Volume XXXI, Issue 1 Spring 2008 Allegheny Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America Allegheny Mountain Newsletter Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Section Meeting! April 11-12, 2008, are the dates for our annual spring section meeting, but this one promises to be one of a kind. In honor of our seventy-fifth Inside this issue: anniversary as a Section, well be going back to the Univer- Leaders’ greetings 2 sity of Pittsburgh, the place where it all began. Meeting Schedule 3 The 2008 meeting promises a Invited Speakers 4-5 number of excellent invited speakers, a contributed paper session for faculty and student Candidates for Office 6-7 speakers, a pizza party on Fri- day night, and much more. Section NExT 8 Our featured speakers are an especially apt group for this Calls for Nominations 9 historic (and historical) meet- ing: MAA Polya Lecturer Art Meeting Info and Forms 10- Benjamin of Harvey Mudd 12 College, MAA President-Elect David Bressoud of Macalester College, and mathematics his- torian David Zitarelli of Tem- ple University. Meetings like this only come around once every 75 years – don’t miss your chance! The University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning Registrants for the meeting will receive a free, commemora- tive T-shirt designed specifically for this 75th anniversary meeting (while supplies last). Allegheny Mountain Newsletter From the Chair: John Thompson, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Greetings from Johnstown. for the meeting or give a talk John Bukowski for his ser- As the semester plows along, elsewhere in the newsletter or vice as Governor of the sec- I hope you have been able to online. tion over the past several make plans to attend the An- years. He has done a tremen- nual Spring Meeting at the While at the meeting, please dous job representing our University of Pittsburgh. It take the time to thank the on- section. promises to be a memorable site coordinator Beverly and exciting time. With a Michaels for all of the work Finally, I want to encourage line-up of nationally recog- that she has put into prepar- all of you to participate in the nizable speakers to comple- ing the meeting. She de- governance of the section by ment the talks by the faculty serves much praise for the attending the Saturday morn- and students from within the efforts required to pull to- ing business meeting. New John Thompson of Pitt- Allegheny Mountain Section, gether the details of the meet- officers will be elected at that Johnstown, Section Chair this is a program you won’t ing are … non-trivial, to say time. want to miss. You can read the least. more about the details of the I hope to see you in Pitts- program and how to register Also, take a moment to thank burgh! From the Governor: John Bukowski, Juniata College Greetings from snowy and nances of the MAA are nalisa Crannell’s Haimo icy central Pennsylvania! still in good shape, with a Award talk. See the Feb- I hope that all of you are current operating budget of ruary issue of MAA FO- having a good semester. $10.5 million. We had an CUS for the text of this fun Although it doesn’t seem interesting conversation and inspiring talk. like it, spring will be here about “green” investing, before we know it – and which the MAA is consid- This is my final Gover- with it, the 75th Anniver- ering for part of its invest- nor’s Report for the news- sary Meeting of the Alle- ments. We voted on a letter, as my three-year gheny Mountain Section number of recommenda- term is coming to an end. on April 11 and 12 in tions from the Strategic It was both a great honor Pittsburgh! Planning Working Group and a great pleasure to on Governance, mainly serve the Allegheny I recently attended my dealing with the structure Mountain Section in this sixth and final Board of of MAA committees and way. I have enjoyed get- Governors meeting at the councils. One part of the ting to know the other gov- Joint Meetings in San meeting that will directly ernors and officers of the John Bukowski of Juniata Diego, where it was good affect all MAA members MAA – there are so many College, Section Governor to see a number of you. was our vote to keep 2009 great people in this organi- Although we had a few dues at the same level as zation. I look forward to days of rain at the begin- 2008 dues. my continued involvement ning of the meeting, the in the MAA at both the sun came out by the end. After the Board meeting, I section and national levels. Attendance at the Joint attended many interesting I hope to see all of you at Meetings was 5635, in- talks in what was another the University of Pitts- cluding 521 undergradu- great Joint Meetings. burgh on April 11 and 12! ates, a new record! As Some of the highlights usual, we learned and dis- were the invited addresses cussed many things at the by Terry Tao and Carl Board meeting. The fi- Pomerance, as well as An- Page 2 Volume XXXI, Issue 1 Tentative Schedule for Spring 2008 Section Meeting Friday April 11 11:30-12:30 Section officers meeting 1:00-3:30 Section NExT workshop 2:00-5:00 Registration (Benedum Auditorium) 2:00-5:30 Book exhibits (Benedum Hall) 3:55-4:00 Welcome from University of Pittsburgh (Benedum Auditorium) 4:00-5:00 Art Benjamin talk (Benedum Auditorium) 5:15-6:30 Hors D'Oeuvres & Dessert Reception (Scaife Hall 11th Floor) 6:30-7:15 Awards/Art Benjamin Magic show (Scaife Auditorium 6) 7:00-8:15 Book Exhibits 7:30-9:30 Student talks (Benedum Hall) 9:30-??? Pizza Party (705 Thackeray Hall) Saturday, April 12 7:30-8:45 Breakfast (705 Thackeray Hall) 8:00-8:45 Business Meeting (705 Thackeray Hall) 8:00-9:00 Registration (Benedum Auditorium) 9:00-12:00 Book Exhibits (Benedum Hall) 9:00-10:00 David Zitarelli talk (Benedum Auditorium) 10:15-11:25 Faculty Talks (Benedum Hall) 11:45-12:45 David Bressoud talk (Benedum Auditorium) 12:45 Closing remarks (Benedum Auditorium) Be sure to check the Section webpage at http://www.math.psu.edu/sellersj/ alleghenymtn for changes to information as they occur. Page 3 Allegheny Mountain Newsletter Art Benjamin Arthur Benjamin earned his ness for Fibonacci numbers. and explained his calcu- B.S. in Applied Mathematics Many of these ideas appear in lating talents in his book from Carnegie Mellon and his book (co-authored with "Secrets of Mental his PhD in Mathematical Jennifer Quinn), "Proofs That Math" and on numerous Sciences from Johns Hop- Really Count: The Art of television and radio pro- kins. Since 1989, he has Combinatorial Proof", pub- grams, including The taught at Harvey Mudd Col- lished by MAA. In 2006, that Today Show, CNN, and lege, where he is Professor of book received the Becken- National Public Radio. Mathematics and past Chair. bach Book Prize from the He has been featured in In 2000, he received the MAA. Professors Benjamin Scientific American, Haimo Award for Distin- and Quinn are the editors of Omni, Discover, People, guished Teaching from the Math Horizons magazine, Esquire, New York Mathematical Association of published by MAA. Times, Los Angeles America. Currently, he Times, and Reader's Di- serves as the MAA's Polya Art is also a magician who gest. In 2005, Reader's Lecturer from 2006 to 2008. performs his mixture of math Digest called him and magic for audiences all "America's Best Math His research interests include over the world, including at Whiz." combinatorics and number the Magic Castle in Holly- theory, with a special fond- wood. He has demonstrated David Bressoud David Bressoud is DeWitt Wal- and the State College Area High David chairs the MAA Com- lace Professor of Mathematics School. mittee on the Undergraduate at Macalester College and Program in Mathematics as president-elect of the Mathe- David has received the MAA Dis- well as the MAA special in- matical Association of Amer- tinguished Teaching Award terest group, Teaching Ad- ica. He served in the (Allegheny Mountain Section), vanced High School Mathe- Peace Corps, teaching the MAA Beckenbach Book matics. He has chaired the math and science at the Award for Proofs and Confirma- AP Calculus Development Clare Hall School in tions, and has been a Pólya Lec- Committee and has served as Antigua, West Indies, turer for the MAA. He is a recipi- Director of the FIPSE- before studying with ent of Macalester's Jefferson sponsored program Quantita- Emil Grosswald at Tem- Award. He has published over tive Methods for Public Pol- ple University and then fifty research articles in number icy. He has been involved in teaching at Penn State theory, combinatorics, and special the activities and programs of for 17 years, eight of functions. His other books include both the Mathematical Asso- them as full professor. Factorization and Primality Test- ciation of America and the He chaired the Depart- ing, Second Year Calculus from American Mathematical So- ment of Mathematics and Celestial Mechanics to Special ciety. Computer Science at Macales- Relativity, A Radical Approach to ter from 1995 until 2001. He Real Analysis (now in 2nd edi- A native of Pennsylvania, has held visiting positions at the tion), and, with Stan Wagon, A David lives in Saint Paul, Institute for Advanced Study, Course in Computational Number Minnesota, with his wife, the University of Wisconsin- Theory. His latest book, A Radical Jan, and cat, Herodotus.