect fit. on the no list if the person reading your plicant probably thought the name on statement prides himself on his lectures. the letter would carry such cachet the Robert W. Vallin is the MAA Associate Similar ideas hold for research state- contents didn’t matter. The moral: The Director for Student Programs. He wel- ments. Begin with some background contents matter a lot. comes questions and comments by email to put your thesis problem in context. at [email protected]. However, don’t go into excruciating de- Second True Story: No need to elaborate tail. The readers are not experts at what on this. In part the letter read, “Student you study and lots of terminology and evaluations show his English is improv- This is the second in a series of short notation show that you are not judging ing, but I can’t tell.” articles for students. The overall FOCUS your audience well. Start with your the- title for the series will be on Students sis, then any additional work you have Transcripts and AMS Cover Sheet . Some of these articles done. Finally, talk about what you hope and MathJobs.org will be for undergraduates, others to explore in the future. for graduate students, and many for More universities are now requiring of- all students. These articles will also True Story: His research was good. His ficial transcripts and a copy of the most be posted in the Student section of interests meshed well with the depart- recent AMS cover sheet. There is very the MAA web site. ment without duplicating what the fac- little to say about these. Most schools ulty already did. Next up on his agenda, will accept copies of your transcript he was going to take a stab at that Rie- until the last step and to be hired you Distinguished mann Hypothesis he’d heard about. The will then need the official ones. If your Teaching Award moral: Too ambitious to be reasonable undergraduate institution is in another puts your application in the round file. country and the transcript is written in Winner another language you would do well to References start early getting an official copy and having it translated into English. You need to have at least four references lined up. One should be your thesis ad- The AMS cover sheet (available for visor. One should specifically address download at http://www.ams.org/cover- your teaching. The others should de- sheet/) is a one-page synopsis of your pend on the specifics of the job. Are they contact information, year of PhD, re- more interested in your research or your search interests, and references. Use the teaching? Remember to pay attention to most current version because the older the skills of your letter writers. Before version does not ask about eligibility to you ask someone to write a letter, ask work in the United States. Using this old yourself (and selected others), “Will the version implies the answer to that ques- potential letter writer write me a good tion is no, which may not be a problem, reference?” One short paragraph where but it may imply that the applicant is your reference writes yes, you were in trying to hide that fact, and a less than Bob Wilson her class, and you did well, is not help- honest applicant is definitely a problem. University of Wisconsin at Madison ful. On the other hand, a three-page Some universities are asking applicants Wisconsin Section technical paper on your thesis will be to apply through mathjobs.org, spon-

7 FOCUS October 2007 In Memoriam Victor Klee, 1925–2007

Victor Klee, who was MAA President the zeros of the Riemann zeta function without completing his PhD, moving to from 1971–72, died August 18 at Lake- and an elementary proof of the Prime Palestine. A staunch Zionist, Tamari got wood Hospital in Lakewood, Ohio. He Number Theorem. As happens to many involved in politics, but also managed to was Professor Emeritus of Mathematics great mathematicians, one can see the complete his doctoral work at the Uni- at the University of Washington, Seattle, impact of his work in the way his name versity of Paris. His mathematical work, where he had spent nearly his entire ca- has been attached to important ideas, mostly in logic and related fields, led reer. from the Selberg trace formula to the to several appointments at U.S. institu- Ranking-Selberg method. tions, including a stint as chair of the Born in San Francisco in 1925, Klee re- Department of Mathematics at SUNY ceived his PhD in mathematics from the Selberg was born on June 14, 1917, Buffalo in the 1960s. University of Virginia in 1949. Accept- in Langesund, Norway. He received ing an appointment at the University of his PhD in 1943 from the University Shortly before his death, Tamari had Washington in 1953, Klee specialized in of Oslo and became a member of IAS completed a biography of Moritz Pasch, convex sets, functional analysis, analy- soon afterward. In 1950, he received a German mathematician of Jewish faith, sis of algorithms, optimization, and the Fields Medal (together with Laurent to be published in Germany this Novem- combinatorics. He wrote more than 200 Schwartz), and he continued to be influ- ber. An account of his life, emphasizing research papers and posed what came ential and productive for many years. He his political activities, will appear as an to be known as Klee’s Measure Prob- retired from IAS in 1987, but remained appendix to the book. Tamari had been a lem and the Art Gallery Theorem. In an active mathematician. For example, member of the MAA since 1963. 1990, in honor of Klee’s 65th birthday he participated in several conferences and the broad range of his mathemati- on the Riemann Hypotheses organized James T. Bruening, 1949–2007 cal interests, Peter Gritzmann and Bernd by the American Institute of Mathemat- Sturmfels edited a volume in his honor, ics over the last few years, even giving Jim Bruening, who was Professor of entitled Applied Geometry and Discrete the keynote address at one of them. Mathematics at Southeast Missouri Mathematics. State University and Governor of the A detailed obituary can be found Missouri Section of the MAA, passed Klee was the recipient of the MAA’s at the IAS web site, at http://www. away on September 9, 2007. Bruening Award for Distinguished Service to ias.edu/newsroom/announcements/ received his PhD from the University of Mathematics in 1977 and co-author of view/1186683853.html. Missouri at Rolla in 1977 and had taught Old and New Unsolved Problems in at Southeast Missouri State since 1985. Plane Geometry and Number Theory, Lee Cohen, 1962–2007 His main mathematical interests were in published by the MAA in 1991. In 1972, algebra and combinatorics, and he espe- he won the Lester R. Ford Award for his cially enjoyed problem-solving. Among article “What Is a Convex Set?” in the Lee Cohen, who was Associate Profes- his many roles within the MAA, he was American Mathematical Monthly, and, sor of Mathematics at Hampden Sydney editor of the “Problems and Solutions” in 1999, the Carl B. Allendoerfer Award College, died on Monday, July 16, 2007, section of the College Mathematics for his article (with John R. Reay) “A of complications related to pancreatic Journal and Governor of the Missouri Surprising but Easily Proved Geometric cancer. Educated at Emory University Section. He began his term as Governor Decomposition Theorem” in Mathemat- and the University of Virginia, he began in July, 2006, and had made a special ef- ics Magazine. teaching at Hampden Sydney in 1986. In fort to be at the meeting of the Board of 1995–96, Cohen was one of the partici- Governors in San Jose. Martha Siegel, A longer article on Klee’s life and work pants in the first summer of the MAA’s Secretary of the Association, says that will appear in the November issue of Institute on the History of Mathematics “he wanted to be at every minute of the FOCUS. and Its Use in Teaching. He was a mem- meeting, although I know he was tired.” ber of the Association since 1988. He was a member of the Association Atle Selberg, 1917–2007 since 1987. Dov Tamari, 1911-2006 Norwegian number theorist Atle Sel- In Memoriam Online berg died on August 6, 2007. He was 90 Dov Tamari passed away on August 11, years old. Selberg, who had long been 2006 in Jerusalem. He was 95 years old. We maintain an In Memoriam page a permanent member of the Institute Born Bernhard Teitler in Germany in at the MAA web site. Short obituar- for Advanced Study in Princeton, was 1911, Tamari was educated at Vienna, ies for this page may be submitted known for his work in analytic number Giessen, and Frankfurt. He left Germany directly to Carol Baxter at theory, including important results on in 1933 when the Nazis came to power, [email protected].

October 2007 FOCUS

Abbott and Torrence Named Editors of Math Horizons By Harry Waldman

The MAA’s Board of Governors has confirmed Stephen D. Abbott of- Mid dlebury College and Bruce F. Torrence of Randolph-Macon College as the next editors of Math Horizons. Their five- year term begins in 2009. Abbott and Torrence will serve as Editors-Elect in 2008.

Abbott is a graceful and engaging writer of mathematics, as exemplified in his book Understanding Analysis (2001). He served on the Editorial Board of Math Horizons from 1999 to 2003; has written for The College Mathematics Journal and FOCUS; and is currently on the Editorial Board of the Anneli Lax New Mathematical Library. Three articles that Abbott has written for Math Horizons have been about mathematics and the dramatic arts. “Turning Theo- rems into Plays” (September, 1999), for example, is about the mathematics in Tom Stoppard’s works. Abbott is a graduate of Colgate University and obtained his PhD in mathematics at the ONLINE MAT and M.Ed. GRADUATE PROGRAMS University of Virginia. Advance Your MAT M.Ed. in Secondary Education Torrence has published in graph theory, Master of Arts in Teaching Concentration in Mathematics Teaching Certification in Mathematics combinatorics, topology, and recre- M.Ed. in Library Media ational mathematics. His Math Hori- Certification MAT zons article “If Pascal Had a Computer” Master of Arts in Teaching M.Ed. in School Counseling EARN YOUR Non-Certification in (November, 2001) demonstrated not DEGREE IN Mathematics Class A add-on Certification only historical sensibilities but also ex- Program in School Counseling 2 YEARS (Alabama Certification Only) pository skills. He is the co-author, with ONLINE! Eve Torrence, of the book The Student’s Other degree, certifications, and non-certifications are available online. Introduction to Mathematica: A Hand- • The University of West Alabama • UWA is also recognized as an • 10-week accelerated format, (UWA) is accredited by the accredited teacher preparation 4 sessions per year book for Precalculus, Calculus, and program in the state of Alabama Commission on Colleges of the • The College of Education is Linear Algebra (1999), which revealed Southern Association of Colleges through the National Association of State Directors for Teacher accredited by the National and Schools (SACS) to award an ability to write in a way that is sensi- Licensure and Certification Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education tive to the needs of undergraduates. Tor- associate, baccalaureate, and (NASDTEC), an interstate compact. (NCATE). rence is a graduate of Tufts University master’s degrees and the National This interstate agreement facilities Council for Accreditation of the licensure of educators from CALL OR VISIT and obtained his PhD in mathematics at Teacher Education. one state to the other; although US ONLINE TO the University of Virginia. some additional conditions might LEARN MORE. apply in some states. www.columbiasouthern.edu/UWA/Programs 800-977-8449 • [email protected] COLUMBIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY • ORANGE BEACH, AL 36561 code 300

9 FOCUS October 2007

MathFest Short Takes By Fernando Q. Gouvêa dedicated to the study of Euler’s life and as both master of ceremonies and dis- work, met jointly with the MAA this cussion leader. Copies of the DVD were MathFest 2007 in San Jose, CA year. The Society sponsored several spe- available for sale at the MAA booth. cial sessions, many of which overflowed Voiced by Martin Sheen, Kristen Bell, The 2007 MAA MathFest happened the rooms to which they had been as- Michael York, Tony Hale, and Joe Este- on August 3–5 in San Jose, CA. The signed. They also sponsored a plenary vez, the animated film takes some liber- headquarters hotel was the Fairmont talk, by William Dunham. Before the ties with Abbott’s classic (most notably San Jose, and most of the events hap- talk, the Consul-General of Switzerland by eliminating Abbott’s take on women pened there. This time around, the briefly addressed the audience, -thank in Flatland) but does capture some of meeting overlapped with a meeting of ing them for their interest in the greatest the magic of the book. the Society for Mathematical Biology, of Swiss mathematicians. Rob Bradley, Two New Governors whose members were invited to stay on the president of the Society, awarded and take part in MathFest. In all 1410 the Consul a complete set of the MAA’s Most MAA Governors are elected by people attended the meeting, making it Euler Collection, five books published their sections, but some Governors- the largest MathFest ever, and the larg- to celebrate the Euler tercentennial. at-Large are elected by the Board. At est MAA summer meeting since 1990 MathFest, the Board elected Minerva (at which time the summer meeting was High School Students Have Fun Cordero as Governor-at-Large Repre- still held jointly with AMS). Mathemati- at MathFest senting Minority Interests and Thomas cians in attendance were 1263 (only 36 Kilkelly as Governor-at-Large Repre- fewer than in the 1990 summer meet- For many attendees, one of the highlights senting High School Teachers. ing!), the remaining attendees being ex- of MathFest was to run into a group of hibitors, staff, and guests. high school students from the nearby Minerva Cordero is Associate Professor Pioneer High School (see their web site of Mathematics and Associate Dean of In this and the following pages, we in- at http://pioneerhigh.org/). The students the Honors College at the University of clude several news items from MathFest were accompanied by their mathemat- Texas at Arlington. Her research inter- and also four pages of photographs from ics teacher, Patrick Bernhardt. They ests are in finite geometries and combi- the meeting. We hope this will make you made a particularly striking display in natorics, and she has directed summer want a chance to go to another meet- their mathematician t-shirts: Alejandro research programs for under-represented ing… so the MathFest pages are fol- Brambila had an Einstein shirt, Gina minority students in those areas. She has lowed by all the information about the Quan had Gauss, Stephanie Levins had had various roles within the MAA, both Joint Mathematics Meetings, to be held Euler, Danielle Chau had Pascal, and in the Texas Section and at the national this January in San Diego. Berhardt had Archimedes. Each shirt level. Most recently, she was a member had an image of the mathematician in of the strategic planning working group Another Board Election front and, more interestingly, some for- on membership issues. In 2007, she re- mula or number associated to that math- ceived the Texas Section’s Award for The Board of Governors elected Mary ematician on the back. (See page 14 for Distinguished Teaching. Shepherd to the Audit and Budget Com- a picture of some of the shirts.) mittee for a term of two years. This is Tom Kilkelly has been a high school the key committee when it comes to the The group seemed to be having a lot of mathematics teacher for the past 35 finances of the Association. Shepherd fun. They attended the special showing years. He was a Woodrow Wilson Fel- will also serve on the MAA Executive of Flatland, hung around the exhib- low at Princeton, where he learned Committee. Shepherd is Associate Pro- its area, passed out well-made replicas “new approaches for teaching algebra” fessor of Mathematics at Northwest Mis- of MAA meal tickets that entitled the and was one of four teachers from the souri State University. She has a PhD in bearer to such things as argyle socks program chosen to travel the country mathematics from Washington Univer- and piggyback rides. I saved my ticket and conduct workshops for teachers. sity in St. Louis, but also, and unusually for a “piggyback ride from a mathema- He has been very active in mathemat- for a mathematician, holds a Master of tician of your choice” for a future op- ics competitions, both locally and at a Accountancy degree and is a CPA. portunity… national level, has spoken many times at NCTM meetings, and has received sev- Euler Society Meets at MathFest Special Showing: Flatland the Movie eral awards. Kilkelly teaches at Wayzata Senior High School in Minnesota. Since 2007 is the year of Leonhard Seth Caplan, Jeffrey Travis and Dano Euler’s tercentenary, it was inevitable Johnson brought their animated version that there would be lots of Euler-relat- of Flatland to MathFest. There was a ed activities at MathFest. This was all special showing of the film on Friday the more so because the Euler Society, afternoon, with Tom Banchoff serving

10 October 2007 FOCUS On Being a Mathematical Citizen: The Natural NExT Step By Lynn Arthur Steen

I am truly honored to join the distin- tion. Yet anyone who thinks carefully The need for clarity is also evident in the guished list of speakers in this lecture about the definition and calculation of transition from high school to college. series dedicated to the memory of my a graduation rate will see trouble. And Admissions and placement tests slight good friend Jim Leitzel. Most of you mathematicians are among society’s the higher-level cognitive skills that are probably knew Jim through his leader- most expert advisors on matters of defi- critical to success in college mathemat- ship of Project NExT. Jim also led sev- nition and calculation. ics. Required high school exit exams as- eral MAA initiatives in mathematics sess a significantly different portfolio of education, including A Call for Change, Official graduation rates are based only skills than those found on mathematics MAA’s pioneering recommendations on students who enter in the fall term as placement exams. ACT recommends an for preparing teachers of mathematics. full time degree-seeking students. More- empirically validated college readiness A builder of mathematical communities, over, the definition counts as graduates benchmark in mathematics that is far Jim was a model mathematical citizen only those who finish at the institution below the skills that standards-writers and my inspiration for this talk. where they first enroll. Students who claim are expected by colleges. There meet these conditions are now a minor- seems to be a huge gap between skills My thesis today is that by virtue of our ity in American higher education. that mathematicians claim are necessary training, mathematicians have distinc- for college success and the reality of tive habits of mind that can enhance This raises an interesting challenge for many college programs in which math public discussion of public issues. More mathematicians to ponder: how best to avoidance is common, anticipated, and importantly, we have a professional ob- define graduation rate? Scholars have perhaps even enabled. ligation to move beyond the boundaries proposed a variety of alternatives, for of our own discipline to bring our spe- example, using continued study as a As you may suspect, I have no intention cial skills of analysis and clarification to measure of “success,” or tracking sepa- of resolving any of these challenges. bear on important public policy discus- rately different types of students (e.g., Indeed, the whole point of this talk is sions. transfers in, transfers out), or compar- that working on problems such as these ing the difference between actual and is your job. I turn instead to a suite of As evidence for this proposition, I have expected rates based on student charac- similar challenges at the secondary lev- selected a few issues in education that teristics. el, beginning, as before, with graduation can benefit from mathematicians’- in rates. sights. I do not mean to imply that edu- The definition of graduation rate is no cation is the only such arena; it just hap- small matter: these rates influence pubic Secondary Education pens to be the one I know best. Others perception of institutional performance may find issues in health, environment, and the flow of money to higher- edu Until very recently, the American pub- or energy equally compelling. I surely cation. But parents and taxpayers also lic believed that almost every American don’t need to persuade you that math- want direct evidence of quality. Several graduated from high school. In fact, the ematics is ubiquitous. What I would like instruments now claim to assess the national high school graduation rate to convince you of is that to be a math- broad outcomes of higher education in- peaked in 1969 at about 77% and has ematical citizen, you need to use your dependent of major, e.g., the Collegiate been falling ever since. Now, apparent- mathematics for more than mathematics Learning Assessment (CLA) and the ly, only two out of three students who itself. National Survey of Student Engagement begin ninth grade graduate four years (NSSE). later. Undergraduate Education A recent study raises questions that I say “apparently” since calculating the I begin with something close to all our should interest a mathematical mind percent of students who graduate from hearts: measuring the value of college about the potential use of such instru- high school is anything but simple. At education. The increasing importance ments to compare colleges. It turns out least half a dozen methods are in com- and cost of higher education has gener- that undergraduates studying the same mon use, each giving quite different ated mounting calls for greater public disciplines on different campuses have results. Only recently have state gover- accountability. Here I will touch on just academic experiences that are more nors agreed to adopt a standard method. three examples to illustrate my thesis: similar to each other than to students The result has been a series of headlines measures of quantity (graduation rates), studying different subjects on the same warning citizens that many previously of quality (general education), and of campus. So, under circumstances in reported high school graduation rates readiness (alignment). which variation within institutions ex- need to be lowered. This makes officials ceeds variation across institutions, what squirm, but it is a good opportunity for Graduation rates are widely accepted as mischief might emerge if these instru- mathematically-minded folks to help the a primary benchmark in higher educa- ments are used to compare institutions? 11 FOCUS October 2007 public understand why such rates are so those who are far above or far below and Diane Ravitch. It seems that Finn complicated. the desired cut score. The challenge of and Ravitch, who have been among monitoring progress without undesir- the most forceful advocates for aggres- Recently, business leaders and educa- able side effects is a dilemma in need of sive state standards monitored by high tors have joined forces to urge that, to be mathematicians’ insight. stakes assessment, have just discovered prepared for college, all students should the Perversity Principle. It turns out, take algebra II. Anything else, it is said, they report, that if you test only read- NCLB requires states to report the per- represents “the soft bigotry of low ex- ing and mathematics, only reading and centage of students who are proficient pectations.” Consequently, enrollments mathematics get taught. “We didn’t according to each state’s own standards. in algebra II have more than doubled in see how completely standards-based When researchers compared state stan- the last two decades; roughly two-thirds reform would turn into a basic-skills dards, they found enormous variation in of the states now require algebra II for testing frenzy or the negative impact the definitions of proficiency—and cor- graduation. that it would have on educational qual- responding variation in the percentage ity.” They worry that current trends of students deemed proficient. Indeed, Despite all this, employers still com- will lead to “STEMs without flowers,” what many states call “proficient” is plain that graduates cannot use percent- to the gradual death of liberal learning closer to what the national NAEP test ages and graphs, mathematics scores in higher education and to accelerating rates as merely “basic.” on the 12th grade National Assessment advantage of the have-a-lots over the of Educational Progress (NAEP) have have-littles. hardly budged, and college enrollments Would mathematicians produce stan- in remedial mathematics are as high as dards with such huge variation from This is also a dialogue in which math- ever. Why can’t we see benefits from all state to state? I rather doubt it. As mathematicians should participate—not by this added study? ematical citizens, MAA members and applying mathematics, but by unfolding NExT alumni should be active partici- mathematics as part of, rather than in pants in setting these state proficiency opposition to, the goals of liberal edu- Here’s what seems to have happened: levels. I’m sure that’s what Jim Leitzel cation. Many whose own mathematics People argued that since applied courses would be doing. education never revealed this face of had little intellectual content, everyone mathematics have a hard time seeing should take academic courses. As a con- our discipline that way. It is our respon- sequence, many of these courses then The NCLB law has also increased the sibility to help them do so now. If Jim lost their intellectual bite. They became significance of high-stakes tests. - Scor were here I’m sure he would eagerly “fake” academic courses: “pseudo-al- ing of standardized tests is a complex take up this new challenge. STEM with gebra” delivering only a steady drill process that rests on several question- flowers offers us an excellent opportu- on skills required to pass state tests. It able assumptions, not least that the nity to engage the world as mathemati- seems that we’ve just downshifted from mathematical ability of students and cal citizens. cookbook calculus to automated alge- the difficulty of test items can be placed bra. on a common scale that operates along Lynn Steen is Professor of Mathematics only one dimension. But student perfor- and Special Assistant to the Provost at Social scientists recognize this effect as mance varies unpredictably depending St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. He Campbell’s law—a kind of uncertainty on which items they have practiced. was president of the MAA in 1985–86. principle for public policy: “The more Visit http://www.stolaf.edu/people/steen/ any quantitative social indicator is used Moreover, the more questions probe to find out more about him. for social decision-making, the more complex thought, the less well student subject it will be to corruption pressures performance fits the scoring theory. … “ I call it the Perversity Principle of Consequently, test designers avoid pre- educational reform: the more impor- cisely the questions that would reveal tance we place on specific results, the most about student proficiency. Scores Have You Moved? less likely we are to achieve them in the on these tests are rarely meaningful The MAA makes it easy to change form we intend. enough to justify high stakes conse- your address. Please inform the quences. This is another arena much in A good example is the effect on educa- need of mathematicians’ thoughtful en- MAA Service Center about your tion of the way schools are judged un- gagement. change of address by using the elec- der the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) tronic combined membership list at law: by the percent of students who STEMs and Flowers MAA Online http://www.maa.org) are proficient. When proficiency- per or call (800) 331-1622, fax (301) cents are used as the primary standard I close with a different kind of chal- 206-9789, email: maaservice@maa. for judgment, teachers gradually focus lenge. It is expressed in Beyond the org, or mail to the MAA, PO Box most of their effort on students whose Basics: Achieving a Liberal Education 90973, Washington, DC 20090. proficiency is in doubt to the neglect of for All Children, edited by Chester Finn 12 October 2007 FOCUS MathFest 2007: A Rock Musician Finds Mathematics By Ryan Miller

Indie-rock musician Robert Schneider’s day, sir?’ and he would probably tell you love of mathematics didn’t originate something really cool,” Schneider said. with a classic book on calculus or from “Also, from what I understand, he was a a great high school teacher. No, The Ap- pretty good time.” ples in Stereo front man’s affection for math began with a tape recorder. “Up- Looking back on his high school days, grading” to a broken-down 1972 Ampex Schneider talked about failing algebra MM1200 tape machine in the late 90s one year because he was being “rebel- had an impact not only on the music that lious,” then getting an A in the course Schneider was producing but also on the the very next year. He also discussed way he thought about the music. how math is now woven into most parts of his everyday life. One time, he re- The Ampex wouldn’t work reliably, called, “I was walking down the street Schneider recalls. But rather than con- and I saw some leaves falling off a tree tinuously forking over money to get it and I thought, ‘hey, this has something fixed, he learned to work on the machine to do with the prime number theorem,’ himself, with the help of a do-it-yourself and I had a very exciting day.” book from Radio Shack. And, on the Robert Scheider performs at first page of the book, he saw the equa- MathFest. After the interview, Schneider presented tion that changed the way he looked at a CD and a vinyl copy of New Magnetic the world: V = IR (which expresses the Wonder to Gallian, with whom he shares relationship among voltage, current, and non-Pythagorean scale, the tones are a common love of both mathematics and resistance). much closer together as you go up the music. Gallian is known as a fanatic fan octave, to the point where they sound of the Beatles and even teaches a class “When I saw this equation, it just blew very similar,” Schneider explains. “And on the group’s legacy at the University my mind,” Schneider says. “This equa- to get to the next octave in my scale on of Minnesota-Duluth. “Dr. Gallian has tion controls not only my tape machine, the piano, you would need a keyboard my dream job,” Schneider says. “He not but the telephones, and the electric with a lot more keys,” he adds. That’s only gets paid to teach mathematics but lights, and well . . . everything in our 256 to be exact, but who’s counting? gets to teach about the Beatles, too.” lives.”

Since then, Schneider has become Once Schneider arrived at MathFest After the interview, Schneider attended somewhat of a math buff. He reads 2007, held in early August in San Jose, a number of lectures and short courses about Leonhard Euler, takes some col- he spent his first evening participating throughout the weekend, sporting his lege math and physics classes when he’s in a public interview with MAA Presi- MAA lanyard the entire time. He was not on tour, and plays around with a new dent Joe Gallian. Those who attended rarely seen without his ragged copy of non-Pythagorean musical scale that he the event were greeted by the sounds of William Dunham’s Euler: The Master invented. Ho hum, right? “Energy,” the fourth track of his band’s of Us All, and he bought several books new album, New Magnetic Wonder. at the MAA booth. “Math takes up more of my mind’s Little did the attendees know how ap- space than music does,” Schneider says. propriate the song was. Schneider spent He then highlighted the MAA’s “20th “I think about it from when I’m feeding the 45 minutes of the interview bounc- Anniversary Celebration for MAA Stu- my kid breakfast until I go to bed.” ing around the stage, talking about math dent Paper Sessions” with a six-song and music like he had just opened the acoustic set, which drew a number of world’s greatest Christmas present. guests who had come solely to see Sch- As for inventing a new musical scale, neider perform. After each song, he Schneider decided to tweak Pythag- He talked about his musical heroes (Bea- would peer into a composition notebook oras’s classic scale, which is based on tles producer George Martin and Beach on the floor to see which track he want- whole-number ratios. He took the loga- Boys lead singer Brian Wilson), and his ed to play next. Chances are that the rithms of the numbers used to measure mathematical heroes (Euler and René notebook also contained plenty of math- frequency and came up with his own Descartes), noting in particular why he ematical scribbles, but that’s just anoth- 12-note scale. would have liked to sit down and dis- er way that Schneider mixes his obses- cuss math with Euler. “I’d like to talk sion with his hobby. Ask him which is “In a standard chromatic scale, the tones with Euler because I think you could which, and he says, “I’m not obsessed are divided into equal intervals; in the just ask, ‘What are you working on to- with math, I’m just in love with it.” 13 FOCUS October 2007 MathFest 2007 in Pictures

Jennifer Chayes in ac- The Math Jeopardy board. tion during the Hed- rick Lectures. Mathematician t-shirts, front and back.

Art Benjamin (Harvey A student talk on Fibonacci’s rabbit Mudd, co-editor of Math Judy Grabiner asks “Why problem. Horizons) signs a copy “OK, enough!” Michael Did Lagrange ‘Prove’ the of Secrets of Mental Pearson, MAA Associ- Parallel Postulate?” ate Executive Director, Math at the MAA Booth. protests against your humble photographer.

Kim Plofker and Brian Hopkins show off their Euler accessories.

Some maps on a torus require Don Albers gets a phone seven colors! (Designed, engi- call in the middle of em- neered and crocheted by sarah- Richard Guy may be past ceeing the opening ban- marie belcastro and Carolyn his 90th birthday, but he’s quet. Apparently, it was Rob Bradley, President of the Euler Yackel.) still a regular at MAA Meetings. Governor Schwarzeneg- Society, gives a set of MAA’s Euler ger… Collection to the Swiss Consul.

14 October 2007 FOCUS

Tina Straley, MAA Executive Direc- tor, and Noam Elkies of Harvard, the Copies of Flatland: The Movie Frank Morgan presides over the SMALL/Williams speaker at the opening banquet. College table at the Silver and Gold Banquet. available for purchase.

A plenary talk to the Society for Mathematical Biolo- gy, which met jointly with the MAA in San Jose. Visit http://www.smb.org. A group of high school students from Bud Brown talks about chal- Pioneer High School in San Jose sur- lenging students to think round the creative team responsible for about symmetry groups of Flatland: The Movie. molecules. (Photo by Colm Mulcahy)

Joe Gallian and the award winners fill the stage at the Prizes and Awards Session.

Charlotte Henderson, associate editor at A K Peters, holds the fort.

Harold Boas accepts his Lester R. Ford Award. Deanna Haunsperger and Steve Kennedy discuss the MathFest program.

Barbara Faires shows off the animation cel from Flat- land: The Movie, which she had just won. The SIGMAA Arts mathematical art exhibit. Mario Martelli and Annalisa Crannell. Can a calculus book actually be funny? 15 FOCUS October 2007

Rob Bradley, Larry D’Antonio, and Ed Sandifer at the MAA booth, ready Maybe this is the way to make Col- to sign copies of Euler at 300. Robert Carden exhibits lege Algebra a piece of cake! his pen-and-ink draw- Francis Su gives the Stu- ings, collages, and dent Lecture on “Split- more. See http://www. ting the Rent.” robertcarden.com.

Saul Stahl and Martha Siegel celebrate his Allendoerfer Award. Katherine St. John the AWM-MAA Etta Z. Fal- Barbara Osofsky, Sanford Segal, Peter Yff, and Jean coner Lecturer. She spoke Pedersen receive their 50-year pins at the Silver and on “Comparing Evolu- Gold Banquet. MC Jerry Alexanderson is in the back- tionary Trees.” ground.

Bill Dunham signs books at the MAA booth.

Joe Gallian, Don Knuth, Sean MacRae (student winner of an MAA Student Paper Session Award), and Roger Astley at the Jean Bee Chan, at the MAA Ice Cream Social follow- Cambridge University ing after Knuth’s talk. MacRae’s award had just been Press booth. announced. (Photo by Peter Stanek.)

At Math Jeopardy, the teams from UT Arling- ton, Youngstown State, Mount Union Col- lege, and Augustana College. At the main lecture room, a packed house for Louis Gross’s talk on Man- 16 aging Natural Resources. October 2007 FOCUS

Don Knuth in conversation with Ste- ven Krantz.

Jerry Alexanderson, for- Rebecca Glover of The Frog Publications mer MAA President. booth has materials for Santa Clara Univer- teachers and for parents. sity helps at the MAA booth.

Hawkes Learning Systems runs one of their several informational sessions at their booth.

Leon Harkelroad teaches “When one has great gifts, what a mini-course on Music answer to the meaning of exis- and Mathematics. (Photo When the Silver and tence should one require beyond by Colm Mulcahy) Gold Banquet comes the right to exercise them?” along, Jim Tattersall (W.H. Auden) No, that wasn’t can finally relax! what the talk was about.

Pamela Reitsma of the University of Maine explains her mathematical biology poster, reporting on research done at the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute. Too much meeting? Fer- nando Gouvêa “rests his Jennifer Beineke eyes.” (Photo by Mari one of the winners Gouvêa) John dePillis displays a really of a copy of the neat book at the MAA booth. Flatland DVD.

Jenny Quinn of the Uni- versity of Washington, Tacoma, and co-editor of Len Wapner, author Math Horizons. Colin Adams of Williams College holds court at the of The Pea and the Opening Banquet. Sun, signs books at the AK Peters booth. 17 FOCUS October 2007 Join Us in San Diego Joint Mathematics Meetings January 6-9, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

Following in the wake of record attendance by mathematicians and students at both the Joint Meetings in New Orleans and MathFest in San Jose, the 2008 Joint Mathematics Meet- ings at San Diego promise to be a wonderful event. The MAA invited speakers are Carl Cowen on “The Teaching-Technol- ogy Linkage in Mathematics,” Paul Edelman on “Mathemat- ics and the Law: The Apportionment of the House of Rep- resentatives,” Karen Parshall on “4000 Years of Algebra: An Historical Tour From BM 13901 to Moderne Algebra,” Carl Pomerance on “The Covering Congruences of Paul Erdős, and John Conway.” Brian Conrey will give the student lecture on “The Riemann Hypothesis.” MAA-AMS invited speakers are Fields Medalist Terence Tao and Fan Chung. Other features include the world premiere of Hard Problems, a 90- minute documentary film about the USA team’s participation in the 2006 International Mathematical Olympiad in Slovenia, a panel featuring mathematical Hollywood writers and mathematics faculty, and lecture/demonstration/performance about the connections between mathematics and dance.

And of course, there are the AMS lectures, the student poster sessions, the prize sessions, minicourses, special sessions, contributed paper sessions, banquets, and many receptions. Our goal is to have 4500 mathematicians, 750 graduate students and 500 undergraduate students. The Joint Mathematics Meetings provide the opportunity for the mathematics community to come together to learn new things, meet new people, and see old friends. Please attend the meetings and join the festivities. “A splendid time is guaranteed for all!”

San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Photograph courtesy of San Diego Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Joe Gallian MAA President

18 October 2007 FOCUS MAA-AMS Invited Addresses Structure and Randomness in the The Mathematics of PageRank Prime Numbers Fan Chung Terence Tao University of California, San Diego University of California, Los Angeles Tuesday, January 8, 11:10 am Sunday, January 6, 11:10 am Fan Chung received a BS in mathe- Terence Tao was born in Adelaide, matics from National Taiwan University Australia in 1975. In 1986, 1987, and in 1970 and a PhD in mathematics from 1988, he competed (for Australia, of the University of Pennsylvania in 1974. course) in the International Mathematical Olympiad, obtaining She joined the technical staff of AT&T bronze, silver, and gold medals, respectively. He proceeded to Bell Laboratories in 1974. From 1983 to 1991, she headed the get both a BA and an MA from Flinders University in Ad- Mathematics, Information Sciences and Operations Research elaide. Division at Bellcore. In the early 1990s, she became a Bell- core Fellow and decided to return to academia. She taught for Tao completed his PhD under Elias Stein at Princeton in 1996 a few years at the University of Pennsylvania, then went to and has been professor of mathematics at UCLA since 1999. the University of California, San Diego in 1998. She is now Tao’s research interests include harmonic analysis, PDEs, Professor of Mathematics and Professor of Computer Science combinatorics, and number theory. Tao has written four books and Enginering at UCSD. She is also the Akamai Professor in and many papers. He is a popular speaker who has given talks Internet Mathematics. at many different levels to a variety of audiences.

Chung’s research interests are primarily in graph theory, com- Tao has received a huge number of awards, including the Sa- binatorics, and algorithmic design, in particular in spectral lem Prize in 2000, the Bochner Prize in 2002, the Fields Medal graph theory, extremal graphs, graph labeling, graph decom- and SASTRA Ramanujan Prize in 2006, and the MacArthur positions, random graphs, graph algorithms, parallel structures Fellowship and Ostrowski Prize in 2007. He currently holds and various applications of graph theory in Internet comput- the James and Carol Collins chair in mathematics at UCLA, ing, communication networks, software reliability, chemis- and is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Corresponding try, engineering, and various areas of mathematics. She was Member of the Australian Academy of Sciences. awarded the Allendoerfer Award by the MAA in 1990. For more information, including a list of talks and papers, visit Fan Chung’s talk will be on “The Mathematics of PageRank.” PageRank is one of the main ways for determining the rank- Government Speaker ing of Webpages by Web search engines. In her talk, she will MAA and AMS Science Policy Speaker give an overview of recent developments on PageRank. In Tuesday, January 8, 4:20 pm particular, she will discuss the interplay between several areas Speaker and title to be announced. of mathematics and some of the surprising properties of Page- Rank. MAA Invited Addresses He’s probably right! Conway’s amazing mathematical career Three-Dimensional Crystallographic began at the University of Cambridge. He became well-known Groups: The Thirty-Five Prime Space to the mathematical public when Martin Gardner wrote col- Groups umns about his “Game of Life” and about his “Surreal Num- John H. Conway bers.” Over the years, he has continued to produce highly origi- Princeton University nal mathematics. Who else would dare write a book called The Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm Sensuous (Quadratic) Form? Now a professor at Princeton, Conway can be counted on to be original, brilliant, eccentric, According to the high school students and interesting. participating in Mathcamp 2004, the following dialogue took place when John Mathematics and the Law: The Conway was one of the visiting lecturers: Apportionment of the House of Representatives John Conway: I’ll be modest. I know about ten times as much Paul H. Edelman math as anyone here. Vanderbilt University Sunday, January 6, 3:20 pm Camper: That’s being modest? Paul Edelman received his PhD from John Conway: Well, not being modest, I know about a thou- MIT in 1980 under the direction of sand times as much math as anyone here. 19 FOCUS October 2007

Richard Stanley. After stints at Penn and Carnegie-Mellon, previous positions at the University of Georgia and Bell Labs. he arrived at the University of Minnesota in 1986, where he A number theorist, Pomerance specializes in analytic, com- stayed until 2000. While at Minnesota, through a series of binatorial, and computational number theory. His home page serendipitous events, he became interested in mathematical currently lists 155 publications, including the well-received analyses of voting. More specifically, he became interested in book Prime Numbers: A Computational Perspective, written the legal implications of the mathematical analysis. with R. Crandall. The list includes 21 papers written with Paul Erdös. Vanderbilt University, in a daring move, gave Edelman the opportunity to pursue these interests by offering him a unique Pomerance was awarded the MAA’s Chauvenet Prize (for his joint appointment in the Law School and the Mathematics expository writing) and the Haimo Award (for his teaching). Department. Since moving to Vanderbilt, his interests have His expository article “A Tale of Two Sieves” won the Conant broadened to include apportionment, torts, and corporate vot- Prize from the AMS (the very first such prize, in fact, in 2001). ing. His many publications in this area include several papers As a lecturer, he has been both the Association’s Pólya Lec- on the Supreme Court and a paper on the problem of appor- turer in 1993–95 and the Hedrick Lecturer at MathFest 1999. tionment entitled “Getting the Math Right: Why California has He is currently the First Vice President of the MAA and the too many seats in the House of Representatives.” chair of the Mathematics Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Pomerance considers the late 4000 Years of Algebra: Paul Erdös as his greatest influence. An Historical Tour From BM 13901 to The Teaching-Technology Moderne Algebra Linkage in Mathematics Karen H. Parshall Carl C. Cowen University of Virginia Indiana University-Purdue Monday, January 7, 9:00 am University Indianapolis Wednesday, January 9, 10:05 am aren Parhsall studies the history of K (MAA Retiring science and mathematics in the nine- Presidential Address) teenth and twentieth centuries, with a special focus on the history of algebra. In addition to exploring technical develop- arl Cowen has taught in junior ments of algebra, she also works on more thematic issues such C high school, at small colleges, and at as the development of national mathematical research com- large universities. He was the President of the MAA in 2005- munities (specifically in the United States and Great Britain) 2007 and is just finishing his term as Past President. Cowen’s and the internationalization of mathematics in the nineteenth primary pedagogical interests have been in linear algebra. In and twentieth centuries. fact, he has directed more than 30 undergraduate students in research, mostly on topics in linear algebra. He has also had Parshall has recently finished a research project on British 11 PhD students. mathematician James Joseph Sylvester, which resulted, among other publications, in two books: James Joseph Sylvester: Life For many years, Cowen’s primary research interests have been and Work in Letters, and a full-scale biography, James Joseph in operator theory and complex analysis, but in 2002-03, he Sylvester: Jewish Mathematician in a Victorian World. With began changing his research attention to the mathematics of Jeremy Gray, she has co-edited a volume, Episodes in the His- neuroscience. In 2003-04, he worked in the lab of Professor tory of Modern Algebra (1800–1950), based on a workshop Christie Sahley, a biologist at Purdue, to develop a mathe- on the history of modern algebra held at the Mathematical Sci- matical model of parts of the sensory system of the medicinal ences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley. leech. Parshall is currently Professor of History and Mathematics The Riemann Hypothesis at the University of Virginia, where she runs one of the few (Student Lecture) American graduate programs in the History of Mathematics. J. Brian Conrey, The American Institute of Mathematics The Covering Congruences Tuesday, January 8 of Paul Erdös 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm Carl Pomerance Dartmouth College Tuesday, January 8, 9:00 am Carl Pomerance received his BA from Brown University and his PhD from Harvard University. He joined the faculty at Dartmouth College in 2003 after 20 October 2007 FOCUS Presentations by the Haimo Prize Session and Reception Award Recipients Monday, January 7, 4:25 pm In order to showcase the achievements of the recipients of Tuesday, January 8, 2:30 pm various prizes, the MAA and AMS are co-sponsoring this The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distin- event at 4:25 pm on Monday. The Association for Women in guished College and University Teaching are the MAA’s most Mathematics (AWM) and the Society for Industrial and Ap- prestigious award for teaching. Every year, three top teachers plied Mathematics (SIAM) will also be awarding prizes, as are honored. The awards are announced at the Joint Prize Ses- will the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM), which sion, but the winners of the Haimo award are also invited to is comprised of the MAA, AMS, SIAM, and the American give a talk “on the secrets of their success.” This year there Statistical Association. The event will be co-chaired by Joe will be four Haimo talks, since last year one of the winners Gallian, president of the MAA, and James Glimm, president was unable to be present at the Joint Meetings: of the AMS. A cash bar reception will immediately follow. All participants are invited to attend. Annalisa Crannell Franklin and Marshall College The prizes to be announced include:

Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student (jointly awarded by MAA, AMS, and SIAM)

JPBM Communications Award

MAA Prizes Kenneth J. Gross Yueh-Gin Gung and Dr. Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished University of Vermont Service to Mathematics Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics Beckenbach Book Prize Chauvenet Prize Euler Book Prize David P. Robbins Prize Certificates of Meritorious Service to the MAA

AMS Prizes Gilbert Strang Massachusetts Institute of Technology Award for Distinguished Public Service (2006 winner) Bôcher Memorial Prize Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number Theory Levi L. Conant Prize Joseph L. Doob Prize Leonard Eisenbud Prize for Mathematics and Physics Leroy P. Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement Leroy P. Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research

AWM Prizes James Morrow University of Washington Alice T. Schafer Prize for Excellence in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Woman Louise Hay Award for Contributions to Mathematics Education

21 FOCUS October 2007 AMS Colloquium Lectures Josiah Gibbs Lecture

Random Conformally Randomness—A Invariant Pictures Computational Wendelin Werner Complexity View University of Paris-Sud Avi Wigderson Sunday, January 6 Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:30 pm Monday, January 7 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm Tuesday, January 8 Here are a few facts (stated infor- 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm mally) which Avi Wigderson feels every mathematician should know. All can be When Wendelin Werner received formalized and rigorously proved. the Fields Medal at the 2006 International Congress of Math- ematicians, he was 38 years old. In an interview prepared for 1) Whatever new theorem you just proved, you can convince a the ICM, he speculated about how receiving the prize might colleague of the truth of that theorem, revealing absolutely no affect his work: (new) information about your (or any other) proof!

“I understand that the prize is for past work but also an encour- 2) A smart alien who mastered chess can convince you beyond agement for the future. So, it looks like a big responsibility for any reasonable doubt, in a short conversation, whether white me and maybe a little bit of pressure to deliver nice things. I has a winning strategy or not (whichever is true). may want to tackle too difficult problems and end up being stuck... I also wonder if it will change the way students will 3) The ability to solve large enough Sudoku puzzles entails the listen in my lectures. Well, we’ll see. For now, I will first enjoy ability to resolve the truth of the Riemann Hypothesis. this moment with colleagues, friends and family.” Come to Widgerson’s lecture to find out more. Werner was the first probabilist to receive the Fields Medal. His work has dealt mostly with problems at the interface of The goal of the Josiah Willard Gibbs lectures is to display to a mathematics and physics. By combining ideas from prob- general mathematical public some aspect of mathematics and ability theory and random processes, geometry, and complex its applications. More information about the Gibbs lectures, analysis, he has been able to address some of the most im- including a list of past lecturers, is available on the AMS web portant questions in the area. This summer, he was one of the site at http://www.ams.org/meetings/gibbs-lect.html. instructors at the Park City Mathematics Institute’s graduate summer school on Statistical Mechanics; his course dealt with AMS Invited Addresses the large-scale properties of two-dimensional discrete models from statistical physics. His Colloquium Lectures will offer an Combinatorics and Number Theory opportunity to learn more about his work. Wen-Ching Winnie Li National Tsing Hua University Born in 1968 in Germany, Werner is of French nationality. He and Pennsylvania State University received his PhD at the University of Paris VI in 1993 and Sunday, January 6, 10:05 am has been Professor of Mathematics at the University of Paris- Sud in Orsay since 1997. His home page, at http://www.math. innie Li received her PhD from u-psud.fr/~werner/, contains links to both technical and exposi- W the University of California, Berkeley, tory papers. in 1974. Trained as a number theorist, she worked in modular forms and au- The AMS Colloquium Lectures are the offshoot of the Col- tomorphic representations. Her research loquium of the AMS, which was first held in 1896. From the in the past decade has also included applications of number first lectures, by James Pierpoint, to 2007 lectures by Andrei theory to spectral graph theory and coding theory. Okounkov, the Colloquium has offered AMS members an opportunity to hear some of the greatest mathematicians explain In her invited address, she will talk about zeta functions at- some of their best mathematics. Currently, the Colloquium is tached to graphs and complexes, and discuss their connections offered as a series of three lectures at the Joint Mathematics to number theory. In particular, graphs and complexes with the Meetings each year. A list of past Colloquium Lectures can be extremal spectral property are distinguished by the fact that found at http://www.ams.org/meetings/colloquium-lect.html. their zeta functions satisfy the Riemann Hypothesis.

22 October 2007 FOCUS

Semisimple Groups as Quantum Field Theory and Universal Examples Generalized Cohomology James G. Arthur Peter Teichner University of Toronto University of California, Berkeley Monday, January 7, 3:20 pm Monday, January 7, 2:15 pm (AMS Retiring Presidential Address) Peter Teichner is a topologist whose first papers were on the classification of James Arthur is one of the leading topological 4-manifolds, partially jointly mathematicians working on the Lang- written with his advisor Matthias Kreck lands Program, a vision that relates au- and his colleague Mike Freedman at UC San Diego. During tomorphic forms and representation theory with number the- his 12 happy years at UCSD, Teichner’s work was mostly fo- ory. He was President of the American Mathematical Society cused on the theory of knots in 3-space up to a 4-dimensional from February 2005 to January 2007. relation describing the existence of Whitney disks. He and his collaborators contributed ideas like Grope cobordism, Whit- A New Mathematical ney towers and von Neumann signatures to this still evolving Frontier: The Social story. and Behavioral Sciences Donald G. Saari In recent years, Teichner’s focus shifted towards studying con- University of California Irvine nections between topology and theoretical physics. In a joint Tuesday, January 8, 10:05 am project with Stephan Stolz, he is attempting to give a geometric construction of elliptic cohomology via the space of all 2-di- It is an election year, but will we elect mensional super symmetric quantum field theories. His plena- whom the voters really want? Maybe ry lecture will be an attempt to explain this project to a general not, but what does this have to do with mathematical audience. Three years ago, Teichner moved to mathematics? Actually, as Don Saari’s work has emphasized, UC Berkeley where he is helping a large group of students and quite a lot. While mathematics and the physical sciences have postdocs to study these exciting new areas of research. enjoyed a symbiotic relationship for a long time, a similar opportunity is emerging with the growing mathematical sophis- tication of the social and behavioral sciences.

One of the topics Saari will discuss is the mathematics of voting. He will show how orbits of symmetry groups and ideas from chaotic dynamics provide new insights that may explain why your favorite candidate, even if he or she is the “best” candidate, may lose during this presidential season. Functio- nal theoretic extensions suggest why Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” story need not represent the wishes of consumers, for example. Expect to leave Saari’s lecture recognizing how mathematicians can contribute to these important areas, and expect to be worried about what happened in your last important election or purchase.

Progress in Hyperbolic Conservation Laws Constantine M. Dafermos Brown University Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am Constantine Dafermos is the Alumni- Alumnae University Professor at Brown University. He works on the interface between continuum mechanics and the theory of partial differential equations.

Giant panda at the San Diego Zoo. Photograph courtesy of the San Diego Visitor and Convention Bureau.

23 FOCUS October 2007 MAA Short Course AMS Short Course Combinatorics: Past, Present, and Future Applications of Knot Theory Organized by Robin Wilson, The Open University Dorothy Buck, Imperial College London, and Part I: Friday, January 4, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Erica L. Flapan, Pomona College Part II: Saturday, January 5, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Part I: Friday, January 4, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Part II: Saturday, January 5, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Attend this short course to learn more about the development of a wide range of combinatorial topics, from earliest times Over the past twenty years, knot theory has rekindled its his- up to the present day and beyond. The topics presented will toric ties with biology, chemistry, and physics. While the origi- include early combinatorics from non-Western traditions, Eu- nal motivation for understanding and classifying knots came ropean combinatorics during the Renaissance, the combina- from chemistry, knot theory remained a primarily pure field of tiorial work of Leonhard Euler, and various topics from the mathematics until the 1980s, when chemists, biologists, and modern era. physicists began searching for more sophisticated descriptions of entanglements of natural phenomena — from strings Early Combinatorics (up to the 17th century): to organic compounds. Attend this course for an introduction Andrea Breard, China to knot theory and some of its recent applications in molecular Victor Katz, Combinatorics in the Islamic biology, chemistry, and physics. and Hebrew traditions No prior knowledge of knot theory, biology, chemistry, or Europe Before and After Euler: physics will be assumed. The first day will include introduc- Eberhard Knobloch, European combinatorics, 1200–1700 tory lectures by Colin Adams on knot theory, Dorothy Buck Robin Wilson, Early graph theory and Cayley’s work on trees, on DNA and knots, and Erica Flapan on topological stereo- to the early attempts to solve map-coloring problems chemisty. The second day will include lectures on particular George Andrews, Euler’s “De Partitio Numerorum” aspects of these subjects: Lou Kauffman on applications of Lars Andersen, Latin squares knot theory to physics, Ned Seeman, who uses topology for Robin Wilson, Triple systems, schoolgirls, and designs DNA nanotechnology, and Jon Simon on the statistical and energetic properties of knots and their relation to molecular Combinatorics Comes of Age: biology. Speakers will highlight both their own motivation Lowell Beineke, 20th-century graph theory and projects, as well as describing new avenues for interested Herb Wilf and Lily Yen, Sister Celine as I knew her researchers (and their students) to explore. The course will Bjarne Toft, The game of Hex: History, results and problems conclude with a panel discussion of the putative trajectories of these applications of knot theory, and summarize the major Toward the Future: open problems and challenges. Ronald L. Graham, Combinatorics: The future and beyond For more information, please see the complete article at http:// There are separate registration fees to participate. See the fee www.ams.org/meetings/shcourse.html. schedule on the registration form on page 43 of this issue or visit http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_registration.html. There are separate registration fees to participate. See the fee schedule on the registration on page 43 of this issue or visit http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_registration.html.

Other MAA Events

Board of Governors Business Meeting Saturday, January 5, 8:30 am–4:00 pm Wednesday, January 9, 11:10 am–11:40 pm Organized by MAA Secretary, Martha J. Siegel, Towson Uni- Section Officers versity, and moderated by MAA President, Joseph A. Gallian, Sunday, January 6, 2:30 pm–5:00 pm University of Minnesota-Duluth.

MAA Student Chapter Advisors’ Meeting Department Liaisons Meeting Sunday, January 6, 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm Day and time to be determined.

SIGMAA Officers Meeting Minority Chairs Breakfast Meeting Monday, January 7, 8:00 am–10:00 am Day and time to be determined. Chaired by Amy Shell-Gellasch, Pacific Lutheran University 24 October 2007 FOCUS

Joint Special Sessions Proposal Writing Workshop for Grant Applications to the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education The Scholarship of Teaching Monday, January 7, 9:00 am –10:20 am and Learning in Mathematics (MAA – AMS) Outreach Programs For Underrepresented Populations Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:50 am in Mathematics and 2:15 pm to 6:05 pm Monday, January 7, 9:00 am –11:00 am Exciting, Surprising, and Satisfying: Why and How to History of Mathematics Teach Proof (MAA – AMS) Monday, January 7, 9:00 am –10:20 am Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am to 10:50 am and 1:00 pm to 5:50 pm Research and Outreach Focusing on the Mathematics Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:50 am Education of K–8 Latino/a Students and 1:00 pm to 5:50 pm Monday, January 7, 9:00 am –10:20 am

Research in Mathematics by Undergraduates Using the New Technologies in Teaching Mathematics Invited Paper Session (MAA–AMS–SIAM) Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm to 3:50 pm Monday, January 7, 9:00 am –12:00 pm Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am to 10:50 am Classroom Voting Comes to the Mathematics Classroom Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:50 am Monday, January 7, 10:45 am –12:05 pm and 1:00 pm to 5:50 pm Creating and Implementing a Capstone Course in Mathematics and Education Reform Mathematics for Preservice Secondary Teachers (MAA–AMS–MER) Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm –2:20 pm Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:50 am The Political Dimension of Ethnomathematics and 1:00 pm to 5:50 pm Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm –3:00 pm Projects Supported by the NSF Division of MAA Panels, Posters, and Other Sessions Undergraduate Education Monday, January 7, 2:00 pm –4:00 pm National Science Foundation Programs Supporting Learning and Teaching in the Mathematical Sciences Dueling Platforms: Java vs. Flash Sunday, January 6, 9:00 am –10:20 am Monday, January 7, 2:30 pm –3:50 pm Making the Connection Between Research and Teaching The Proof is in the Pudding: Humorous Theater of the in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Mathematical Variety Sunday, January 6, 9:00 pm –10:20 pm Monday, January 7, 6:00 pm –7:30 pm Tenure (and Promotion)—You Know You Want It A Quick Introduction to WeBWorK, a Web-Based Sunday, January 6, 9:00 am –10:20 am Interactive Homework System Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm –2:20 pm Project NExT/Young Mathematicians’ Network Poster Session Summer Research Programs Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 4:15 pm Tuesday, January 8, 2:30 pm –3:50 pm Mathematics and Hollywood: A Conversation with Math- Current Issues in Actuarial Science Education ematical Hollywood Writers and Mathematics Faculty Tuesday, January 8, 5:00 pm –7:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm –3:35 pm Hard Problems What Every Chair Should Know About NSF Funding Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 pm –7:30 pm Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm –3:35 pm Dancing Mathematics and the Mathematics of Dance How to Interview for a Job in the Mathematical Sciences Tuesday, January 8, 6:45 pm –7:45 pm Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm –3:35 pm So You Want to Teach Environmental Math, Do You? Engaging Students in College Mathematics Courses Tuesday, January 8, 7:00 pm –8:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 3:50 pm –5:10 pm Tracking Our Students from College Algebra to Calculus: Where They Come From, Where They Go, and Where They Don’t Sunday, January 6, 3:50 pm –5:50 pm

For full descriptions of MAA Panels, Posters, and Other Sessions go to MAA Online: http://www.maa.org/meetings/081507panels.html. 25 FOCUS October 2007 MAA Minicourses Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 4:45 pm – 6:45 pm Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm The mathematics of modern cryptography is of interest to any- Minicourses are a tradition at all MAA meetings. They are one who registers for classes (or submits grades) on line, or usually offered as two sessions, each two hours long, and pres- pays bills or shops on the Internet. Since that includes most of ent an opportunity to learn some new mathematics, new teach- our students and most of us, it is a perfect subject for adding ing ideas, and other interesting things. For fuller descriptions, to the standard undergraduate curriculum. It is a good way of please visit the meetings information site at http://www.maa. illustrating the application to everyday life of abstract math- org/meetings/082307minicoursesjmm08.html. ematics and clever modern ideas. The focus will be on the basics, assuming only a rudimentary knowledge of number Minicourses are open only to persons who are registered for theory and abstract algebra. Participants must bring laptops the Joint Meetings and pay the minicourse registration fee. equipped with Maple, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and a CD drive. Please enter the number of the courses in which you would Enrollment limit is 30. like to participate when you complete the registration form. The MAA reserves the right to cancel any minicourse that is Minicourse #4 undersubscribed. Wavelets and applications: A multidisciplinary undergraduate course with an emphasis on Participants in Minicourses #1 to #6 are expected to come with scientificc omputing a laptop computer equipped with appropriate software. In- Organized by Patrick J. Van Fleet, University of St. Thomas, structions to download any data files needed for those courses and David K. Ruch, Metropolitan State College of Denver will be provided by the organizers. Part 1: Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 10:00 am Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am – 11:00 am Minicourse #1 We will provide basic introduction to wavelets and applica- Teaching a Galois Theory Course for Undergraduates tions, developing the wavelet transform is developed in an ad Organized by John R. Swallow, Davidson College hoc manner and then demonstrating its use in applications such Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 9:00 am –11:00 am as data compression. Participants will develop the necessary Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 9:00 am –11:00 am software and are encouraged to bring their own digital images Participants will explore Galois theory from an undergraduate or audio files to use. The minicourse content provides an excel- perspective, gaining materials and technological tools for use lent template for an undergraduate class in wavelets and appli- teaching an undergraduate course. We will use AlgFields, a cations. Participants are expected to have one of Mathematica, package for use with Maple or Mathematica to facilitate com- Matlab, or Maple installed on their laptop, as well as Adobe putation in number fields. Laptops should be equipped with ei- Acrobat Reader. For more information, please visit http://cam. ther Maple (version 9 or later) or Mathematica (version 4.2 or mathlab.stthomas.edu/wavelets. Enrollment limit is 30. later), but no prior experience with these packages is required. Enrollment limit is 30. Minicourse #5 Visualizing abstract mathematics Minicourse #2 with cellular automata Some deterministic models in mathematical biology and Organized by Michael J. Bardzell and their simulations Donald E. Spickler, Salisbury University Organized by Cammey Cole Manning, Meredith College; Part 1: Monday, January 7, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Huseyin Kocak, University of Miami; and James F. Selgrade, Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm North Carolina State University Many undergraduate students are familiar with Pascal’s trian- Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 4:15 pm gle and, in some cases, Pascal’s triangle mod n. The latter is a Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm –3:00 pm type of infinite one-dimensional cellular automaton generated Discrete and continuous models from physiology, pharmaco- over a finite group. Cellular automata, both finite and infinite, kinetics, and population biology will be presented and ana- can be generated over other groups as well. Studying these dy- lyzed. The class will be conducted in a computer lab where namical systems necessitates simple techniques from abstract we will use Phaser (see http://www.phaser.com) to simulate algebra, discrete mathematics, number theory, fractal geom- model behavior. Knowledge of ordinary differential equations etry, and computer graphics. We present innovative classroom and linear algebra (at the undergraduate level) will be helpful. activities and undergraduate research projects and introduce Participants for this minicourse are required to bring a laptop the supporting computer software PascGaloisJE (see http:// with Phaser installed; see the online description for minimal pascgalois.org/). Participants should download and install the system requirements. Enrollment limit is 30. software in advance. A basic knowledge of group theory is sufficient for the course. Enrollment limit is 30. Minicourse #3 Introduction to the Mathematics of Minicourse #6 Modern Cryptography Sonification for mathematics instruction Organized by Jeffrey Ehme and Organized by Steven M. Hetzler and Colm K. Mulcahy, Spelman College 26 October 2007 FOCUS

Robert M. Tardiff, Salisbury University and activities that make the most of teaching with clickers. Part 1: Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Enrollment limit is 50. Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Some students struggle to interpret standard graphic and Minicourse #10 symbolic representations of mathematics; many of these stu- The Fibonacci and Catalan numbers dents are primarily auditory learners. At http://faculty.salisbury. Organized by Ralph P. Grimaldi, Rose-Hulman edu/~smhetzler/Minicourse2008/, there are illustrations of how Institute of Technology auditory graphs can be used with spreadsheets to enhance cal- Part 1: Monday, January 7, 9:00 am – 11:00 am culus instruction. This minicourse is designed to teach partici- Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am – 11:00 am pants how to use nonspeech audio to improve student learning. In many introductory courses in discrete mathematics or com- Participants will need Windows XP and Microsoft Excel 2003 binatorics, one encounters the sequences of the Fibonacci or higher, with a headphone jack for the soundcard and either numbers and the Catalan numbers. We will see how certain a CD-RW drive or USB port. Enrollment limit is 30. properties of these sequences come about and examine where ideas related to these sequences arise in applications to geom- Minicourse #7 etry, trigonometry, set theory, number theory, tilings, permuta- Directing undergraduate research tions, chemistry, optics, electrostatics, probability, and graph Organized by Aparna W. Higgins, University of Dayton theory. Enrollment limit is 50. Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 9:00 am – 11:00 am Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 9:00 am – 11:00 am Minicourse #11 To facilitate research by undergraduates, we need to get stu- More music and mathematics dents involved in research, find appropriate problems, decide Organized by Leon Harkleroad, Wilton, Maine how much help to provide, and help students present and pub- Part 1: Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm lish the results. We will discuss these and more, including the Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm similarities and differences between research conducted dur- This session will focus on an all new set of topics from the ing summer programs and research that can be conducted dur- interface of math and music, such as historical geometric ing the academic year. Enrollment limit is 50. methods to approximate equal tempering in instrument design, group theory in contradancing, and music from space-filling Minicourse #8 curves and fractals. This minicourse will not repeat material Mathematics and geometry of voting from the original minicourse (given in Atlanta, GA, in January Organized by Donald G. Saari 2005), and it will not assume that participants attended that University of California, Irvine earlier installment. Enrollment limit is 50. Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 4:45 pm – 6:45 pm Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Minicourse #12 By now, most of us know that voting rules can cause unexpect- Developing department self-Studies ed outcomes and delicious paradoxes. The natural next steps Organized by Donna L. Beers, Simmons College, and Richard — which constitute the theme of this course — are to identify Alan Gillman, Valparaiso University everything that can possibly happen and why, how to construct Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 9:00 am – 11:00 am any number of illustrating examples, to identify which voting Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 9:00 am – 11:00 am rule is the “best,” and to learn how to convert portions of this The self-study process and report are critical components of recent research into rich course offerings for our undergradu- a departmental program review. Since the self-study entails ates. Enrollment limit is 50. honest discussion of issues confronting a department, it is both a process of reflection and a report. This minicourse enables Minicourse #9 participants to determine how a self-study, which is usually Classroom response systems: Teaching with clickers conducted in response to an administrative mandate, can be Organized by Derek Bruff, Vanderbilt University; Matthew a positive opportunity for departmental renewal. Enrollment Leingang, Harvard University; and Kelly Cline, Mark R. Park- limit is 50. er, and Holly S. Zullo, Carroll College Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 4:15 pm Minicourse #13 Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm–3:00 pm Teaching and the philosophy of mathematics Classroom response systems, or “clickers,” enable teachers Organized by Martin E. Flashman, Humboldt to rapidly collect and analyze students’ responses to multiple- State University choice questions. Participants will learn how to use clickers Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 4:15 pm to transform the way they use class time — promoting active Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm participation, engagement, and discussion among students; as- We will introduce participants to issues in the philosophy of sessing student learning in real-time during class; and adapt- mathematics that can be used to illuminate classroom topics ing lessons to respond to the particular learning needs of one’s in undergraduate courses at a variety of levels and provide a students. Also featured are a question-writing “workshop” and foundation for organizing an undergraduate course in the phi- a mock clicker class as ways to explore the kinds of questions losophy of mathematics for both mathematics and philosophy

27 FOCUS October 2007 students. We will focus primarily on issues related to the na- Part 1: Monday, January 7, 9:00 am – 11:00 am ture of the objects studied in mathematics (ontology) and the Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am – 11:00 am knowledge of the truth of assertions about these objects (epis- While most mathematics professors can tell a great mathemat- temology). Enrollment limit is 50. ics talk from a truly horrible one, when it comes to grading student presentations we are often at a loss. We will examine Minicourse #14 what makes a good student mathematics talk, offer concrete Beyond formulas and algorithms: Teaching a advice on helping students prepare to speak, discuss the use conceptual/thematic single variable calculus course of rubrics for evaluating presentations, and explore the role Organized by Shahriar Shahriari, Pomona College of presentations in departmental curriculum and assessment. Part 1: Sunday, January 6, 4:45 pm – 6:45 pm Enrollment limit is 50. Part 2: Tuesday, January 8, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Many students enter college having seen the main ideas of Minicourse #16 calculus and knowing how to do routine calculus problems, A beginner’s guide to the scholarship of teaching and but without a firm grasp of the concepts underlying calculus. learning in mathematics We will explore an alternative honors calculus class where the Organized by Curtis D. Bennett and Jacqueline M. Dewar, theme is approximations and one of the test cases is approxi- Loyola Marymount University mating the number of primes up to x. A thematic/conceptual Part 1: Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm approach using open-ended problems that incorporates some Part 2: Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm unusual mathematics (in this case, analytic number theory) We will introduce participants to the scholarship of teaching allows us to take advantage of the students’ prior experience and learning in mathematics (SoTL). We will present a frame- with calculus to get a deeper understanding of the subject. En- work that illustrates the similarities between disciplinary rollment limit is 50. research and SoTL work, offer examples of SoTL projects in mathematics at varying stages of development, discuss meth- Minicourse #15 ods for investigation, and help participants begin projects of Evaluating student presentations in mathematics their own. Suggestions for how to make this work public will Organized by Suzanne Dorée, Augsburg College; also be given. Enrollment limit is 50. Richard Jardine, Keene State College; and Thomas Linton, Central College

MAA Sessions for Students

Help for Undergraduates: Negotiating the Joint Meetings Undergraduate Student Poster Session Sunday, January 6, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Tuesday, January 8, 3:00 pm–5:30 pm How do you make sense of a 200-page program book? This Deadline for proposals: Friday, November 2, 2007. informal panel will help undergraduate students find their way The session is reserved for undergraduates (and first-year through the Joint Mathematics Meetings. graduate students submitting posters on work done as undergraduates). Abstracts are accepted on a first come basis. Space Undergraduate Career Paths in Math: What Can You Do is limited and students are encouraged to apply early. Begin- with a Math Degree? ning August 1, 2007 students can submit abstracts online at Monday, January 7, 10:45 am – 12:05 pm http://www.maa.org/students/undergrad/poster08.htm. Posters This panel showcases a selection of career choices from in- can discuss a new result, a different proof of a known theorem, dustry, government, and education. Come to learn more about an innovative solution of a Putnam problem, a new mathemat- your options with an undergraduate degree in mathematics. ical model or method of solution to an applied problem. Purely expository posters cannot be accepted. Prizes will be awarded Student Lecture to the top rated posters with money. Trifold, self-standing 48" The Riemann Hypothesis by 36" tabletop posters will be provided. Additional material J. Brian Conrey, The American Institute of Mathematics or equipment is the responsibility of the presenters. Questions Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 1:50 pm regarding the session may be directed to Diana Thomas at Brian Conrey is the Executive Director of the American Insti- [email protected]. tute of Mathematics and Professor of Mathematics at Oklaho- ma State University. His research is in analytic number theory, especially the (analytic side of) the theory of L-functions. As For a full description of these sessions please visit: Director of AIM, Conrey has helped organize many collabora- http://www.maa.org/meetings/082307studentsjmm08.html. tive workshops on cutting edge mathematics, including some on problems related to the Riemann Hypothesis.

28 October 2007 FOCUS MAA Contributed Paper Sessions The MAA has put together several contributed paper sessions For a list of contributed paper sessions with organizers and for the Joint Meetings in San Diego. Most of them deal with email addresses of the contact person, go to http://www.ams. specific topics, but there will also be a General Contributed org/amsmtgs/2109_maacp.html. Clicking on the session title on Papers Session, which is open to papers on any subject. Some that page will take you to the entry for this session in the JMM of these sessions will take one morning or one afternoon, but schedule for that day. Listings of the papers to be presented at several will require more time.We list the titles of the MAA each session are not yet available; they will appear on the final paper sessions below and the dates on which they will be held. program. Check the meeting web site for more information:

Assessment of Student Learning in Innovative and Effective Ways to Teach Linear Algebra Undergraduate Mathematics Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Monday, January 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Mathematics Experiences in Business, Industry, Biomathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum and Government Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am to 10:55 am and 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm Mathematics and the Arts Building Diversity in Advanced Mathematics: Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm to 4:10 pm Models that Work Mathlets and Web Resources for Mathematics Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:55 am and Statistics Education College Algebra: Concepts, Data, and Models Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Monday, January 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Philosophy of Mathematics Countering “I Can’t Do Math”: Strategies for Teaching Monday, January 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Under-Prepared Math-Anxious Students Interested in Preparing Faculty for Success in a Problem-Solving Business and the Sciences and Technology-Rich Curriculum Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Crossing the “Bridge to Higher Mathematics”: What Research and Professional Development Activities for Works and Why Math Majors Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm to 4:10 pm Cryptology for Undergraduates Research on the Teaching and Learning of Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Undergraduate Mathematics Curriculum Materials for Preservice Middle School Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm to 4:10 pm Mathematics Teachers Serving Students Who Have Taken Calculus Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm to 4:10 pm in High School Demos and Strategies with Technology that Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm to 6:00 pm Enhance Teaching and Learning Mathematics I & II Topics and Techniques for Real Analysis Monday, January 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:10 pm Using Ideas from Asian Mathematics in the Classroom Ethnomathematics and Its Uses in Teaching Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm to 6:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Using Innovative Technologies to Implement Active General Contributed Paper Sessions, I – VIII Learning in Mathematics (and in other STEM disciplines) Sunday, January 6, Monday, January 7, Tuesday, January 8, Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am to 10:55 am and Wednesday, January 9 The Power of Inductive and Recursive Thinking Great Activities for an Introductory Statistics Class Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm to 6:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:55 am Guided Discovery in Mathematics Education Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm to 5:55 pm

For full descriptions of these sessions go to MAA Online: http://www.maa.org/meetings/042707cps08sandiego.html.

29 FOCUS October 2007 Special Interest Groups of the MAA Project NExT Sessions (SIGMAAs) SIGMAAs will be hosting a number of interesting activi- Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) is the MAA’s ties, sessions, and guest lecturers. There are currently nine professional development program for new and recent PhD’s such focus groups offering members opportunities to interact in the mathematical sciences. The following sessions were or- not only at meetings but throughout the year via newsletters ganized by Project NExT Fellows to address the concerns of and email-based communications. For more information visit faculty who have four to ten years of teaching experience. All http://www.maa.org/SIGMAA/SIGMAA.html. participants are invited.

SIGMAA on Mathematics and the Arts Making the Math Major Work for the Under-Prepared Mathematics and Hollywood: A Conversation with Student Mathematical Hollywood Writers and Mathematics Monday, January 7, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Faculty Wouldn’t it be great if all students considering a major in math- Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm –3:35 pm ematics were adequately prepared to succeed in the major? Of course, the reality is that many of our students need additional SIGMAA on Environmental Mathematics motivation, guidance, and assistance with the material in order Guest Lecture and Business Meeting to make it through the major. Our panelists will give brief pre- Sunday, January 6, 4:00 pm –5:30 pm sentations on strategies for helping such students to succeed without compromising standards. SIGMAA on the History of Mathematics Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Lecturer Capstone and One-Semester Research Projects for Sunday, January 6, 5:30 pm –7:30 pm a Variety of Students Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm SIGMAA on Business, Industry, and Government All mathematics majors, even those not destined for mathe- Guest Lecturer matical stardom, can benefit from a real mathematical research Monday, January 7, 3:00 pm –3:45 pm experience. This session is designed to help faculty recognize and find appropriate problems that can be tackled in a single SIGMAA on Quantitative Literacy semester, match problems to students, and mentor these young Business Meeting and Reception researchers throughout the research experience from initial ap- Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm proach to final product, a paper and/or presentation.

SIGMAA on the Philosophy of Mathematics New Technologies for Faculty: Wikis, Discussion Boards, Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Lecturer and Clickers Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm –7:15 pm Wednesday, January 9, 9:30 am – 11:00 am There is always something new in the technological front. This SIGMAA on Statistics Education can feel overwhelming, but some of us have found exciting Business Meeting ways to improve their pedagogy with cutting-edge technology. Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm –7:15 pm Come learn how you too can enhance your teaching with these easy-to-learn technologies. SIGMAA on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Business Meeting Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 p.m – 7:00 pm Mark Your Calendars! SIGMAA on Mathematical and Computational Biology Biomathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum 2009 Joint Mathematics Meetings Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:55 am and 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm Washington, DC January 5-8, 2009

The dates have changed for the 2009 Joint Math- ematics Meetings. They were previously scheduled for January 7-10, 2009. The meeetings will now be held on January 5-8, 2009.

30 October 2007 FOCUS

AMS Special Sessions Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Some sessions are co-sponsored with other organizations; these are noted within the parentheses at the end of each list- Feynman Integral in Mathematics and Physics ing, where applicable. The deadline for submitting an abstract Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am –10:50 am and for these sessions has now passed. A listing of the papers to be 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm presented should be available at the meeting web site soon. Financial Mathematics Algebraic Dynamics Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am –10:50 am 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm and 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Algebraic Topology Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am Global Optimization and Operations and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Research Applications Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Algebraic and Geometric Aspects of Integrable Systems Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am Graph Theory and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Applications of Computer Algebra in Enumerative Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and Algebraic Combinatorics Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Groups, Representations, and Character Theory Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and Asymptotic Methods in Analysis with Applications 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm (AMS-SIAM) Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am Heegaard Splittings, Bridge Positions, and and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Low Dimensional Topology Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am –10:50 am and Automorphic Forms and Related Topics 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm History of Mathematics (AMS-MAA) Biomathematical Modeling Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am –10:50 am and Conformally Flat Lorentzian Manifolds 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Hyperbolic Dynamical Systems Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and Dynamics and Stability of Coherent Structures 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Interactions Between Noncommutative Algebra and Algebraic Geometry E-Theory, Extensions, and Elliptic Operators Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Inverse Problems in Geometry Environmental Mathematics: Some Mathematical Prob- Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and lems on Climate Change and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm (AMS-SIAM) Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am Learning and Math Graduate Students in K–12 Classroom Expanders and Ramanujan Graphs: Construction Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm and Applications Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Linear Diophantine Problem of Frobenius Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm –5:50 pm

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Low Genus Curves and Applications Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Mathematics Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm (MAA-AMS) Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm

Mathematical Problems in Biological Formations Secant Varieties and Related Topics Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Mathematics and Education Reform (MAA-AMS-MER) Set Theory and Banach Spaces Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am –10:50 am and (AMS-ASL) 1:00 pm –5:50 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Mathematics for Teaching: Educating Elementary and Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am Middle School Teachers for Success Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am and Stochastic, Large-Scale, and Hybrid Systems 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm with Applications Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am and Mathematics of Information and Knowledge 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Structure, Geometry, and Symbolic Computation of Alge- Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am braic Groups and Symmetric Spaces and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Modular Forms and Modularity Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Time-Frequency Analysis: Hilbert Huang Transform and Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am Wavelet Analysis Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am and Monotone Discrete Dynamical Systems with Applications 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am and 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Voting Theory Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:50 am and Probability Theory and Statistical Mechanics 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Wavelet Sets and Tilings of Rn Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am and Progress in Commutative Algebra 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am and Zeta Functions of Graphs, Ramanujan Graphs, 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm and Related Topics (AMS-AWM) Recent Advances in Mathematical Biology, Ecology, Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and and Epidemiology 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am –10:50 am and 2:15 pm – 6:05 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am –11:50 am AMS Contributed Paper Sessions

Representation Theory and Nonassociative Algebras Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm – 5:50 pm There will be sessions for contributed papers of ten minutes’ duration. Contributed papers will be grouped by related Research in Mathematics by Undergraduates Mathematics Subject Classification into sessions insofar as (MAA-AMS-SIAM) possible. The author(s) and their affiliation(s) and the title of Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm – 3:50 pm each paper accepted will be listed in the program along with Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am – 10:50 am the date and time of presentation. Abstracts will be published Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am –10:50 am and in Abstracts Presented to the American Mathematical Society 1:00 pm –5:50 pm and will be available at the meeting.

32 October 2007 FOCUS

Other AMS Sessions of the Bourbaki Seminars in that mathematicians with strong expository skills speak on important recent work done by other Department Chairs Workshop mathematicians. Written versions of the talks will be distrib- This annual one-day workshop for chairs and leaders of de- uted at the session. partments of mathematical sciences will be held a day before the start of the Joint Meetings on Saturday, January 5, from Wiki Math 8:00 am to 6:30 pm. The workshop format is intended to stim- Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm to 2:15 pm ulate discussion among attending chairs and workshop lead- Mathematics should be an ideal subject for Wikipedia, since ers. Sharing ideas and experiences with peers provides a form mathematical facts are, well, facts, and there ought to be little of department chair therapy, creating an environment that en- room for disagreement. How does this work out in practice? ables attending chairs to address departmental matters from The session will offer an anecdotal survey, exhibiting some of new perspectives. the best as well as some of the worst. We hope also to discuss how perhaps it should deal with mathematics. There is a registration fee for the workshop, which is in addition to and separate from the Joint Meetings registration. An Committee on Science Policy Panel Discussion invitation to attend the workshop will be sent to department Tuesday, January 8, 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm chairs this fall. Information will also be posted on the AMS website. Committee on Education Panel Discussion Wednesday, January 9, 8:30 am to 10:00 am Council Meeting Saturday, January 5, 1:30 pm Business Meeting Wednesday, January 9, 11:45 am Grant Writing in the Mathematical Sciences Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am to 10:55 am and Activities of Other Organizations 2:15 pm to 5:30 pm This workshop, organized by Michelle Wagner of the National everal organizations or special groups are having recep- Security Agency, and Deborah F. Lockhart of the National S tions or other social events. Science Foundation, aims to inform the community about ongoing and new funding opportunities in the mathematical Association for Symbolic Logic (ASL) sciences, provide grant writing guidance from program man- Tuesday, January 8, and Wednesday, January 9 agers and successful proposal writers, and provide a hands-on The program will include sessions of contributed papers and opportunity for participants to write mock proposals and have invited addresses. See also the Special Session cosponsored by their work critiqued by their peers and other experts. See the the ASL on Set Theory and Banach Spaces. meetings web site for more details. Please be sure to check the appropriate box on the registration form if you intend to Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) participate. Twenty-Ninth Annual Emmy Congressional Fellowship Session Noether Lecture Sunday, January 6, 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Fun with Zeta Functions of Graphs The Congressional Fellows program is administered by Audrey Terras the American Association for the Advancement of Science University of California, San Diego (AAAS). The fellowship is designed to provide a unique Monday, January 7, 10:05 am public policy learning experience, to demonstrate the value of science/government interaction, and to bring a technical Audrey Terras received her BS in background and external perspective to the decision-making mathematics from the University of process in Congress. The three AMS-sponsored Congressional Maryland, College Park, in 1964, Fellows will report on their experience. where she was inspired by the lectures of Sigekatu Kuroda to become a number theorist. She was par- Who Wants to Be a Mathematician ticularly impressed by the use of analysis (in particular using Tuesday, January 8, 10:00 am to 10:55 am zeta functions) to derive algebraic results. She received her Come watch eight of the area’s top high school students com- MA (1966) and PhD (1970) from Yale University, working pete for cash and prizes by answering questions about math- with Tsuneo Tamagawa. ematics. You are invited to come and take part in this educational and fun presentation. In 1972 she became an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego. Now she is a Full Current Events Bulletin Professor at UCSD, where she has had 24 PhD students. She Tuesday, January 8, 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement This session, organized by David Eisenbud, follows the model of Science, and has served on the Council of the American Mathematical Society. 33 FOCUS October 2007

Terras has written three books: Harmonic Analysis on Sym- Cox-Talbot Address metric Spaces and Applications, Vols. I and II, (Springer 1985, Tuesday, January 8 after the banquet; speaker and title to be 1988) and Fourier Analysis on Finite Groups and Applica- announced. tions, (Cambridge 1999). Her research interests include number theory, harmonic analysis on symmetric spaces and finite Panel Discussion groups (including applications), special functions, algebraic Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am–9:50 am graph theory, especially zeta functions of graphs, arithmetical quantum chaos, and Selberg’s trace formula. Business Meeting Wednesday, January 9, 10:00 am –10:50 am When lecturing on mathematics, Terras believes it is important to give examples, applications, and colorful pictures. In Claytor-Woodard Lecture this talk, she will present an introduction to zeta functions of Wednesday, January 9, 1:00 pm graphs along with some history and comparisons with other Speaker and title to be announced. zetas from number theory and geometry such as Riemann’s and Selberg’s. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

A luncheon will be given in her honor; see the “Social Events” The Invited Address will be given by Inez Fung, Berkeley In- section for details. Also see the related Special Session on Zeta stitute of the Environment, University of California Berkeley, Functions of Graphs, Ramanujan Graphs, and Related Topics From global predictions to local action: Mathematical chal- jointly sponsored by the AWM listed under the “AMS Special lenges in global warming at 11:10 am on Monday, January 7. Sessions” heading. Minisymposia Panel Discussion Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 3:40 pm Education and Applied Mathematics Just before the panel discussion, AWM will recognize the Al- Sunday, January 6, 8:00 am – 11:00 am ice T. Schafer award honorees. The formal announcement of the prize will be made at the Joint Prize Session on Monday Analysis and Computation of Stochastic Equations afternoon. Sunday, January 6, 2:15 pm – 6:15 pm

Business Meeting From Global Predictions to Local Action Sunday, January 6, 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm Monday, January 7, 8:00 am – 11:00 am and 1:00 pm – 4:15 pm Workshop Wednesday, January 9, 8:20 am – 4:20 pm Graph Coloring and Partitioning This workshop is for women graduate students and women Wednesday, January 9, 8:00 am – 11:00 am who have received the PhD within the last five years. Twenty and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm women mathematicians are selected in advance of this workshop to present their research; graduate students will present posters, and the recent PhDs will give 20-minute talks. The Others workshop opens with a dinner on a previous evening to introduce workshoppers and mentors, and includes a panel discus- Math on the Web sion on career issues. All mathematicians (female and male) Sunday, January 6–Wednesday, January 9, various times. are invited to attend the entire program. The deadline for ap- Communicating math on the Web involves some of the same plications for presenting and funding has expired. Updated in- challenges as writing mathematics in general, but it also intro- formation about the Workshop is available at http://www.awm- duces a whole new layer of challenges and possibilities. There math.org/workshops.html. will be several presentations on the exhibit hall floor throughout the meeting. Reception Sunday, 9:30 pm –11:00 pm Mathematical Art Exhibit A popular feature at the last Joint Mathematics Meetings in National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) New Orleans, this exhibit provides a break in your day. On display are works in various media by artists who are inspired Granville-Brown-Haynes Session of Presentations by Re- by mathematics and by mathematicians who use visual art cent Doctoral Recipients in the Mathematical Sciences to express their findings. The exhibit will be open during the Tuesday, January 8, 2:15 pm – 4:00 pm regular exhibit hours.

34 October 2007 FOCUS

Pi Mu Epsilon (PME) Council Meeting books purchased by mail. These discounts will be available Tuesday, January 8, 8:00 am–11:00 am only to registered participants wearing the official meetings badge. Most major credit cards will be accepted for book sale Rocky Mountain Mathematics Consortium (RMMC) purchases at the meetings. Also, AMS electronic products and Board of Directors Meeting the AMS website will be demonstrated. Participants visiting Tuesday, January 8, 2:15 pm–4:10 p.m the exhibits are required to display their meetings badge in order to enter the exhibit area. Summer Program for Women in Mathematics (SPWM) Reunion The MAA and the AMS cordially invite all registered partici- Monday, January 7, 1:00 pm–4:00 pm pants to enjoy complimentary tea and coffee (available at noon and 2:00 pm on Sunday, January 6; 9:00 am, noon, and 2:00 Young Mathematicians Network (YMN) pm on Monday, January 7, and Tuesday, January 8; and 9:00 Concerns of Young Mathematicians: A Town Meeting am on Wednesday, January 9) while perusing the associations’ Tuesday, January 8, 7:00 pm–8:00 pm booths. Other Events of Interest Mathematical Sciences Employment Center Those wishing to participate in the Mathematical Sciences AMS Information Booth Employment Center should read carefully the important ar- All meetings participants are invited to visit the AMS Infor- ticle at www.ams.org/emp-reg/. mation Booth during the meetings. A special gift will be available for participants, compliments of the AMS. AMS staff will Networking Opportunities: There are many opportunities to be at the booth to answer questions about AMS programs and meet new friends and greet old acquaintances in addition to membership. the vast array of scientific sessions offered at these meetings. These opportunities are listed on the newcomers page at www. Book Sales and Exhibits ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_newcomers.html. Newcomers may All participants are encouraged to visit the book, education want to investigate the many receptions listed in the “Social media, and software exhibits from 12:15 pm – 5:30 pm on Events” section, the Student Hospitality Center, and the Em- Sunday, January 6, 9:30 am –5:30 pm on Monday, January 7, ployment Center. On site a Networking Center featuring casual and Tuesday, January 8, and 9:00 am –1:00 pm on Wednesday, seating and lists of registered participants sorted by school and January 9. Books published by the MAA and AMS will be sold math subject classification will be available for your perusal. at discounted prices, somewhat below the cost for the same

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ISU-MathFocus.indd 1 11/29/06 3:13:35 PM 35 FOCUS October 2007 Social Events

All events listed are open to all registered participants. It Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered is strongly recommended that for any event requiring a tick- Mathematicians Reception et, tickets should be purchased through advance registration. Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm –7:00 pm Only a very limited number of tickets, if any, will be avail- Everyone is welcome to attend this open reception. Meet some able for sale on site. If you must cancel your participation in new friends or get together with some old friends. Please join a ticketed event, you may request a 50% refund by returning us! your ticket(s) to the Mathematics Meetings Service Bureau (MMSB) by December 21. After that date no refunds can be MAA Two-Year College Reception made. Special meals are available at banquets upon advance Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm request, but this must be indicated on the Advance Registra- Open to all meeting participants, particularly two-year faculty tion/Housing Form. members. There will be hot and cold refreshments and a cash bar. Sponsored by Addison Wesley. ACMS Worship Service Sunday, January 6, 7:00 am – 7:50 am MER Banquet Begin the Joint Meetings by attending a nondenominational Monday, January 7, 6:30 pm service provided by members of the Association of Christians The Mathematicians and Education Reform (MER) Forum in the Mathematical Sciences. welcomes all mathematicians who are interested in educational reform to attend the MER banquet. There will be a cash bar Student Hospitality Center beginning at 6:30 pm. Dinner will be served at 7:30 pm. Sunday–Tuesday, January 6 – 8, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Wednesday, January 9, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm NSA Women in Mathematics Society Networking Session Organized by Richard and Araceli Neal, American Society for Monday, January 7, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm the Communication of Mathematics. Everyone is invited to this annual session.

Reception for Undergraduates Knitting Circle Sunday, January 6, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Monday, January 7, 8:15 pm – 9:45 pm Reception for Graduate Students and Bring a project (knitting/crochet/tatting/beading/etc.) and chat First-Time Participants with other mathematical crafters! Sunday, January 6, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm The MAA and the AMS co-sponsor these social hours. Stu- Hawkes Learning Systems Courseware Presentation dents and first-timers are especially encouraged to come to Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 pm –7:00 pm pick up a few tips on how to survive the environment of a All participants are invited. large meeting. Mathematical Reviews Reception Mathematical Institutes Open House Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm All friends of Mathematical Reviews (MR) are invited to join Participants are warmly invited to attend this open house co- reviewers and MR editors and staff (past and present) for a re- sponsored by several North American mathematical institutes. ception in honor of all the efforts that go into the creation and Come find out about the latest activities and programs at each publication of the Mathematical Reviews database. of the Institutes. Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Reunion AWM Reception Tuesday, January 8th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Sunday, January 6, 9:30 pm All alumni, family, and spouses are invited. This is an open reception held after the AMS Gibbs Lecture. NAM Banquet AWM Luncheon to honor Noether Lecturer, Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 pm –9:30 pm Audrey Terras The National Association of Mathematicians will host a ban- Monday, January 7 quet on Tuesday evening. A cash bar reception will be held at Those interested may email [email protected]; a sign-up 6:00 pm, and dinner will be served at 6:30 pm. sheet for those interested will also be located at the AWM table in the exhibit area and also at the AWM panel discussion and Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences Business Meeting. (ACMS) Reception and Banquet

36 October 2007 FOCUS

Tuesday, January 8, 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm number of years will be recognized and will receive a special This annual dinner at 6:30 pm is preceded by a reception and award. The banquet will be held on Wednesday, with a cash will be followed by an after-dinner talk by Fernando Gouvêa, bar reception at 6:30 pm and dinner at 7:30 pm. Colby College. Tickets must be ordered by November 30; see www.acmsonline.org for details. Receptions for Alumni and Friends of Mathematics Departments Wine and Jazz Evening Tuesday, January 8, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lehigh University Reception Join your colleagues for an informal evening enjoying fine Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm wines and cool jazz at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center University of Iowa Mathematics Department Reception Cafe, 200 Harbor Drive (across from the Convention Center). Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm MAA–Project NExT Reception New Mexico State University Department Tuesday, January 8, 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm of Mathematical Sciences Reception All Project NExT Fellows, consultants, and other friends of Monday, January 7, 5:45 pm – 7:15 pm Project NExT are invited. University of Chicago Mathematics Alumni Reception Monday, January 7, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm AMS Banquet Wednesday, January 9, 6:30 pm University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department The AMS banquet provides an excellent opportunity to social- of Mathematics Alumni Reception ize with fellow participants in a relaxed atmosphere. The par- Tuesday, January 8, 5:30 pm –7:30 pm ticipant who has been a member of the Society for the greatest

37 FOCUS October 2007

Registration, Travel and Other Information

The MAA and AMS make every effort to keep participant If you wish to be included in a list of individuals sorted by expenses at meetings and registration fees for meetings as low mathematical interest, please provide the one mathematics as possible. We work hard to negotiate the best hotel rates and subject classification number of your major area of interest to make the best use of your registration dollars to keep the on the Advance Registration/Housing Form. (A list of these meetings affordable for you. The MAA and the AMS encour- numbers is available by sending an empty email message to age all participants to register for the meeting. When you pay [email protected]; include the number 1035 as the subject the registration fee, you are helping to support a wide range of of the message.) Copies of this list will be available for your activities associated with planning, organizing, and running a perusal in the Networking Center. major meeting of this size. For more information and to register online, visit http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_intro.html. If you do not wish to be included in any mailing list used for promotional purposes, please indicate this in the appropriate How to Register in Advance box on the Advance Registration/Housing Form.

If at all possible, register in advance. Advance registration fees Early Advance Registration: Those who register by the early are considerably lower. (See the registration form for fees and deadline of October 31 will be included in a random drawing deadlines.) Acknowledgments of registrations will be sent by to select winners of complimentary hotel rooms in San Diego. email to the email address(es) given on the Advance Registra- The winners will be notified by mail prior to December 20. tion/Housing Form. If you do not wish your registration ac- knowledged by email, please mark the appropriate box on the Ordinary Advance Registration: Those who register after form. October 31 and by the ordinary deadline of November 15 may use the housing services offered by the MMSB but are Email Advance Registration: This service is available for ad- not eligible for the room lottery and raffle. You may also elect vance registration and housing arrangements by requesting the to receive your badge and program by mail in advance of the forms via email from [email protected] or by visiting meetings. http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/ 2109_reg.html. Completed email forms should be sent to [email protected]. All advance Final Advance Registration: Those who register after No- registrants will receive acknowledgment of payment prior to vember 15 and by the final deadline of December 14 must pick the meetings. up their badges, programs, and any tickets for social events at the meetings. Unfortunately, it is sometimes not possible to Internet Advance Registration: This service is available for provide final advance registrants with housing, so registrants advance registration and housing arrangements at http://www. are strongly urged to make their hotel reservations by Novem- ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_reg.html. All Internet advance regis- ber 15. Please note that the December 14 deadline is firm; trants will receive acknowledgment of payment upon submis- any forms received after that date will be returned and full sion of this form. refunds issued.

Badges and Programs: Participants registering by November Hotel Reservations 15 may receive their badges, programs, and tickets by mail approximately three weeks before the meetings. Registration Participants requiring hotel reservations should read the in- materials will be mailed only to those who check the box on structions on the following pages and at http://www.ams.org/ the registration form and provide a home address. Because of amsmtgs/2109_hsg.html. Participants who do not reserve a delays that occur in U.S. mail to Canada, advance registrants room during advance registration and would like to obtain a from Canada and overseas must pick up their materials at the room at one of the hotels listed on the following pages should meetings. There will be a special Registration Assistance Desk call the hotels directly after December 17. However, after that at the Joint Meetings to assist individuals who either do not date the MMSB can no longer guarantee availability of rooms receive this mailing or who have a problem with their registra- or special convention rates. tion. Please note that a US$5 replacement fee will be charged for programs and badges that are mailed but not taken to San Importance of Staying in the Official Meetings Hotels: Your Diego. patronage of the official headquarters hotels enables the JMM to secure the meeting space at a greatly reduced cost which Cancellation Policy: Those who cancel their advance regis- helps to keep the cost of the meeting and your registration fees tration for the meetings, MAA Minicourses, or Short Courses down. Networking events will be held at the Marriott for the by December 28 will receive a 50% refund of fees paid. No convenience of our participants. refunds will be issued after this date. The deadline for refunds for banquet tickets is December 21. Headquarters Raffle: Win an Olympus FE-230 digital cam-

38 October 2007 FOCUS era and Fujifilm 1 GB xD picture card valued at over US$200! Travel Information Participants who register and reserve a room at the Marriott by October 31, 2007, will be eligible to enter this drawing. Discounted Air Travel: The official airline for the meetings All participants who are eligible will receive a raffle ticket on is Delta. The MAA and AMS have made an agreement with their badge sheet. Those who wish to enter the drawing must Delta to provide special discounts to participants. We cannot turn in their tickets at the Meetings Registration Desk in the guarantee that these will be the lowest fares when you make San Diego Convention Center. You must turn in your ticket to your arrangements. However, we strongly urge participants be entered into the drawing! The winning ticket will be drawn to make use of this special deal if at all possible, since the before the end of the meeting on Wednesday, specific day and MAA and AMS can earn complimentary tickets. These tickets time to be announced. are used to send meetings’ staff (not officers or other staff) to the Joint Mathematics Meetings, thereby keeping the costs of Room Lottery: Win free room nights at our official hotels as the meetings (and registration fees) down. To make reserva- listed on the hotel pages. Participants who register and reserve tions, visit http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_travel.html and a room by October 31, 2007 at any of the meetings hotels click on the Delta Air Lines logo. Reservations must be made listed will automatically be included in a random drawing to through this link to receive the discount. select a winner of free room nights in that hotel. Traveling from the airport: Shuttle service is available from Miscellaneous Information the airport to the downtown hotels for approximately US$8–11 per person one way and US$16–22 per person round trip. See Audio-Visual Equipment: Standard equipment in all session http://www.san.org/airport/ground_transportation/shuttle_servic- rooms is one overhead projector and screen. Invited 50-minute es.asp. We have set up a special rate with the Cloud 9 shuttle speakers are automatically provided with two overhead projec- service if you reserve in advance. Visit the meeting travel site tors and a computer projector. Blackboards are not available. at http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2109_travel.html for more in- Individual speakers must consult with the session organizer(s) formation. if additional equipment or services are needed. All requests should be received by November 1. Public Transportation from/to the airport: General infor- mationon San Diego public transportation is at http://www. Childcare: The Mathematical Association of America and the sdmts.com/. American Mathematical Society will again offer childcare services for the Joint Mathematics Meetings to registered partici- Taxicabs: Taxi fare to the downtown area is approximately pants. See the August/September issue of FOCUS for details. US$10–12 dollars one way. Registration starts in September. To register, go to https://www. kiddiecorp.com/jmmkids.htm or call KiddieCorp at (858) 455- Driving Directions: Please visit the meeting web site for di- 1718 to request a form. rections, as well as http://www.visitsandiego.com/maps/. The hotels being used by the Joint Mathematics Meetings are Email Services: Limited email access for all Joint Meetings downtown and locations can be ascertained by checking the participants will be available. The hours of operation will be map on page 45. published in the program. Train: The Union Station (Santa Fe Depot) train station is Information Distribution: Tables are set up in the exhibit conveniently located in downtown San Diego at 1050 Kettner area for dissemination of general information of possible in- Boulevard. There is a trolley stop at the train station. Contact terest to the members and for the dissemination of information Amtrak for more information on train service to or from San of a mathematical nature not promoting a product or program Diego. for sale. Discounted Car Rental: Avis is the official car rental com- Local Information: For information about the city see www. pany for the meetings. Contact Avis for rates and reservations, meetmeinsandiego.com/AMS/ and for complete restaurant in- citing group ID number J098887. formation, including maps and menus, see www.sandiego.org/ nav/Visitors/DiningAndNightlife. Travel Information for International Participants: Inter- national participants should view the important information Petition Table: At the request of the AMS Committee on Hu- about traveling to the United States at http://www7.nation- man Rights of Mathematicians, a table will be made available alacademies.org/visas/Traveling_to_US.html. Because of in- in the exhibit area at which petitions on behalf of named indi- creased scrutiny of visa applicants, many potential attendees vidual mathematicians suffering from human rights violations of scientific meetings in the United States have experienced may be displayed and signed by meetings participants acting unusual delays in obtaining travel visas. If you need a letter of in their individual capacities. For details contact the director of invitation from the AMS and have not yet requested it, please meetings in the Providence office at 401-455-4137 or by email send email to [email protected] and an invitation will be forward- at [email protected]. ed as soon as possible.

39 FOCUS October 2007

for for all

ts/Cancellation

Continued

see descriptions below

72-hour cancellation policy

Please note that early departure

Raffle and Room Lottery qualification: and Lottery Room Raffle

Reservations through MMSB: through Reservations

Changes/cancellations through MMSB: through Changes/cancellations

One night depositcheck, or by One night Credit cards accepted: VISA, MC,

Deadlines: • October 31, 2007 • November 15,November 2007 • December 7, December 2007

Guarantee Requiremen Policy: • • AMEX, Diners, and Discover (except for Horton Grand which doesHorton not acceptGrand which Discover) • hotels excepthotels 500 West (24-hour cancellation policy) and Omni (7-day (7-day cancellation policy) and Omni cancellation policy) • penalties will apply ofat the some hotels –

with a with

at which time rooms rooms time at which

to make a reservation to make

cannot be taken by phone.

All other hotels will ONLY ONLY other hotels will All

Please call the Student Hostel

(paper or electronic)

atics Meetings Service Bureau Service Meetings atics

December 17 December

at some hotels are offering free hotelsairport atare some offering

these hotels before 18. December

. A higher rate will be applied to any

rectly for reservations.

please submit a completed housing section of the a completed housing please submit

Participants register advance orderin in must to obtain

How to Obtain Hotel Accommodations How to Accommodations Hotel Obtain

November 15. November Sorry, reservations

reservations must be made through the Mathematics Meetings Meetings Mathematics the be through made reservations must

Check-in 3:00 12:00 p.m./checkout Check-in – p.m. all hotels except for Hilton,the

Windows open in some rooms - see - descriptionsrooms open some below in Windows Children are free in existing beds only. See age limits in each in Seehotel. areage beds limits Children only. free existing in Limited availability of cribs, availability free of charge Limited All hotels have a limited environmental policy regarding linens where all where linens policy regarding hotelsenvironmental a All limited have

Distance from hotels (CC) tois Center Diegoindicated San Convention the from in Distance

Cloud 9 Shuttle is offering a special discount for this meeting. Go toa specialCloud discount meeting. 9is for this offering Shuttle

Wirelesssee hotels descriptions- some is in free below. Some hotels will only send confirmations by email and some are not sending are not and sending some email by send confirmations only hotels will Some

All hotels are in acceptable compliance with ADA. All hotels have hotels have All ADA. hotels are All acceptablein with compliance

General Instructions: hotel accommodations through Mathem the hotel accommodations (MMSB). Special rates have been negotiated exclusively for this meeting at the (MMSB). meeting for this Special been negotiatedrates have exclusively following hotels. With Hostel exception Student the of the and Hotel following Occidental, Service Bureau (MMSB) to receive rates.these and Hotel Occidental di start accepting after directly reservations and rates will be basedand rates will on availability rooms reserved rooms directly with any of

To make a reservation,To make Form (ARH) Registration/Housing Advance guarantee byguarantee Participants interested suites should contactreserving in MMSBthe for further information.

General Information: • Embassy Suites, San Diego San MarriottSuites, 4:00 12:00 (check-in p.m./checkout Embassy p.m.) and Holiday Inn Express (check-in 3:00and Express 11:00 Holiday Inn (check-in p.m./checkout a.m.) • • • • requests for a limited change of linens will be honored. will requestsof linens for change a limited • each listing. each listing. • https://www.hudsonltd2.com/cgi- bin/cld1/res?LOGON=GO&USERIDENTRY=JMM08 and and receive Note discount. this also th shuttles. • • any confirmations - see - descriptions confirmations below. any • TTYs/TDDs request. text telephones by or on the premises can rent them

For

for details.

How To Register in

Subject to 10.6 % state and

Only certified students orcertified students Only

See ARH Form for detailed Form See ARH

Room Raffle/Lottery:Room this meeting, we are offering are offering we this meeting, a special raffle for anyone a special for anyone raffle who reserves ata room the who Marriott Hotel Marina by & October 31. We are also offering the Room Lottery Lottery Room the offering again for anyone who who again for anyone reserves a room at any of the of reserves ata room any following hotels by Octoberhotels by following 31. See Advance

Rates: • local tax • unemployed mathematicians mathematicians unemployed qualify for student rates. for student qualify • breakdown of ratesof for breakdown each hotel.

40 October 2007 FOCUS

$75

Continued

Complimentary fully fully Complimentary

Downtown

Seaport Village)

(.9 miles to CC)

(1 block from trolley)

Confirmations will sent be not Confirmations

All changes to departure dates must must dates departure to All changes

Confirmations provided by email by email provided Confirmations

;

Embassy Suites San Embassy Diego Bay-

(.45 mile(.45 to CC / across the street from

Courtyard by Marriott - Downtown

601 Pacific Highway 601 Pacific Highway San 92101Diego, CA 619-239-2400 Single/Double US $149 Student Single/Double US $135 Additional US $20 view bay for

All Hotel; Suites cooked breakfast andcooked evening breakfast daily cocktail reception included in rates; Restaurant; Lounge; Lounge; Fitness center; Starbucks; Indoor pool; Parkingelevators; – perUSGlass day $26 valet; Complimentary airport$26 valet; Complimentary shuttle; All rooms are suitesare rooms All with private bedroom and living room area with and sleeperwith living Fullarea sofa; room amenities inamenities all rooms including refrigerator and microwave oven; open Windows andin microwave all rooms; Wireless high Wireless rooms; speed internet throughout hotel at a cost US of $9.95 per 24 hours plus tax; Children under 18 years free; free; only be made at check-in to avoid a US a avoid to check-in at made be penalty charge penalty

530 Broadway 530Street Broadway San 92101Diego, CA 619-446-3000 Single/Double US $109

All Non-Smoking Historic Hotel; Hotel; Historic All Non-Smoking Restaurant; Bar; Business center; Fitness center; Parking Courtyard - per market; day US $24 in w/ valet and out privileges; All rooms have full amenities; Some rooms have rooms have full rooms amenities; have Some microwave ovens; doWindows notmicrowave open in rooms; Complimentary high speedrooms; Complimentary internet access in rooms and complimentary wireless wireless in access and rooms complimentary in the bar and lobby; Children under 18 years free; free; years

All

;

Confirmations Confirmations

Quarter

Confirmations provided provided Confirmations

(1.8 miles to CC)

(2 blocks from trolley)

Holiday Express Inn

Hilton San Diego Gaslamp

(Across the(Across street to CC - .06 mile)

401 K. Street San 92101Diego, CA 619-231-4040 Single/Double US $150 Student Single/Double US $140

All Non-Smoking Hotel; Hotel; All Non-Smoking Restaurant; Lounge; Fitness center; Outdoor heated pool; Parking per day – US day $30 valet; have All rooms full amenities; Complimentary high fullComplimentary amenities; speed internet in access androom complimentary WiFi in lobby; complimentary Windows openWindows in rooms; Children under free; 18 years provided by email only by email provided changes to departure dates must must dates departure to changes be made at check-in to avoid a US a avoid to check-in at made be $75 charge penalty

1430 7th Avenue San 92101Diego, CA 619-696-0911 Single/Double US $129 Student Single/Double US $119 All Non-Smoking Hotel; Hotel; All Non-Smoking Restaurant; Complimentary Restaurant; Complimentary continental Outdoor breakfast; pool; Parking - USper $12day self; Complimentary airport shuttle; Complimentary All rooms have full includingrooms amenities have safes and Windows refrigerators; safes open in all Mostrooms; have rooms balconies; Complimentary highbalconies; Complimentary speed internet and inwireless all rooms androoms lobby; Children under 18 years free; free; years by email only by email

No roll-in showers roll-in No

Confirmations Confirmations

(1.10 miles to CC)

(2 blocks from trolley)

Horton Grand Hotel

(.33 mile to CC - 3 blocks)

Holiday onInn the Bay

311 Island Avenue San 92101Diego, CA 619-544-1886 Single/Double US $155 Student Single/Double US $145

Historic Hotel – All One-Bedded – Hotel AllHistoric One-Bedded Rooms (Very limited number of of number limited (Very Rooms rooms with beds); two queen rooms Restaurant (serving breakfast only); Restaurant breakfast (serving Bar; Parking – per US day $14 day or US day $24 nightover valet; All rooms have full includingrooms amenities have gas fireplace; High fireplace; speedgas internet OR wireless in at room a costwireless OR USof $9.95 plus per day tax; Windows open inBalconiesrooms; some in some rooms; Majorityrooms; rooms of some have onehave king bed; Children under 10 years free; free; 10 years available; Confirmations provided provided Confirmations available; by email only by email

1355 North Harbor Drive San 92101Diego, CA 619-232-3861 Single/Double US $135 Student Single/Double US $125 Additional US $30 view bay for

Restaurants; Lounge; Fitness center; Outdoor heated pool; Parking per day - US day $24 valet or US $20 self; Complimentary airport shuttle; Complimentary All rooms have full includingrooms amenities have refrigerators; Most refrigerators; have rooms patios; open Windows in all rooms; Complimentary wireless internet wireless in Complimentary all and rooms lobby; Children under 18 years free; free; 18 years provided by email only by email provided

Confirmations Confirmations

Restaurants;

;

(Headquarters)

Confirmations provided by provided Confirmations

(Next door to CC)

Omni San DiegoOmni

Courses; all other at events CC)

(Across (Across the street to CC - .10 mile)

Care, EC, Miscellaneous Sessions, and Short

San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina

(Location of Council, Board of Governors, Child

333 HarborW. Drive San 92101Diego, CA 619-230-8316 City Single/DoubleCity US $172 Bay Single/DoubleBay US $192 Student Single/Double US $138

All Non-Smoking Hotel; All Non-Smoking Lounges; Fitness center; Heated outdoor pools; Starbucks; Shops; Tennis court; Marina; Parking – perUS day $20 or self US $26 valet; All rooms have full amenities; Windows openfull have Windows rooms amenities; All in South Balconies Tower, in North Tower; Children underHigh speed free; 18 years internet in at a cost rooms US of $9.95 per day plus tax and includes phone localfor usage and long distance; Lounge andin Wireless DW's lobby lounge - cost based on Businessusage; Center connectionruns wireless in Starbucks foyer at a cost US of $10foyer Hard perlines day; available at Business Center at a cost USof $5 per 10 minutes; email only email

675 StreetL. San 92101Diego, CA 619-231-6664 Single/Double US $140 Student Single/Double US $125

Restaurant; Lounge; Fitness center; Outdoor heated pool; Bar; Parking - USper $26day valet orvalet US full $14 have rooms All self; amenities includingamenities bar, mini refreshment center, and bathrobes; wired Complimentary and wireless internetand wireless in all hotelrooms, lobby, bar, and pool open deck; Windows in all rooms; Children under free; 12 years provided by email only by email provided

41 FOCUS October 2007

and

is located on the corner of 5

Attention Students

phones local with free calls, continentaland free

is a Budget Hotel located 11 theblocks Conventionfrom Center,

ohostels.org

Hotel Occidental Hotel

Hostelling International-San Diego Downtown International-San Hostelling

As alternativeAs housing choices,list we the following:

1. Market Market Street in Quarter.the soul It Gaslamp is the of located city's four blocks from the Convention Center and three comfortable dorm theblocks offer trolley.from They rooms rooms and up to Wi-Fidate in free privatepancake breakfast, rooms, rooms,free full kitchen, and onsite laundry.

521 Market Street San Diego, 92101 CA (619) 525-1531 (619) 338-0129 (fax) www.sandieg Please call directly for further information and reservations. reservations. and information further Please call for directly

2. 7 theblocks trolley,from and 1 theblock busfrom station. The bus 20 runs every minutes on a weekday and every hour andminutes on every on a weekday the The guestweekend. rooms range from singles and doubles with shared baths to private baths in single, doubles and queen suites. Each private features kitchenettes, high large windows, ceilings with ceiling fans, TV'sfans, with DVD central players, air and highheat, complimentary speed wireless internet digital safes, access, breakfast. breakfast.

410 Elm Street San Diego, 92101 CA 619-232-1336 Hoteloccidental-sandiego.com Please call directly for further information and reservations. reservations. and information further Please call for directly

No air air No

Confirmations Confirmations

500 West

and trolley)

; Cafe; ;YMCA onCafe; lower

.75 mile from CC)

(

(1 block from train station

500 Broadway W. San Diego, 92101 CA 800-276-7415 Single occupancy only – US $49, twin beds only

All Non-Smoking Hotel; All Non-Smoking conditioning floor; room with Common full kitchen; Laundry; Laundry; Parking per– day US $15 overnight no w/ in and out (located next door); Sharedservice; maid Daily bathrooms; Windows open in all rooms; Complimentary wireless internetwireless Complimentary throughout hotel; provided

door pool at

; Complimentary ; Complimentary

(1.8 miles to CC)

(3 blocks from trolley)

Rodeway Inn & Suites

719 Street Ash San Diego, 92101 CA 619-232-2525 Single/Double US $91

No Restaurant No continental smoking Limited breakfast; rooms; Freeto access out Holiday Inn Express across the street; Complimentary parking; Complimentary parking; Complimentary Complimentary airport shuttle; Rooms openthe from outside; rooms All fullhave amenities including and Windows refrigerators; safes open in all rooms;high Complimentary speed internet and wireless in all rooms and lobby; Children under free; 18 years Confirmations provided by email only by email provided Confirmations

42 JointOctober Meetings 2007 Advance Registration/Housing Form FOCUS Note: Write your name as you would like it to appear on your badge (no titles, please). Badges and programs can only be mailed to home addresses. If you would like your registration materials mailed to you on December 13, please register by November 15, provide your home address, and check this box: I want my materials mailed to the following address on 12/13/07. I do not want my materials mailed. I will pick them up onsite.

Name

Mailing Address

Membership Telephone: Fax: ¢ all that apply. First column is eligible for In case of emergency (for you) at the meeting, call: Day #: Evening #: member registration fee o AMS o ASA Email Address o MAA o AWM Affiliation for name badge o ASL o NAM o o Nonmathematician guest badge name (please note charge below) CMS YMN o SIAM Acknowledgment of this registration will be sent to the email address listed, unless you check this box: Send by U.S. Mail Registration Fees Payment

Joint Meetings by Dec 14 at mtg Subtotal Registration & Event Total (total from column on left) $ o Member AMS, ASL, CMS, MAA, SIAM US $214 US $279 o Nonmember US $332 US $431 Hotel Deposit (only if paying by check) $ o Graduate Student US $ 44 US $ 54 o Undergraduate Student US $ 23 US $ 29 Total Amount To Be Paid $ o High School Student US $ 5 US $ 10 (Note: A US $5 processing fee will be charged for each returned check or o Unemployed US $ 43 US $ 53 invalid credit card. Debit cards are not accepted.) o Temporarily Employed US $172 US $200 Method of Payment o Developing Countries Special Rate US $ 43 US $ 53 o Check. Make checks payable to the AMS. Checks drawn on foreign banks o Emeritus Member of AMS or MAA US $ 43 US $ 53 must be in equivalent foreign currency at current exchange rates. o High School Teacher US $ 43 US $ 53 o Credit Card. VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, Discover (no others accepted) o Librarian US $ 43 US $ 53 o Nonmathematician Guest US $ 15 US $ 15 Card number: $ Exp. date: Zipcode of credit card billing address: AMS Short Course: Applications of Knot Theory (1/4–1/5) o Member of AMS or MAA US $ 94 US $125 Signature: o Nonmember US $125 US $155 o Student, Unemployed, Emeritus US $ 42 US $ 63 Name on card: $ o MAA Short Course: Combinatorics: Past, Present, Future. (1/4–1/5) Purchase order # (please enclose copy) o Member of MAA or AMS US $125 US $140 o Nonmember US $175 US $190 Other Information o Student, Unemployed, Emeritus US $ 50 US $ 60 Mathematical Reviews field of interest # $ MAA Minicourses (see listing in text) How did you hear about this meeting? Check one:o Colleague(s) o Notices I would like to attend: o One Minicourse o Two Minicourses o Focus o Internet Please enroll me in MAA Minicourse(s) #______and/or #______o This is my first Joint Mathematics Meeting. In order of preference, my alternatives are: #______and/or #______o I am a mathematics department chair. Price: US $60 for each minicourse. o For planning purposes for the MAA Two-year College Reception, please (For more than 2 minicourses, call or email the MMSB.) $ check if you are a faculty member at a two-year college. Employment Center o I would like to receive promotions for future JMM meetings. Applicant résumé forms and employer job listing forms will be o Please ¢this box if you have a disability requiring special services. on the AMS website at www.ams.org/emp-reg/. o Please do not include my name on any promotional mailing list. Employer—First Table US $245 US $325 o Computer-scheduled o Self-scheduled o Combination Interview Mail to: Employer— Each Additional Table US $ 95 US $125 o Computer-scheduled o Self-scheduled o Combination Interview Mathematics Meetings Service Bureau (MMSB) o Employer—Posting Job Description Only US $ 50 N/A P. O. Box 6887 o Applicant (all services) US $ 44 US $ 82 Providence, RI 02940-6887 Fax: 401-455-4004 o Applicant (Winter List & Message Ctr only) US $ 22 US $ 22 Questions/changes call: 401-455-4143 or 1-800-321-4267 x4143; [email protected] $ Events with Tickets Deadlines Please register by the following dates for: MER Banquet (1/7) US $50.00 #____Regular #____Veg #____Kosher Résumés/job descriptions printed in the Winter Lists Oct. 24, 2007 NAM Banquet (1/8) US $49.00 #____Regular #____Veg #____Kosher To be eligible for the room lottery and the raffle: Oct. 31, 2007 AMS Banquet (1/9) US $52.00 #____Regular #____Veg #____Kosher For housing reservations, badges/programs mailed: Nov. 15, 2007 $ For housing changes/cancellations through MMSB: Dec. 7, 2007 Other Events For advance registration for the Joint Meetings, Employment o AMS Workshop on Grant Writing (1/6) (no charge) Center, Short Courses, MAA Minicourses, & Tickets: Dec. 14, 2007 o Graduate Student/First Time Attendee Reception (1/6) (no charge) For 50% refund on banquets, cancel by: Dec. 21, 2007*

For 50% refund on advance registration, Minicourses & Total for Registrations and Events $ Short Courses, cancel by: Dec. 28, 2007* Registration for the Joint Meetings is not required for the Short Courses, *no refunds after this date but it is required for the Minicourses and the Employment Center 43 FOCUS October 2007 US $399; N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ting rates Suites US $685 US $215 US $489 all suites all suites all suites US $338 US $239 US $169 1BR US $499 Suite: Star . Jr N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Quad US $212 US $232 US $178 US $131 2 beds w/cot Child (give age(s) N/A N/A y limited) Quad 2 beds US $212 US $232 US $178 US $195 US $190 US $180 US $189 US $209 US $155 US $180 US $165 US $165 US $195 US $155 US $159 US $149 US $129 US $111 er (v e e e v v v

a a a ha ha ha ys; ys; ys; a a a w w w N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A US $192 US $212 US $158 US $190 US $180 US $185 US $160 US $190 US $121 US $170 US $150 riple - king sleeper sof sleeper sof sleeper sof T or queen w/cot No rolla No rolla No rolla King only-US $119 Departure Date e e e (no paper) will be sent by the Hilton, Embassy Suites, Holiday Inns, Horton, Marriott (hqtrs), v v v Please provide your email address: a a a ha ha ha ys; ys; ys; a a a w w w riple N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A $121 T US $192 US $212 US $158 sleeper sof sleeper sof sleeper sof 2 beds w/cot No rolla No rolla No rolla I plan to make a reservation at a later date. I will be making my own reservations at a hotel not listed. Name of hotel: I live in the area or will be staying privately with family or friends. I plan to share a room with , who is making the reservations.

Exp. Date Signature Guarantee requirements: First night deposit by check (add to payment on reverse of form) or a credit of form) on reverse to payment (add check night deposit by First Guarantee requirements: riple N/A N/A Email confirmations Omni & Rodeway Inn. If you are not making a reservation, please check off one of the following: o o o o y limited) T 2 beds er US $192 US $212 US $158 US $175 US $170 US $160 US $169 US $189 US $145 US $160 US $145 US $150 US $180 US $140 US $144 US $134 US $119 US $101 (v Arrival Arrival Date

le N/A N/A y limited) 2 beds US $91 Doub er US $172 US $192 US $138 US $155 US $150 US $149 US $169 US $135 US $140 US $125 US $135 US $165 US $125 US $129 US $119 US $109 US $140 (v le N/A 1 bed US $91 Doub US $172 US $192 US $138 US $155 US $150 US $149 US $169 US $135 US $140 US $125 US $135 US $165 US $125 US $129 US $119 US $109 US $145 US $140 Date and Time of Date Departureand

Single US $91 US $49 US $172 US $192 US $138 US $155 US $150 US $149 US $169 US $135 US $140 US $125 US $135 US $165 US $125 US $129 US $119 US $109 US $145 US $140 s) ter Hold with my credit card Card Number w o wn w Suites wnto y-Cityvie Hotel w w w Suites w yvie yvie yvie . d Marriott Do y Inn and Suites ar y Inn on the Ba y Inn Express est Hotel wa ty W ton Grand Hotel San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina (hqtr Cityvie Ba Student Hor Student Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quar Student Embassy Suites-Cityvie Ba Student Suites Omni San Diego Student Holida Ba Student Holida Student Cour Rode 500 der hoice Or of c I have disabilities as defined by the ADA that a require sleeping room that is accessible to the Other requests: I am a member of a hotel frequent-travel club and would like to receive appropriate credit. Deposit enclosed (see front of form) San Diego Meetings Joint Hotel Reservations Special Housing Requests: o physically challenged. My needs are: o o The hotel chain and card number are: Name of Other Room Occupant To ensure accurate To assignments, please rank hotels in order of preference by writing 1, 2, 3, etc., in the column on the left and by circling the requested room type and rate. If the rate or the longer hotel available, you requested is will be no assigned Reservations a room listed. at rates a ranked convention or the unranked receive hotel to at MMSB a the comparable rate. through Participants made are be urged must to hotels call following the hotels the directly at for Reservations details on listed. suite rates configurations, sizes, convention and the availability; receive however, to MMSB the through only made be can reservations suite with the hotels made may directly be changed to a higher rate. subject to All a rates 10.6% are sales tax. card guarantee. o Date and Time of Date Arrival and

44 October 2007 FOCUS

0.75 1.05 0.70 0.45 0.06 1.06 1.10 0.33 0.12 0.05

Distance

from SDCC

500 West Hotel Rodeway Inn and Suites Courtyard San Diego Downtown by Marriott Embassy Suites Hotel San Diego Bay - Downtown Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Holiday Inn Express San Diego Downtown Holiday Inn San Diego on the Bay Horton Grand Hotel Omni San Diego Hotel San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina Headquarters Hotel

Joint Mathematics Meetings Jan 6, 2008 to Jan 9, 2008

Hotel Downtown San Diego

45 FOCUS October 2007

Employment Opportunities leges, universities, and engineering schools and whose research interests overlap a de- for our Teaching Program Visiting Faculty partment member’s. Current research areas Illinois Positions beginning August 16, 2008. Can- include applied mathematics, combinatorics, didates with substantial experience teaching geometry, logic, non-commutative Southern Illinois University undergraduate mathematics, and with teach- geometry, number theory, operator algebras, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, ing and research interests compatible with probability, set theory and topology. Instruc- a comprehensive state university 20 miles current faculty, are sought. Successful can- tors teach four ten-week courses distributed from downtown St. Louis, Missouri, invites didates are expected to pursue a program of over three terms, though one of these terms applications for a tenure-track assistant pro- study and/or research at Cornell. The normal in residence may be free of teaching. fessor beginning August 2008. Applicants duties are to teach two identical courses each should have a PhD in math education, math- semester. The Department actively encour- The assignments normally include introduc- ematics, or statistics. Review of applications ages applications from women and minority tory, advanced undergraduate, and graduate will begin December 1, 2007. For more in- candidates. courses. Instructors usually teach at least one formation visit www.siue.edu/MATH/. course in their own specialty. This appoint- Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply ment is for 26 months with a monthly salary Wheaton College (IL) electronically at http://www.mathjobs.org. of $4667, and a possible 12 month renewal. Open Rank Positions in Mathematics & Salary includes two-month research stipend Computer Science For information about these positions and ap- for Instructors in residence during two of the The Mathematics & Computer Science de- plication instructions, see: http://www.math. three summer months. To be eligible for a partment at Wheaton College (IL) invites cornell.edu/Positions/facpositions.html. 2008-2011 Instructorship, candidate must applications for two tenure-track, open-rank Deadline December 1, 2007. be able to complete all requirements for the positions—one starting in fall 2008, and one Cornell University is an Affirmative Action/ Ph.D. degree before September, 2008. Ap- in fall 2009. Fields of expertise are algebra, Equal Opportunity Employer and Educator. plications may be obtained at http://www. analysis, statistics, and/or math history and math.dartmouth.edu/recruiting/ or http:// Ohio foundations. Applicants must be committed www.mathjobs.org Position mentoring undergraduate student researchers Assistant Professor of Statistics ID: 237-JWY. is expected. Ph.D. is required. The College is The Ohio State University at Newark invites located 25 miles west of Chicago. For more applications for the position of Assistant General inquiries can be directed to An- information please visit www.wheaton.edu/ Professor of Statistics to start autumn, 2008. nette Luce, Department of Mathematics, math. Ph.D. in statistics supported by a strong po- Dartmouth College, 6188 Kemeny Hall, Ha- tential for teaching and research. All areas nover, New Hampshire 03755-3551. At least Review of applications will begin November of specialization will be considered, but one referee should comment on applicant’s 16, 2007 and continue until the positions are preference will be given to candidates with teaching ability; at least two referees should filled. Applicants should send a curriculum research areas compatible with existing ex- write about applicant s research ability. Ap- vita and a description of teaching philosophy pertise on Ohio State’s Columbus campus plications received by January 5, 2008 re- and research interests to: Dr. Terry Perciante, (see http://www.stat.osu.edu). Teaching ex- ceive first consideration; applications will be Chair; Department of Mathematics and perience at the college or university level is accepted until position is filled. Computer Science; Wheaton College; 501 preferred. Responsibilities include: teach- College Avenue; Wheaton, Illinois 60187. ing undergraduate courses in statistics at The Dartmouth College is committed to diversity Ohio State University at Newark, conducting and strongly encourages applications from Additional application materials will be sent research, and engaging in service to the cam- women and minorities. to eligible candidates. pus. Salary: $69,000 to $72,000 (A comprehensive benefits package is included). PENNSYLVANIA Wheaton College is an evangelical Prot- Posting Date: July 21, 2007 to Open until estant Christian liberal arts college whose filled. Send a CV, cover letter, three letters Penn State Mont Alto faculty members affirm a Statement of Faith of reference, and representative reprints to Penn State Mont Alto seeks a tenure track as- and the moral and lifestyle expectations of The Ohio State University at Newark, Office sistant professor to teach courses primarily our Community Covenant. The College of Human Resources, Assistant Professor of in the first two years of college mathematics complies with federal and state guidelines of Statistics, Search, #329607, 1179 University using traditional and hybrid delivery modes. nondiscrimination in employment; women Drive, Newark, OH, 43055. EEO/AA Em- Publish in refereed journals. Seek Ph.D. in and minorities are encouraged to apply. ployer. mathematics and experience teaching introductory math courses. Prefer candidate with New Hampshire a record of successfully teaching students NEW YORK whose abilities range from weak to strong Dartmouth College preparation for college-level mathematics. Cornell University John Wesley Young To learn more about the campus visit http:// The Department of Mathematics at Cor- Research Instructorship www.psu.edu/ur/cmpcoll.html. To learn nell University invites applications for two The John Wesley Young Instructorship is a more about the position and how to apply, or more half-time visiting positions (rank postdoctoral, two- to three-year appointment visit http://www.psu.jobs/Opportunities/Op- based on experience) for mathematics pro- intended for promising Ph.D. graduates with portunities.html and follow the “Faculty” fessors on sabbatical/other leaves from col- strong interests in both research and teaching link. AA/EOE.

46 October 2007 FOCUS Peru

Land of the Incas Tenth Annual

February 8 - 10, 2008 A national showcase for research projects of undergraduate women in the mathematical sciences.

MAA’s 6th Annual Main Program Talks by undergraduate women about their Mathematical Study Tour own research July 7-19, 2008 Plenary Speakers For more details visit: www.maa.org Katherine Bartley, National Security Agency Rebecca Caldwell, Axciom Corporation Angela Desai, University of Montevallo Advertising Specifications Cornelia Yuen, SUNY Potsdam Guaranteed Special Positions 10% additional charge; first-come, first-served basis All Plenary Speakers are NCUWM Alumnae

Mechanical Specifications For undergraduate participants, most local expenses Trim Size: 8 1/4" wide x 10 5/8" high are covered and travel support is available. Screen: 150-line halftone For more information, to register, Full page bleed: 8 1/4" x 10 5/8" apply for funding, or sign up to give a talk, (10% extra charge) visit us on the web at Color: FOCUS standard second ∼ color available (15% extra charge) www.math.unl.edu/ ncuwm Column Width: 2 5/16, or write to us at 4 13/16", 7 3/8" Printing: Offset, saddle-stitched [email protected] How to send your materials: Department of Mathematics Electronic files: laser output should accompany your electronic University of Nebraska-Lincoln files. PC and MAC based files must be sent as Postscript files 203 Avery Hall (please subset and embed all fonts). PDF files are also accept- Lincoln, NE 68588-0130 able. Camera-ready art: Should be prepared according to the mechanical specifications shown on this page. Deadline for registration Classified rates (includes a free listing in MAA online to appear January 18, 2008 the same month as the print ad): $2.50 per word University of Nebraska-Lincoln To place an ad via email - send files [email protected] An equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for diversity

47 FOCUS October 2007 New from

® The Mathematical Association of America

A Garden of Integrals Frank Burk

The derivative and the integral are the fundamental notions of calculus. Though there is essen- tially only one derivative, there is a variety of integrals, developed over the years for a variety of purposes, and this book describes them. No other single source treats all of the integrals of Cauchy, Riemann, Riemann-Stieltjes, Lebesgue, Lebesgue-Stieltjes, Henstock-Kurzweil, Weiner, and Feynman. The basic properties of each are proved, their similarities and differences are pointed out, and the reason for their existence and their uses are given. There is a great deal of historical information. The audience for the book is advanced undergraduate mathematics majors, graduate students, and faculty members. Even experienced faculty members are unlikely to be aware of all of the integrals in A Garden of Integrals and the book provides an opportunity to see them and appreciate their richness. Professor Burk's clear and well-motivated exposition makes this book a joy to read. The book can serve as a reference, as a supplement to course that include the theory of integration, and a source of exercises in analysis. There is no other book like it. Dolciani • Catalog Code: DOL-31 • 354 pp., Hardbound, 2007 • ISBN: 978-0-88385-337-5 List: $51.95 • MAA Member: $41.50

Differential Geometry and Its Applications John Oprea Textbook---Second Edition Printed with four full-color plates. This book studies the differential geometry of surfaces with the goal of helping students make the transition from the compartmentalized courses in a standard university curriculum to a type of mathematics that is a unified whole. It mixes together geometry, calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, complex variables, the calculus of variations, and notions from the sciences. That mix of ideas offers students the opportunity to visualize concepts through the use of computer algebra systems such as Maple. Differential Geometry and Its Applications emphasizes that this visualization goes hand-in-hand with understanding the mathematics behind the computer construction. The book is rich in results and exercises that form a continuous spectrum, from those that depend on calculation to proofs that are quite abstract. Table of Contents: 1. The Geometry of Curves; 2. Surfaces; 3. Curvatures; 4. Constant Mean Curvature Surfaces; 5. Geodesics, Metrics and Isometries; 6. Holonomy and the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem; 7. The Calculus of Variations and Geometry; 8. A Glimpse at Higher Dimensions.

Classroom Resource Materials • Catalog Code: DGA • 510 pp., Hardbound, 2007 • ISBN: 978-0-88385-748-9 List: $69.95 • MAA Member: $57.00

To order visit usThe Mathematical Association of America Periodicals Postage paid at To Order: 1529 Eighteenth St., NW Washington, DC and online at: Washington, DC 20036 additional mailing ofﬁces Call: 1.800.331.1622www.maa.org oror call us at: Online at www.maa.org1.800.331.1622