FOCUS August/September 2007 FOCUS is published by the Mathematical Association of America in January, February, FOCUS March, April, May/June, August/September, October, November, and December. Volume 27 Issue 6 Editor: Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College; [email protected] Managing Editor: Carol Baxter, MAA Inside: [email protected] Senior Writer: Harry Waldman, MAA hwald- 4 Mathematical Olympiad Winners Honored at the [email protected] U.S. Department of State Please address advertising inquiries to: 6 U.S. Team Places Fifth in IMO [email protected] 7 Math Circle Summer Teaching Training Institute President: Joseph Gallian 7 Robert Vallin Joins MAA as Associate Director for Student Activities First Vice President: Carl Pomerance, Second Vice President: Deanna Haunsperger, 8 Archives of American Mathematics Spotlight: The Isaac Jacob Secretary: Martha J. Siegel, Associate Schoenberg Papers Secretary: James J. Tattersall, Treasurer: John W. Kenelly 10 FOCUS on Students: Writing a Résumé Executive Director: Tina H. Straley 11 Attend ICME-11 in Monterrey, Mexico Director of Publications for Journals and 12 An Interview with Trachette Jackson Communications: Ivars Peterson 15 The Council on Undergraduate Research as a Resource FOCUS Editorial Board: Donald J. Albers; for Mathematicians Robert Bradley; Joseph Gallian; Jacqueline Giles; Colm Mulcahy; Michael Orrison; Pe- 16 2007 Award Winners for Distinguished Teaching ter Renz; Sharon Cutler Ross; Annie Selden; Hortensia Soto-Johnson; Peter Stanek; Ravi 18 MAA Awards and Prizes at MathFest 2007 Vakil. 20 In Memoriam Letters to the editor should be addressed to 21 Fond Memories of My Friend Deborah Tepper Haimo, 1921-2007 Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College, Dept. of Mathematics, Waterville, ME 04901, or by 22 “Teaching Us to Number Our Days” email to [email protected]. 23 Subsidized Childcare Services at the Joint Mathematics Meetings Subscription and membership questions should be directed to the MAA Customer 23 AWM Announces Search for Executive Director Service Center, 800-331-1622; email: [email protected]; (301) 617-7800 (outside 24 Building a Successful Actuarial Science Program: Five Key Components U.S. and Canada); fax: (301) 206-9789. MAA 26 Café Scientifique Mathematics in the Microbrewery: Headquarters: (202) 387-5200. Fermat Meets Fermentation Copyright © 2007 by the Mathematical Association of America (Incorporated). 28 To and From the Editor Educational institutions may reproduce articles 29 Visiting the “Dark Side” for their own use, but not for sale, provided that the following citation is used: “Reprinted 29 Faculty Fellow Programs to Help High School Students with permission of FOCUS, the newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America 30 Teaching Time Savers: Encouraging Contact Early in the Semester (Incorporated).” 31 Employment Opportunities Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to FOCUS, Mathematical Association of America, P.O. Box 90973, On the cover: 2007 USAMO winners. Photo courtesy of Robert Allen Strawn Washington, DC 20090-0973. ISSN: 0731-2040; Printed in the United States of America. 2 August/September 2007 FOCUS New Officers Elected President-Elect: First Vice President: Second Vice President: David M. Bressoud Elizabeth Mayfield Daniel J. Teague Macalester College Hood College North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics The election for MAA officers concluded on May 31, 2007. Conducted using both online voting and paper ballots, the election had a record response rate of 20.99%. A total of 5,078 votes were cast. Of the votes cast, more than 63% were submitted online. The new officers will begin their terms in January at the conclusion of the Joint Mathematics Meetings in 2008. David Bressoud of Macalester College was chosen as President-Elect, a role he will play during 2008. He will then become the President of the Association for 2009–2010. The two vice presidents will serve a two-year term beginning in 2008. The MAA is grateful to all candidates for office. They are dedicated members who have devoted their time and effort to the bet- terment of the association. They help to make the MAA what it is. Bass and Efron Receive National Mathematicians Medal of Science Elected to the National Academy of On July 27, the President of the Unit- Among the 2005 medalists was Sciences ed States awarded the National Medal Bradley Efron, professor of statistics of Science to a stellar group of recipi- and of health research and policy at ents. At a ceremony at the White House, Stanford University. Efron was cited On May 1, 2007, the National Acad- President Bush honored the 2005 and “for his contributions to theoretical emy of Sciences announced the election 2006 recipients of the Medal. More in- and applied statistics, especially the of 72 new members and 18 foreign asso- formation on the event can be found at bootstrap sampling technique; for his ciate members. This year’s class includ- http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releas- extraordinary geometric insight into ed five mathematicians among the new es/2007/07/20070727-9.html. nonlinear statistical problems; and for members, plus two among the foreign applications in medicine, physics and associates. Elected to membership were Among the 2006 medalists was Hyman astronomy.” Robert L. Bryant of Duke University Bass, professor of mathematics and (recently named Director of MSRI in mathematics education at the Univer- Established in 1959, the National Medal Berkeley), Richard Durrett of Cornell, sity of Michigan. Bass was cited “for of Science and the National Medal of David Gottlieb of Brown, Curtis T. Mc- his fundamental contributions to pure Technology are intended to honor in- Mullen of Harvard, and Harold M. Stark mathematics, especially in the creation dividuals “for pioneering scientific re- of the University of California San Di- of algebraic K-theory, his profound in- search in a range of fields, including ego. Pierre Deligne of the Institute for fluence on mathematics education, and physical, biological, mathematical, so- Advanced Study and John Kingman his service to the mathematics research cial, behavioral and engineering scienc- of the University of Cambridge were and education communities. With his es, that enhances our understanding of elected as foreign associates. Bryant and unique combination of gifts he has had the world and leads to innovations and Stark are members of the MAA. enormous impact over the course of a technologies that give the United States half century.” its global economic edge.” 3 FOCUS August/September 2007 Mathematical Olympiad Winners Honored at the U.S. Department of State By Lisa Kolbe The 36th USA Mathematical Olym- piad Awards Ceremonies took place in Washington, DC on Sunday and Mon- day, May 20 and 21, 2007. This event honors the twelve winners of the annual USA Mathematical Olympiad exam, the premier high-school level mathemati- cal problem solving competition in the United States. The two-day celebra- tion began with a sponsors’ reception at the MAA headquarters in its newly renovated Carriage House Conference Center. Representatives of the spon- soring organizations of the American Mathematics Competitions, along with members of the MAA Executive Com- mittee, were there to meet and greet the winners and their families. On Monday morning, the winners toured the Crypto- logic Museum at the National Security Winners of the USAMO. Front row from left to right: President Joe Gallian, Sherry Agency and enjoyed a talk from one of Gong, Delong Meng, Alex Zhai, Arnav Tripathy, Tedrick Leung, and Executive Di- the on-site mathematicians on classical rector Tina Straley. Back row from left to right: Adam Hesterberg, Krishanu Sankar, cryptography. Brian Lawrence, Sergei Bernstein, Eric Larson, Haitao Mao, and Jacob Steinhardt. The 2007 USAMO winners are: The formal awards ceremony, presided twelve. Andrew attends Westford Acad- Sergei Bernstein, Belmont, MA over by MAA President Joseph Gallian, emy in Westford, Massachusetts. took place in the Dean Acheson Audi- Sherry Gong, San Juan, Puerto Rico torium of the State Department where The Robert P. Balles Distinguished Adam Hesterberg, Seattle, WA George Csicsery, writer and indepen- Mathematics Student Award, given to dent film maker, treated the audience each of the twelve winners, is given in Eric Larson, Eugene, OR to a viewing of Hard Problems, a film an effort to recognize and reward their Brian Lawrence, Kensington, MD about the 2006 IMO team. high achievement in the world of math- ematics competitions. Robert P. Balles Tedrick Leung, Winnetka, CA Winners received the USAMO Medal, is a lifelong student of mathematics, Haitao Mao, Vienna, VA named in honor of Gerhard C. Aren- former community college instructor of storff, twice a winner of the USAMO mathematics, and retired businessman Delong Meng, Baton Rouge, LA and a member of the first USA team in who established this generous prize in 2005. Krishanu Sankar, Hastings the International Mathematical Olym- on Hudson, NY piad. The highlight of the evening came when Jacob Steinhardt, Vienna, VA After dinner, Brian Lawrence received the Akamai Foundation Scholarships were presented to the 1st place winner, Arnav Tripathy, Chapel Hill, NC the Samuel L. Greitzer/Murray S. Klam- kin Award for his superior achievement Brian Lawrence, and to Sherry Gong Alex Zhai, Champaign, Il in the Olympiad exam. Dr. James Carl- and Alex Zhai, who tied for 2nd place. son, President of the Clay Mathematics Jonathan Seelig, one of the founders John Marburger III, Director of the Of- Institute, designated Andrew Geng as of Akamai Technologies and the Aka- fice of Science and Technology Policy the ninth CMI Mathematics Olympiad mai Foundation, presented the awards. in the Executive Office of the President, Scholar, noting that Geng best fulfilled These scholarships are in the amounts of was the host at the celebratory reception the prize’s criteria of “elegance, beauty, $20,000 and $15,000 respectively. With and dinner in the Diplomatic Reception imagination, and depth of insight” even these scholarships, the Akamai Founda- Rooms of the U.S.