Mathematical Association of America
Allegheny Mountain Section
Serving Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia
Spring 2012 Meeting
April 13-14, 2012
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV
Local Organizer
Meeting Information
Meeting Program
Student Talk Schedule and Abstacts of Student Talks (Friday)
Faculty Talk Schedule and Abstracts of Faculty Talks (Saturday)
Invited Speakers
- Erica Flapan, Pomona College
- Talk Title: "Topological Symmetry Groups"
- Abstract: Chemists have defined the point group of a molecule
as the group of rigid symmetries of its molecular graph in R3. While this group is useful for analyzing the
symmetries of rigid molecules, it does not include all of the symmetries of molecules which are flexible or can rotate around one or more bonds. To study the symmetries of such molecules, we define the topological symmetry group of a graph embedded in R3 to be the subgroup of the automorphism group of the abstract graph that is induced by homeomorphisms of R3. This group gives us
a way to understand not only the symmetries of non-rigid molecular graphs, but the symmetries of any graph embedded in R3. The
study of such symmetries is a natural extension of the study of symmetries of knots. In this talk we will present results about the topological symmetry group and how it can play a role in analyzing the symmetries of non-rigid molecules.
- James Tanton, St. Mark's School
- Talk Title: "A Dozen Fibonacci Surprises"
- Abstract: The Fibonacci numbers 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,... have been
studied and probed and generalized and analyzed in most every
possible way for centuries (well, for 810 years to be precise; well,
... longer actually if you read Sanskrit) and one might think there
is little more to say about them. Let me surprise you then, a dozen
times over no less!
- Paul Zorn, St. Olaf College
- Talk Title: "Revisiting Familiar Places: What I Learned at the Magazine"
- Abstract: Among the perks of editing Mathematics Magazine for me was
to learn a lot of mathematics. Much of it was new to me, but could there possibly be anything new to learn about cubic polynomials?
Countable sets? Equilateral triangles? Bijective functions? The short answer is yes. The Magazine and other MAA journals are
rich sources of novel --- and often surprising --- views of supposedly familiar, thoroughly understood, topics from undergraduate mathematics. I'll give some examples that worked for me. That such examples exist derives not only from the speaker's ignorance but also from the depth and richness of our subject.
Registration
**Online registration is now closed, but you can still register at the meeting.
Parking
Parking on Friday will be difficult. The best options are:
1) Check in to the Clarion Hotel Morgan or the Waterfront Hotel and walk over
2) Park in the University Avenue/Chestnut Street City Parking Garage or in the Mountainlair Parking Garage
3) Check in to the Hampton Inn and ride the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) downtown from the Medical Center station
Parking on Saturday will be easier. The best parking lots are on campus in Area 7 and Area 11 on Beechurst Avenue across the street from Armstrong Hall. These lots are not patrolled on the weekends.
**Also, a map for Morgantown public parking is available at http://www.morgantown.com/parking-facilities.htm
Local Information
Campus Map
Virtual Campus Tour
Hotel Information
West Virginia University
Allegheny Mountain Section
of the MAA
