Spring Meeting at the Ohio State University April 4

HIO FOCUS The Ohio Section Newsletter

Volume 7 Spring 2003 Number 2 Spring Meeting at The Ohio State University April 4 - 5, 2003 The Spring meeting of the Ohio Section of the MAA will be held at The Ohio State University, Columbus OH on Friday and Saturday April 4 - 5, 2003. The meeting starts at 1:30 P.M. Friday and continues through 1 P.M. Saturday.

Dan McWhorter of the National Security Agency begins the meeting with the invited address “Introductory Coding Theory”. At 3:15, he is followed by Ravi Vakil of Stanford University who will present a talk titled “The Mathemat- ics of Doodling”. Dan McWorter will give a second presentation with an after- dinner address “Mathematics at the National Security Agency”.

Whether you decide to attend Inside the banquet or eat elsewhere, you are encouraged to attend the after- Spring Meeting Details dinner address and the short business meeting that will follow. At Student Activities the business meeting elections for sectional officers will take place (see the report of the nominating Officers and Committees committee on page 3 to view the list of candidates) and the winner Governor’s Report of the prestigious Ohio Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Math- President’s Message Mathematics Building - OSU ematics will be announced. Mathematics Awareness On Saturday President Harold Putt from Ohio Northern will give the retiring Month president’s address on “Some Applications of Abstract Algebra”. Following Harold’s talk, Ann Ritchey of Mount Union will present an invited talk on “Math Connections”. Ravi Vakil will deliver the final talk of the meetings entitled “Why the Golden Mean”. Early Mathematics Placement Test Contributed paper sessions are scheduled for both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and students are especially urged to contribute talks. Further details about the Calender of Events meeting can be found on page 8.

1 Section Governor’s Report I attended my sixth and last MAA Board Our Section Governor is a member of our a Teaching Award for beginning college of Governors’ meeting in Baltimore on Section Executive Committee. The teachers. These awards will complement January 14. We accomplished much. Governor runs a meeting for departmental the Haimo Teaching Awards which are Under the able leadership of President Ann liaisons at the spring Ohio Section designated for those with more experience. Watkins, the meeting finished early, which meeting. A more public function of the These two large donations overshadow I think might be a record. This spring the Governor at our Section activities involves some large grants the MAA has been able national MAA office will run the presentation of to secure recently, and the programs the election between the two certificates to our 25-year and funded by these grants will help all of us very experienced and capable 50-year MAA members. We in our teaching, either directly or indirectly. candidates nominated to made the presentations at the PMET [Preparing Mathematicians to succeed me. banquet during our fall Educate Teachers] is one of the larger of Despite a small electrical meeting in Warren. This was these. This grant will make it possible for fire in the Sheraton Hotel the a very special event for me. the MAA to offer several workshops this day before we arrived and I presented two of the summer for college faculty who prepare weather almost as cold as certificates to faculty elementary teachers and for those who Ohio’s, Baltimore was a great members I knew very well prepare secondary teachers, so check out place for our winter meeting. during my years of doctoral WWW.MAA.ORG/PMET for details. All those great Italian studies at Case Western PREP [Professional Enhancement restaurants located in Little Reserve University; one of Programs] is a grant for workshops Italy, which is so close to the certificates was for one of throughout the country on 15 different Baltimore’s convention center, make this my former students at John Carroll, and topics scheduled for various weeks a great location for the meeting. many of the other certificates were for between March 14, 2003 and January 6, Attendance figures indicated this to be one friends I have worked with in the Ohio 2004, and these are listed at of the best-attended national MAA Section. I presented 50-year certificates continued on page 5 meetings. to Robert Clark and Ernest Leach, and 25- Some of us had to miss part of the year certificates to Constantine Kliorys, OHIO FOCUS Baltimore meeting because of interference Danny Otero, and Michael Zwilling. with the start of our spring semester. For Others who earned 25-year certificates but The newsletter of the Ohio Section those inconvenienced in that way this year, were not present to receive them at the of the Mathematical Association of some of our next winter meetings are meeting were Susan Colley, Todd Feil, America, which first appeared in scheduled earlier in January. No new David Trunnel, and Jeff Yoder. 1973, is published twice yearly in meeting sites were approved. They are In this, my final column as Section time to reach members before the actively investigating locations for summer Governor, I would like to thank everyone fall and spring meetings. Newslet- MathFests beyond 2005. These national in the Ohio Section for giving me this ters are sent using labels provided meetings help us in so many ways to opportunity to serve them and to work with by the MAA. become better teachers. We all owe it to them. It was truly a pleasure! ourselves and our students to attend as Co-Editors many as we can. I hope to see you in The following paragraphs are gleanings William Higgins 937-327-7859 Boulder this summer. from the topics covered at our Baltimore [email protected] These are the future MAA summer and Board of Governors meeting: Brian Shelburne 937-327-7862 winter meeting sites and dates approved [email protected] so far: Boulder, CO, July 31-August 2, Despite a dismal economy, preliminary Department of Math & Comp Sci, 2003 [Thursday-Saturday]; Phoenix, AZ, unaudited figures indicate that fiscally, our Wittenberg University January 7-10, 2004 [Wednesday- national MAA came out just about even Springfield OH 45501 Saturday]; Providence, RI, August 12-14, for 2002. The big financial news for the 2004 [Thursday-Saturday]; Atlanta, GA, MAA this year were two large donations Deadline for the next newsletter is January 5-8, 2005 [Wednesday-Saturday]; from well-known members from August 25, 2003 Albuquerque, NM, August 4-6, 2005 California. Professor and Mrs. Paul Email copy is preferred. [Thursday-Saturday]; San Antonio, TX, Halmos (retired from Santa Clara January 12-15, 2006 [Thursday-Sunday]; University) donated $3 million for the Please send copy to the Editors New Orleans, LA, January 4-7, 2007 renovation of the smaller building behind (above) for the newsletter and to the [Thursday-Sunday]; San Diego, CA, our historic MAA headquarters in Section Webmaster, Tom Price January 6-9, 2008 [Sunday-Wednesday]; Washington so that it can be used for ([email protected]), for the web. Washington, DC, January 7-10, 2009, meetings and small mathematics [Wednesday-Saturday]. Jim Tattersall is conferences. Professor Henry Alder, This information will also be posted our MAA Associate Secretary who works retired from the University of California and updated on the web page on selecting these sites, and he does a at Davis, died and left a substantial amount www.maa.org/Ohio tremendous job! of money to the MAA to be used to initiate

2 President’s Message Greetings everyone! I hope you had an duration.” Report of the Nominating enjoyable holiday season and that you are Committee surviving this classic Ohio winter. In any Also during the Baltimore meetings, Presi- case, I’m sure you are looking forward to dent-elect Dale Mugler and I met with Olaf The Nominating Committee presents the spring and our spring meeting at The Ohio Stackleberg of Kent State to discuss in more following slate of candidates: Mark A. State University. I know detail the MAA grant pro- Smith (Miami University) for President- that I am. The Program posal related to improving Elect and William J. Higgins (Wittenberg Committee (chaired by courses for pre-service University) for a three-year term on the Sherri Brugh) has arranged teachers. Initially, five Program Committee. The President-Elect for a very interesting meet- states will be directly in- subsequently serves as the Section ing. The details concern- volved in this PMET (Pre- President. The senior person on the ing the meeting appear paring Mathematicians to Program Committee is the chair. elsewhere in this newslet- Educate Teachers) pro- ter, so I won’t repeat them gram. Ohio is one of them. Mark Smith has been at Miami here. However, I do want Olaf is coordinating Ohio’s University since 1977 and is currently to offer my thanks to Sherri involvement. Olaf recently Department Chair. In the Ohio Section, and her committee for their informed me that the pro- Mark is a coordinator of Ohio Project fine work. posal has been funded and NExT. that he is planning a work- Those of you who attended shop for summer 2004 at William Higgins joined the Wittenberg the January 15 - 18 meet- Kent State. Olaf will share faculty in 1984. He serves the Section as ings in Baltimore can confirm that winter the details of the program with the mem- the Ohio Coordinator of the American was in full force there as well. Neverthe- bers of CONTEAC at the spring meeting. Junior High School Mathematics Exam less, the meetings were very well attended and as co-editor of the Ohio Section and the sessions that I visited very inter- As most of you know our section has done newsletter. esting. I must confess however that a bout an excellent job of encouraging student of intestinal flu kept me from doing some participation. We consistently have large The elections will take place at the of the things that I had planned. Having numbers of students attending and giving business meeting, Friday evening, April 4, the flu is no fun when you are at home and presentations at our spring meetings. I’m 2003 after the banquet at The Ohio State it’s really no fun in a hotel room. sure the April 4 - 5 meeting will be no ex- University. Nominations may also be ception. On the other hand, we don’t see a made from the floor. I was able to attend the Wednesday after- lot of graduate students at our meetings. noon Section Officer’s Meeting. Bill Friel, This is unfortunate because it is the cur- Judy Palagallo, Chair Tom Hern, and I represented the Ohio Sec- rent generation of graduate students in Roger Marty tion. At this session we heard about an mathematics who will become the next gen- Leo Schneider MAA grant proposal aimed at improving eration of college faculty in mathematics. mathematics courses for pre-service teach- The future leaders of the MAA must come ers, material for a Mathematics for Busi- from this next generation of college fac- ness Decisions course which represents the ulty in mathematics. What can we do to MAA’s first attempt at an all electronic increase graduate student participation in publishing venture, and the wide variety of section activities? For one thing, faculty Ohio Section professional development workshops that at institutions with graduate programs can Future Meeting Sites will be offered this summer via the MAA’s bring graduate students with them to the PREP program. Other items discussed at meetings. I have fond memories from my the Section Officer’s Meeting were section graduate school experience of accompany- newsletters (both hardcopy and electronic), ing Tom Hern, Cliff Long, Fred Rickey and websites, and histories. Bill, Tom and I others to Ohio Section meetings. Their noted with pride that our Ohio Section is mentoring had a tremendous impact on me. experienced in all of these areas and has I encourage all of you who are at institu- significantly more such experience than tions with graduate programs to bring a many other sections. Finally, there was dis- graduate student with you to the spring cussion concerning ways to encourage vari- meeting. We could end up with just as ous constituencies to attend section meet- many graduate students as undergraduate ings and become involved in section ac- students at the meeting. tivities. The constituencies mentioned in- cluded undergraduate and graduate stu- Take care and I hope to see you on April dents, high school teachers, two-year col- 4 - 5 in Columbus. lege faculty, and MAA members of “long Harold Putt

3 2002 -2003 Ohio Section Officers and Committees ELECTED OFFICERS OTHER COMMITTEES Technology Conference Coordinator * denotes committee chair. President Al Stickney, Wittenberg 937-327-7856 Harold Putt, Ohio Northern Nominating Committee [email protected] 419-772-2352; [email protected] *Judith Palagallo, Akron 2005 Roger Marty, Cleveland St. 2003 Archivist President-Elect Leo Schneider, John Carroll 2003 Dale Mugler, Akron John Zimmerman, Ohio U-Lancaster 740-654-6711 x231 330-972-5365; [email protected] Committee on Contests [email protected] Bill Higgins, Wittenberg AMC8 Past-President David Stenson, John Carroll AMC12 Thomas Gantner, Dayton COMMITTEES * Denotes committee chair. Elected Offic- 937-837-1152; [email protected] ByLaws Committee ers and Committee Chairs are voting mem- Darrell Horwath, John Carroll bers of the Executive Committee. Terms Section Governor J. William Friel, Dayton Leo Schneider, John Carroll 2003 expire at the end of the Spring meeting of the year listed. See the Bylaws. 216-397-4481; [email protected] Teaching Award Committee Tom Gantner, Dayton (PP) Program Committee Secretary-Treasurer J. William Friel, Dayton (ST) *Sherri Brugh, Mount Union 2003 J. William Friel, Dayton 2003 Jerry Moreno, John Carroll Carl Spitznagel, John Carroll 2004 937-229-3071; [email protected] Al Stickney, Wittenberg Vickie Van Dresar, Ashland 2005 OTHER OFFICERS Local arrangments for meetings: Committee on Curriculum (CONCUR) * Mark deSaint-Rat, Miami Mdtwn 2004 Department Liaisons Coordinator, Spring 2003 Ohio State David Hahn, Malone 2003 On-line Registration and Webmaster Phil Huneke, 614-292-7844; Charles Hampton, Wooster 2003 Thomas Price, Akron [email protected] 330-972-8352; [email protected] Rajappa K. Asthagiri, Miami 2004 Jon Stadler, Capital 2004 Fall 2003 Ohio Northern Christopher Swanson, Ashland 2004 Newsletter Co-Editors Harold Putt 419-772-2352 William Higgins, Wittenberg 2005 [email protected] 937-327-7859 Committee on Section Activities [email protected] (CONSACT) EMPT - continued from page 5 choosing not to write individual paragraphs Brian J. Shelburne, Wittenberg 2005 *Donald Hunt, Ohio Northern 2004 use generic paragraphs written by EMPT 937-327-7862 Irina Chernikova, Akron 2004 staff. [email protected] Ann Ritchey, Mt. Union 2004 Maria Raiti, Ohio Northern 2005 The benefits to EMPT colleges are that each is sent a list of all students who have Ohio Project NExT Co-oordinator Lisa Rome, Mt St Joseph 2005 expressed an interest in the college (if re- Mark Smith, Miami 2004 quested), and each is given a list of stu- 513-529-5818; [email protected] Committee on Student Members (CONSTUM) dents who have a high placement level and who have expressed interest in mathemat- Public Information Officer Darren Wick, Ashland 2004 ics and/or teaching. In both cases, you have David Meel, Bowling Green Judith Holdener, Kenyon 2003 an opportunity to send letters to these stu- 419-372-8574; [email protected] Gordon Swain, Ashland 2003 Deborah Denvir, Marshall 2004 dents to encourage them to take more math courses (and higher level courses) while OhioMATYC Liaison to OhioMAA Jeffery Adler, Akron 2005 still in high school, and to encourage the Mary Ann Hovis, Rhodes State Mihai Caragiu, Ohio Northern 2005 second group to consider the teaching pro- 419-995-8422; fession - at your college. If the EMPT con- [email protected] Committee on Teacher Education and Certification (CONTEAC) tact writes the student report paragraphs, the college is cited - giving additional ex- OhioMAA Liaison to OhioMATYC *Cathy Stoffer, Ashland 2004 posure to that college. Robert Hovis, Ohio Northern Woody Silliman, Cleveland St. 2003 If your college does not participate and 419-772-2357; [email protected] Linda Saliga, Akron 2003 Phil Blau, Shawnee State 2004 you would like to, please email Ed Laughbaum at for a packet of information David Wallach, Findlay Susan Enyart, Otterbein 2005 about our reports and summary data. 419-424-4624; [email protected] Ed Laughbaum Director, EMPT Program 4 Governor’s Report - cont. from page 2 to journals at a reduced rate (about half the Student Talks - continued from page 9 cost of dues). In addition to the retired Contributed talks by students, faculty, and WWW.MAA.ORG/PREP. status, the MAA also offers Life others will be given on Friday afternoon The MAA’s Special Interest Groups memberships. and Saturday morning. Talks will be sched- [known as SIGMAAs] have grown to uled primarily according to topic and au- seven. In addition to the four SIGMAAs Leo Schneider [[email protected]] dience level. Student talks are an integral you find one click away from John Carroll University part of the meeting and should be an en- WWW.MAA.ORG, there are three new January 31, 2003 joyable and rewarding experience for all ones: Environmental Mathematics; the who participate. Students preparing talks Philosophy of Mathematics; and the Web. should read Joseph Gallian's article "How From now on, MAA members will to Give a Good Talk" in the April 1998, have the option to vote for national Math Horizons. This article is available on officers electronically. You will receive the web at http://www.jcu.edu/math/ a notice of the election in the mail with a Cleveland and Northeast Ohio to constum/gallian.pdf short biography of the candidates that will host International Science Fair in The presentation rooms will include a contain URLs with much more May 2003 blackboard and one overhead projector. information. Your ballot, which you may Abstracts should be between 25 and 75 mail in if you wish, will contain a number words in length and should employ proper and directions for using that number to JUDGES NEEDED IN MATHEMATICS English grammar and spelling. Students are cast your ballot electronically (and strongly encouraged to use the abstract sub- therefore postage-free). Other The Intel ISEF, now in its 54th year, is the mission form on the MAA Ohio Section professional societies have found an only international science project competi- webpage. Otherwise, abstracts may be sub- increase in the percentage of members tion for students in the 9th - 12th grades. mitted by U.S. mail or e-mail to the chair voting when they have tried this system. The Intel ISEF has been dubbed "The of the Program Committee: Sherri Brugh, Because of all the financial and other Olympics of Science Fairs" as approxi- Department of Mathematics, 1972 Clark responsibilities on the shoulders of any mately 1,500 students from all 50 states and Avenue, Mount Union College, Alliance board, the MAA had to restrict the use of 40 countries compete in 14 science and en- OH 44601, [email protected]. Please in- substitutes and proxies at its board gineering categories for over $2,000,000 in clude your name, institution, e-mail ad- meetings. At one point in our discussion scholarships and prizes. Student partici- dress, student status (junior, senior, etc.), it looked as though a Section whose pants (referred to as Finalists) who com- name of faculty mentor for the talk, your Governor could not attend a meeting pete at the Intel ISEF have gone through a intended audience (upper lever under- would be without a voice. The stepwise process to qualify. Students first graduate, lower level undergraduate, etc.), compromise that we finally approved compete in school or local science fairs and the title of the talk, and a brief description permits a Section Governor who cannot then participate in regional and/or state of the presentation. attend a Board meeting to get a former fairs. Only as winners of these fairs may Governor from the Section as a substitute. students be selected to participate in the Ohio Early College Mathematics Currently the MAA is selling lots of Intel ISEF. Placement Testing Program books electronically but through For us, this is a great opportunity to The Early Mathematics Placement Testing Amazon.com and members who purchase advertise the high quality of science we do Program (EMPT) is almost a quarter cen- books this way cannot take advantage of here in Ohio, both to the students, and to tury old. We test Ohio high school sopho- the discounted prices for MAA members. the many state and national entitites in- mores, juniors, and seniors for math readi- At our January Board meeting, Carol volved here. As a pointed example, the lo- ness through a placement test - with fund- Baxter of the MAA office, promised that cal organizing leader (Jeanette Graselli ing from the Ohio Board of Regents. But by the time you are reading this MAA Brown) is also chair of the Ohio Board of the tests are simply tools used to provide members will be able to purchase MAA Regents (yes, those regents!). What we can the student and school personnel with in- books electronically directly from the do is volunteer to be judges -- they need formation about their students. The school MAA and receive their member discount over 1000 PhD or highly experienced sci- receives full summary statistics about all when doing it. There are so many MAA entists to judge projects ranging from bio- students and each student receives an indi- good books being published (24 new titles chemistry to zoology (and including vidualized report based on the test results in 2002) that it would be worth your while MATHEMATICS). Judges will be active and answers to background questions about to regularly check WWW.MAA.ORG to May 13 and 14, 2003. Along with judging their possible college education. look through their titles. Of course, if you perhaps 10 projects, the judges will be meet- There are currently 43 colleges/univer- can wait to make your purchase at Ohio ing with 5-10 NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS sities in Ohio who participate in the EMPT Section meeting in Columbus, you get who will also be attending. Program by providing information on math your discount and our Section gets a kick- courses offered, and on mathematics de- back. More information is available at: gree requirements. Contacts at these col- Retirement is no reason to drop the http://www.intelisef2003.org/html/ leges also provide individual paragraphs MAA. When you notify the MAA that grand_award_judges.htm that make-up the student reports - all based you have retired, your dues go down to and associated web pages on their placement score. EMPT contacts zero, and you have the right to subscribe continued on page 4 5 Ohio Section MAA Summer Short Course - 2003 Campus Notes Cryptography The University of Findlay July 16 - 18, 2003 Robert Lewand, Goucher College Janet Roll retired in May after 22 years of Hosted by Capital University service to the University. She served the Ohio Section as President and Secretary- Abstract Distinguished College or University Teach- Treasurer and she developed and directed ing (Maryland-Virginia-DC Section of the the Technology Management Program at Can you keep a secret? One can imagine Mathematical Association of America, the University. that from the very outset human beings 2002). have held information that they wished to Don Mathews retired in May after 17 years share with some, yet keep secret from oth- Registration of service to the University. He served ers. Certainly cryptography, or secret writ- the University as Chairman of the Division ing, has a role to play in modern political Please visit the online registration page to of Mathematics and Computer Science and and commercial correspondence. Anyone enroll in this summer's short course. Please was active in the MAA Ohio Section. who has ever entered a submit a check for $150 credit card number into a (payable to Capital Univer- Remember to submit your campus news text box on a secure web site sity) to the address below. for the next newsletter - The Editors has actually participated in cryptography, perhaps un- Jon Stadler Mathematics Awareness Month wittingly. Department of Mathematics April 2003: and Computer Science In this course, designed for 2199 E. Main St. those with absolutely no ex- Columbus, OH 43209 perience in the subject, we will investigate techniques To register by mail or fax, of encryption and decipherment along with please contact Jon Stadler at the mathematical underpinnings of these [email protected] or (614) 236-6905. systems. We will discuss various symmet- Registration deadline is June 20, 2003. ric encryption schemes (affine, keyword, the Vigenère Square, Playfair's System and Schedule Hill's System) as well as the RSA imple- mentation of public key cryptography. Stu- The sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 dents will have ample opportunity to en- p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and from crypt, decrypt and decipher messages as 9 a.m. to noon on Friday. part of the course. Travel An individual with a background in some Mathematics and Art elementary number theory and at least a Capital University is conveniently located The connection between mathematics and rudimentary familiarity with computing (a near Port Columbus International Airport. art goes back thousands of years. The an- programming language, or Maple, or even For those travelling by car, please visit the cient Greeks and Romans used mathemat- Excel) will be sufficiently prepared to un- course's web site for directions. ics in sculptures and to aesthetically de- derstand the material in this course. sign buildings. In the 15th century Housing and Meals Leonardo da Vinci wrote "Let no one read Robert Lewand me who is not a mathematician." In the 16th Dormitory housing is available beginning century Durer employed mathematics to Robert Edward Lewand received his BS July 15. Single rooms are available for $32 introduce perspective in drawings. In the in mathematics from the University of Day- per night and doubles are available for $16 18th and 19th centuries mathematics was ton and his PhD in mathematics from the nightly. A meal plan is available for $15.85 extensively used in the design of Gothic University of Virginia. He is the author of per day or registrants may arrange their cathedrals, Rose windows, mosaics and Cryptological Mathematics and co-author own meals. A picnic or banquet is planned tilings. In the 20th century geometric forms of two other books: Expert Systems Devel- for Thursday evening. were fundamental to the cubists and many opment and Intelligent Systems Design. He abstract expressionists. In recent decades has delivered numerous talks and published Web Links several award winning sculptors have used extensively in professional journals, largely topology as the basis for their pieces. in the area of expert systems and artificial For more information or to register online, intelligence. He has been the recipient of please visit http://capital2.capital.edu/fac- Resources for this year's Mathematics several scholarship and teaching awards, ulty/jstadler/maashort/. Awareness Month program can be found most recently the John M. Smith Award for at mathforum.org/mam/03

6 Proposed By-Laws Revision O.S.U. Profile continued from page 11 At the suggestion of the Executive Committee, the By-Laws subcommittee has proposed some changes to our By-Laws. These changes will be discussed, and an initial vote will be taken at our DIVERSE OPPORTUNITIES Spring Meeting. (The final Section vote will be done by mail.) There will also be an opportunity Ohio State prides itself on diversity-from to make amendments to these revisions. (The Secretary would greatly appreciate it if, anyone the range of academic opportunities and who plans to submit an amendment to these proposed By-Laws revisions, would submit a written student organizations to the vibrant makeup copy at the meeting of their proposed amendment so that we can have an accurate wording of any proposed amendment.) of the student body. Students come to Ohio State from all over the United States and The primary purposes of these revisions are two-fold: from more than 100 countries around the 1. Partition the Secretary-Treasurer position into two positions, a Secretary world. No other single campus provides and a Treasurer. the opportunities for study with 11,000 2. Update the name of the Committee from CONTEAC to CONTEAL. available courses or the exposure to inter- nationally recognized guests that Ohio A complete copy of the proposed revisions is available on the web at State does. Ohio State hosts well-known http://www.udayton.edu/~friel/maasectr/revision.html If you are unable to access this complete political leaders, top-name entertainers, revision, please contact our Sec/Treas, Bill Friel, and he will send you a copy. His address is c/o Math Dept, Univ of Dayton, Dayton OH 45469-2316. and attracts excellence in the arts, music, and dance. The university offers hundreds The following is a summary of the proposed By-Laws revisions: of student activities and organizations, the Article III Section 1 largest intramural and recreational sports Replace "a Secretary-Treasurer, a Secretary-Treasurer-Elect" department in the country, the excitement By "a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Secretary-Elect, a Treasurer-Elect" of Big Ten athletics, opportunities for com- Article III Section 6, Section 7, Section 10 d, Section 10 e, and Section 15 munity involvement, and cultural events. Replace each of these Sections by two new Sections, one where "Secretary-Treasurer" has been replaced by "Secretary" COMMUNITY OUTREACH and "Secretary-Treasurer-Elect" has been replaced by "Secretary-Elect" and one where "Secretary-Treasurer" has been replaced by "Treasurer" Public service has always been central to and "Secretary-Treasurer-Elect" has been replaced by "Treasurer-Elect" Ohio State's mission, and the university is Article III Section 6 engaged in a multitude of contributions to Also include the following: improve the quality of the city's life. Fac- To affect a staggering of offices, the first Treasurer-Elect shall be ulty, staff, and students bring knowledge elected one year after the first Secretary-Elect. Also if necessary, and methods from the classroom and labo- the Executive Committee may appoint an Interim Secretary or an Interim ratory to the community. University hos- Treasurer to facilitate this staggering of offices. pitals and clinics bring care and healing to Article III Section 10 g hundreds of thousands each year. The Replace the phrase "appoint candidates for membership" by the phrase "nominate candidates for membership" university's radio and television stations Article III Section 12 provide news and information. Under- Replace this Section by two sections,one of which says: graduates take part in research projects that "The Secretary shall perform the following duties: have a direct impact on the community. 1) Keep all the minutes of meetings of The Section, And Ohio State has a long and proud tra- 2) Circulate preliminary announcements of Annual Meetings and dition of serving the needs of our state announcements of all other meetings of The Section, and through, among other means, the outstand- 3) perform any other duties which may be assigned by the ing work of The Ohio State University Executive Committee." Extension, which makes the university's And the other of which says: "The Treasurer shall perform the following duties: expertise available to all Ohioans. Ohio 1) keep all the books, accounts, and records, State also brings its people and facilities 2) receive all monies paid to The Section for membership dues and fees and to the public through continuing education for all other purposes and shall deposit such monies in a federally insured and noncredit programs. Ohio State is an account of The Section, arena for exchange, offering professionals 3) pay all bills of The Section out of The Section funds, and and executives from any field the oppor- 4) perform any other duties which may be assigned by the Executive tunity to meet with one another and with Committee." specialists on the faculty. Ohio State's Article IV Section 1, and Section 10 Fisher College of Business, for example, Replace the phrase "Teacher Education and Certification (CONTEAC)" by the phrase "Teacher Education and Licensure (CONTEAL)" has been offering professional develop- Article IV Section 6 ment courses to individuals in all levels of Replace the phrases "Secretary-Treasurer" and "Secretary-Treasurer-Elect" management for nearly half a century. For by two separate sentences containing "Secretary" and "Secretary-Elect" 130 years, Ohio State has taken the lead in in one sentence and "Treasurer" and "Treasurer-Elect" in the other. furthering research and education for the Article VI Section 2, and Section 3 citizens of Columbus, in the state of Ohio, Replace "Secretary-Treasurer" by "Treasurer" and for the nation. Then renumber the Sections as needed. ---- End of Summary

7 Spring Meeting Program Friday, April 4 Saturday, April 5

Noon-4:30 Registration, Math Tower, 8-10:30 AM Registration 213 W. 18th Ave. 8:00-8:45 Coffee, etc. Noon-4:30 Book Exhibits 8:00-8:45 Liaisons Meeting 12:15-1:15 Committee Meetings 8:00-8:45 Meeting of Student Leaders 1:30-1:45 Greetings, Announcements 8:45-8:50 Announcements 1:45-2:45 Invited Address 8:50-9:50 Retiring President’s Address "Introductory Coding Theory" "Some Applications of Abstract Algebra" Dan McWhorter, National Security Agency Harold Putt, Ohio Northern University 2:45-3:15 Break 9:50-10:05 Break 3:15-4:15 Invited Address 10:05-10:50 Invited Address "The Mathematics of Doodling" "Math Connections" Ravi Vakil, Stanford University Ann Ritchey, Mount Union College 4:30-6:45 Contributed Papers 10:55-12:10 Contributed Papers 4:30-6:45 Executive Committee Meeting 12:15-1:00 Invited Address "Why the Golden Mean?" 7:00-8:15 Banquet and Student Pizza Party Ravi Vakil, Stanford University 8:15-9:00 After-Dinner Address 1:00-1:10 Closing remarks "Mathematics at the National Security Agency", Dan McWhorter, National Security Agency 9:00- Business Meeting and Presentation of Teaching Award Check the web page for updates, online registration, and paper submission (www.maa.org/Ohio). ber of the NSA's mathematics community Dan McWhorter many areas of modern technology, includ- and has received awards, published pa- “Introductory Coding Theory” ing some aspects of mathematics. pers, and presented several talks within Algebraic Coding Theory can be regarded For decades, NSA has been the nation's the Agency. He spends his free time fly as the study of efficient schemes for error largest employer of mathematicians, and it fishing, wood working, and manipulating correction, and how to implement them continues to hire more mathematicians each his dwindling fortune to prepare for soon- effectively in a given situation. Codes are year to satisfy its growing need. By using to-come twin babies. used in almost every aspect of our increas- specific problems that I have seen worked ingly digital lives. In this talk I will outline at the agency, I will summarize the work Ravi Vakil some beginning coding theory by discuss- of, and try to give the audience a peak into, “The Mathematics of Doodling” ing linear codes, Shannon's Theorem, and the private world of an NSA mathemati- Doodling has many mathematical aspects: Reed Solomon codes. I will culminate the cian. patterns, shapes, numbers, and more. Not talk with brief explanations of "real world" Dan McWhorter was born in Louis- surprisingly, there is often some sophisti- error correction used in CD-ROMs (cross- ville, Ohio, and currently resides in Mount cated and fun mathematics buried inside interleaved Reed Solomon), DVDs (Reed Airy, Maryland. He attended Rose-Hulman common doodles. I'll begin by doodling, Solomon product code), and some satel- Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, In- and see where it takes us. lite modems (turbo product codes). This diana) for his first two years of undergradu- “Why the Golden Mean?” talk will be very general and is primarily ate studies, and then concluded his last two The golden mean seems to turn up all over aimed at those who have not yet been in- years at Mount Union College (Alliance, the place, in both mathematics and nature. troduced to the world of algebraic coding Ohio). In 1999, he received his M.S. at the (Is there any difference?). I'll try to explain theory. University of Cincinnati. After one more why it comes up in some surprising cir- “Mathematics at the year of studies while attending the Univer- cumstances, including matchstick games, National Security Agency” sity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he pineapples, and the volume of an icosahe- The National Security Agency (NSA) is found that he desired more than a graduate dron. While some part of the "Intelligence Community" in this student's salary. For the last two years, Dan are old chestnuts, I country. It is tasked with deriving intelli- has been employed at the National Secu- hope that some of gence from foreign communications to help rity Agency (NSA) as part of their the examples will be the country's leaders make informed deci- Cryptologic Mathematics Program. (Fool- new even to experts. sions. NSA designs and builds much of the ishly, he believed that working for the fed- equipment/technology that is used through- eral government would be a way to achieve Ravi Vakil is from out the government to ensure the privacy immense wealth.) As such, he has worked Toronto, Canada. He of communications. In order to succeed, it in several different fields and offices received his under- maintains "state-of-the-art" capabilities in throughout the NSA. He is an active mem- graduate degree at

8 the University of Toronto, where he was a mathematics. I will share two projects that Registration four-time Putnam Competition winner. Af- I use in teaching the Connections Standard: Online registration is preferred; see the ter completing a Ph.D. at Harvard, he Origami and Islamic Art. meeting web page at www.maa.org/Ohio. taught at Princeton and MIT before mov- Deadline for online registration is March ing to Stanford, where he is a tenure-track Ann Ritchey was born and raised in Cali- 28, 2003. assistant professor. He is currently an fornia. She moved to Oregon to attend On-site registration is always avail- American Mathematical Society Centen- graduate school at the University of Oregon. able, but last minute banquet tickets can- nial Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Re- There she studied Poisson Manifolds and not be guaranteed. Early registration helps search Fellow. His field of research is al- algebras defined on them with Dr. John those making arrangements and is always gebraic geometry, with connections to Leahy. The last year of graduate school she appreciated. nearby fields, including combinatorics, to- taught the Mathematics for Elementary You may also register by sending the pology, number theory, and physics. He School Teachers course and then accepted following information: name, affiliation, has long been interested in teaching math- a job at the University of Maine at address, phone, e-mail address (if any), ematics through problem solving; he Farmington. In 2000 she moved to Ohio and type of position, and banquet information. coached the Canadian team to the Inter- is now teaching at Mount Union College, Send with check, payable to Ohio Section national Mathematical Olympiad from the Home of the Mighty Purple Raiders. MAA, for applicable fees [registration fee 1989 to 1996. He has co-authored three Ann's interests include origami, problem ($20 full time, $10 retired or part time, no books, including A Mathematical Mosaic: solving, college sports and playing with her fee for students), banquet $20] to MAA- Patterns and Problem Solving and The Maine Coon cat. Ohio Section, Phil Huneke, Department William Lowell Putnam Competition of Mathematics, OSU, 231 West 18th Ave., 1985-2000: Problems, Solutions and Banquet Columbus, Ohio 43210 or to Commentary. The Friday evening banquet will be in the [email protected] E-mail reg- OSU Faculty Club Main Dining Room, 181 istrations would be pending upon the re- Harold Putt South Oval Drive on the OSU campus. Cost ceipt of registration fees. “Some Applications of Abstract of the banquet is $20.00 per person. Algebra” A reception/social hour (with cash bar Book Exhibits One of the most significant changes in text- and fruit and/or vegetable tray) will be held Several text book publishers will be dis- books on abstract algebra over the last 30 from 6:00 to 7:00 prior to the dinner. playing their materials at this meeting. years is the inclusion of "real world" ap- The banquet, a buffet dinner, will be from Please encourage any book reps you meet plications of the material. In this talk I will 6:45 to near 8:00 p.m. Entrees at the din- to contact Phil Huneke (at present a survey of the most common types ner will include: Southwestern Rubbed [email protected]) to take advantage of of applications and discuss in detail some Chicken Breast with Smoked Tomato and this opportunity to display their wares this of my favorites among these applications. corn Ragout; Marinated Tenderloin Tips spring to this gathering of mathematics fac- and Vegetables in a Mustard Caper Sauce; ulty from around Ohio. Harold Putt is professor of mathematics Green Beans with Red Pepper, Carrot and There will also be MAA books on dis- at Ohio Northern University. He is in his Almonds; Three Grain Rice Pilaf; Salads; play, with an opportunity to buy books at a 20th year at ONU. Harold did his gradu- Dessert; and Drinks: coffee, tea, water. discount. Not only would you save money, ate work at Bowling Green State Univer- * Note: Simultaneous to the Buffet Ban- but the Section would earn some too. sity where he wrote his dissertation on or- quet, there will be a Student Pizza Party dered permutation groups under the direc- (at no charge) held in MA 010. The party Call for Student Talks tion of W. Charles Holland. He has been a is scheduled to allow those in attendance to Undergraduate and graduate students are member of the MAA and the Ohio Sec- join the after dinner program in the Faculty encouraged to submit abstracts for 15- tion since 1973. Over the years he has Club Main Dining Room. minute talks at the Spring Meeting. Topics served as President, President-Elect, on the may be drawn from any area of mathemat- Program Committee (the third year as ics or a related discipline. The presenta- chair), CONCUR (two terms, one year as Call for Contributed Papers tion may be an expository talk, a recount- chair), CONTEAC, and CONSACT. Fifteen-minute presentations on any topic ing of a mathematical internship or a co- Harold is also a member of the AMS and of general interest in mathematics or related op experience, or the results of a research the NCTM. He is currently serving as a areas are encouraged. Reports on projects, project. It is expected that each talk will Teaching Fellow in Mathematics for the research announcements or anything you be delivered by a single speaker. Co-au- Ohio Board of Regents. believe would be of interest to those in at- thors will be listed in the program. Each tendance are welcome. student speaker will receive a free one-year Ann Ritchey Contributors should send a title and a MAA membership. “Math Connections” brief abstract by March 21, 2003. Abstracts must be received by March The 2000 NCTM Standards serve as a Online submission is preferred. Or, mail 21, 2003. Due to time and space restric- guide for mathematics educators in grades (e-mail) to the chair of the Program Com- tions, we may not be able to accomodate K-12. One of the Standards is Connec- mittee: Sherri Brugh, Department of Math- all talks. Please submit your abstracts early. tions. It states, among other things, that ematics, 1972 Clark Avenue, Mount Union Students submitting abstracts should also students should be able to recognize and College, Alliance OH 44601, (330)-823- register for the meeting. apply mathematics in contexts outside of 3561, [email protected]. continued on page 5 9 Directions to The Ohio State University, Columbus 3. Cross Country Inn, $49.99 single, $56.99 double. (1.5 miles to Math Tower) Locally: 1445 Olentangy River Road From all freeways, seek the Route 315 Lane Avenue exit, turning (614) 291-2983, FAX: (614) 291-4082 eastward on Lane Avenue for one block, then south or right on Fyffe Road for one block, then east or left on Woody Hayes Drive, 4. Red Roof Inn, $ 59.99 over the river and past the stadium, then south or right on Tuttle (1.7 miles from Math Tower) Park Place and into the Tuttle Park Place Parking Ramp on the 441 Ackerman Road at Olentangy River Road left. Then walk to Math Tower at 231 W. 18th Ave. (see local (614) 267-9941 ; FAX (614) 267-5925 map.) reservations: 800-RED-ROOF or redroof.com Globally: 5. Marriott Fairfield Inn, $82.00 From the east, take I-70 westward until it merges with I-71; where (2 miles from the Math Tower, has an indoor pool) I-71 splits off after downtown Columbus, go north on Route 315. 3031 Olentangy River Road (614) 267-1111 ; FAX: (614) 267-0904 From the southeast, take Route 33 to I-70 west, then as above. reservations: 800-228-2800 or marriott.com From the southwest, take I-71 northward, continuing north on 6. University Plaza, $105.00 State Route 315 when I-71 swings right to merge with I-70. (2.1 miles from Math Tower) 3110 Olentangy River Road, From the west, take I-70 eastward past I-270, exiting left onto I- (614) 267-7461 ; FAX: (614) 263-5299; 670 to Route 315 and proceed north on Route 315 to Lane Ave. email: [email protected] web: www.universityplazaosu.com From the northwest, take Route 33 to the outer belt, I-270; north then east on I-270 to Route 315; then south on Route 315. 7. Villager Lodge, $59.00 (2.2 miles from Math Tower) From the north, take Route 23, I-71, or 3-C Hwy south to I-270, 3160 Olentangy River Road west on I-270 to State Route 315 then south on 315 to Lane Ave. (614) 261-0523 PARKING (see “P” on map) 8. Super 8 Motel, $40 single; $54.99 double (2.3 miles to Math Tower) Park in the Tuttle Park Place Parking Garage. The Department 3232 Olentangy River Road will pay for (legal) parking; bring the parking tab you receive as (614) 261-7141 ; FAX: (614) 261-7380 ; you enter the garage to the MAA registration table where you can reservations: 800-800-8000 exchange it for a parking pass. Saturday the gate to the Tuttle Parking Garage should be open with free parking for all. 9. Cross Country Inn, $43.99 single (2.4 miles to Math Tower) Where to stay 3246 Olentangy River Road Note: The hotel number shows location on map. All prices below (614) 267-4646 ; FAX: (614) 267-1535 are not guaranteed and exclude taxes. Check the web or hotel directly for updates or discounts, such as for AAA members.

1. The Blackwell, $169 plus tax. ( Roger D. Blackwell Inn at Fisher College. 1/4 mile to Math Tower), The Ohio State University 2110 Tuttle Park Place (614) 247-4000, FAX (614) 247-4040 One of Columbus's greatest assets, The Ohio State University is email: [email protected] the largest comprehensive teaching and research university in the web: theblackwell.com/ state. Combining a responsibility for the advancement and dis- semination of knowledge with a heritage of public service, Ohio 2. Holiday Inn on the Lane, $89 plus tax. State offers an extensive range of academic programs in the lib- (1/2 mile to Math Tower) eral arts, the sciences, and the professions through nineteen col- 328 W. Lane Avenue leges and seven schools. Regional campuses around Ohio include (614) 294-4848, FAX: (614) 294-5366 Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark, in addition to the Agri- [email protected] cultural Technical Institute (ATI) and Ohio Agricultural Research web: holidayinnosu.com and Development Center (OARDC), located in Wooster.

Ohio State consistently ranks among the top national public universities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Few universities can match the breadth of its academic offerings,

10 which include more than 170 undergraduate majors, 200 graduate fields of study, and more than 90 professional programs. All of Ohio State's academic programs are designed to challenge students, prepare them for the future, and position them for success.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT Ohio State faculty members are internation- ally known for their academic credentials, real-world experience, and leading edge research. As a Big Ten and major research university, Ohio State attracts the best scholars, artists, and scientists, as well as outstanding students.

Our student to faculty ratio is 14:1, which is similar to what you might find at smaller schools. In fact, 88 percent of first-year classes at Ohio State have fewer than 50 students and only 5 percent have more than 100. One-on-one instruction is provided for our students by staff in dozens of campus offices such as Minority Affairs, Disabil- ity Services, the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, and the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center (MSLC). Outside the classroom, residence halls provide academic programs and assistance, including tutoring, study sessions, computer labs, and quiet hours. More than 14,000 staff members-including academic advi- sors, residence hall staff, and counselors- are committed to our students' success.

OUTSTANDING STUDENTS Ohio State attracts some of the most impressive students in the United States and in the world. One of the best indicators of a university's quality is the caliber of its incoming class, and the quality of our incoming freshman class is the best ever in terms of academic profile. More than 60 percent of the current freshmen class of nearly 6,000 come from the top 25 percent of their high school class, and more than a IMPRESSIVE FACILITIES quarter come from the elite 10 percent. Ohio State provides resources that are not available at many other universities. The Ohio State welcomed more than 1,300 Ohio State University Libraries house the largest library collection in Ohio and one of Honors students, over 700 University the top 20 largest academic library collections in North America, with more than five Scholars, more than 100 National Merit million print volumes and access to more than 600 million volumes through OhioLINK Scholars, and over 200 class valedictori- and WorldCat. Ohio State offers the nation's largest medical teaching facility and the ans. And our Honors programs give these Midwest's only freestanding cancer hospital. Along with many historic and traditional students the opportunity to enhance their buildings on campus, there are hundreds of new facilities, including the impressive Fisher undergraduate experience through excep- College of Business multibuilding complex and the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Cur- tional research opportunities and more than rently under construction is the new Physics Research Building and the Knowlton School 180 Honors courses each year-each class of Architecture. with 25 or fewer students. continued on page 7

11 Calendar

Ohio Section Other NCTM Annual Meeting, April 9-12, 2003, San Antonio, TX. April 4-5, 2003, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. OhioMATYC, May 2-3, 2003, Maumee Bay Resort & Confer- Fall Section Meeting, October 17-18, 2003, Ohio Northern ence Center. University, Ada, OH. Michigan Section, May 2-3, 2003 - Saginaw Valley State Spring Section Meeting, 2004, University of Cincinnati, University, University Center, MI. Cincinnati, OH. Summer Short Course, July 16-18, 2003, Capital University, Fall Section Meeting, 2004, John Carroll University, Columbus, OH. Cleveland, OH. (University Heights) Joint Statistical Meetings, August 3-7, 2003, San Francisco, National MAA-AMS CA. MathFest, July 31-August 2, 2003, Boulder, CO. Indiana Section, Fall 2003, Goshen College, Goshen, IN. Annual Joint Meetings, January 7-10, 2004, Phoenix, AZ. AMATYC Annual Conference, November 13-16, 2003, Salt Lake MathFest, August 12-14, 2004, Providence, RI. City, UT.

Annual Joint Meetings, January 5-8, 2005, Atlanta, GA. Indiana Section, Spring 2004, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN. MathFest, August 4-6, 2005, Albuquerque, NM. NCTM Annual Meeting, April 21-24, 2004, Philadelphia, PA. Annual Joint Meetings, January 12-15, 2006, San Antonio, TX. Michigan Section, April/May 2004, Oakland University, Annual Joint Meetings, January 4-7, 2007, New Orleans, LA. Rochester, MI.

Annual MAA-AMS Joint Meetings, January 6-9, 2008, State Science Day, May 8, 2004 San Diego, CA. Joint Statistical Meetings, August 8-12, 2004, Toronto, Canada. Annual MAA-AMS Joint Meetings, January 7-10, 2009, Washington, D.C. NCTM Annual Meeting, April 6-9, 2005, Anaheim, CA

Complimentary copies of this newsletter are being distributed to people who would be interested in Ohio Section activities. By joining the MAA, you will get your own copy of the newsletter. If you are not an MAA member, look at the web page: www.maa.org/ mbsvcs/individual.html. MAA Departmental Liaisons also have membership information.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Department of Math and Computer Science Ward Street at North Wittenberg Avenue PAID Post Office Box 720 Springfield, OH Springfield, Ohio Permit No. 30 45501-0720

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