The 2008 meeting promises to be an exciting meeting, with a number of excellent invited speakers, a contributed paper session for faculty and student speakers, a pizza party on Friday night, and much more. You will not want to miss Art Benjamin's "mathemagic show" after dinner on Friday night, as well as special events to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Allegheny Mountain Section of the MAA.
Invited Speakers
- Art Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College, MAA Polya Lecturer
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Combinatorial Trigonometry (and a method to DIE for)
Abstract: Many trigonometric identities, including the Pythagorean theorem, have combinatorial proofs. Furthermore, some combinatorial problems have trigonometric solutions. All of these problems can be reduced to alternating sums, and are attacked by a technique we call D.I.E. (Description, Involution, Exception). This technique offers new insights to identities involving binomial coefficients, Fibonacci numbers, derangements, zig-zag permutations, and Chebyshev polynomials.
- David Bressoud, Macalester College, MAA President-Elect
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Calculus as a High School Course
Abstract: Over the past quarter century, 2- and 4-year college enrollment in first semester calculus has remained constant while high school enrollment in calculus has grown tenfold, from 50,000 to 500,000, and continues to grow at 6% per year. We have reached the cross-over point where each year more students study first semester calculus in US high schools than in all 2- and 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. There is considerable overlap between these populations. Most high school students do not earn college credit for the calculus they study. This talk will present some of the data that we have about this phenomenon and its effects and will raise issues of how colleges and universities should respond.
- David Zitarelli, Temple University
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Miss Mullikin and the Evolution of Connected Sets
Abstract: In 1946 R. L. Moore closed a letter with a personal note to "Please remember me to Miss Mullikin." Who was Anna Mullikin? And why did someone of Moore’s stature wish to convey his best wishes to her? This talk answers these questions by describing the role this virtually unknown, early-20th-century mathematician played in the evolution of connected sets and in international communication between the Polish and American schools of topology. A biographical sketch will also be provided.
Section NExT Program - New faculty in the Section are encouraged to attend!!
Contributed Paper Sessions for Faculty and Students
Abstracts for
faculty contributed talks (PDF) Schedule
for faculty contributed talks (PDF) Abstracts for student contributed talks (PDF) Schedule
for student contributed talks (PDF)