Session Index
Click a session title to jump to the abstracts.
Faculty Session 1
1:10P.M.--2:10P.M., Frey 343
Speakers: Samantha Pezzimenti, Lindsay Dever, Susanna Molitoris-Miller
Faculty Session 2
1:10P.M.--2:10P.M., Frey 345
Speakers: Xuemao Zhang, Yi-Ching Lee, Eirini Kilikian
Faculty Session 3
1:10P.M.--2:10P.M., Frey 347
Speakers: Eric Faust, Jennifer Vasquez, Novi Herawati Bong
Faculty Session 4
1:10P.M.--2:10P.M., Frey 349
Speakers: Randon Weaver, Shashank Ravichandran, Stephen Brittain
Faculty Session 1
Frey 343
1:10P.M., Samantha Pezzimenti (Penn State Brandywine)
Teaching Math and Art One Project at a Time
View Abstract
In this talk, I will give an overview of an Art of Mathematics course I am designing and teaching for the first time this semester (Spring 2025). I will provide examples of student work in this project-based course covering topics such as perspective drawing, wallpaper, tessellations, and string art. A main goal of the talk will be to make the prospect of designing a new topics course less intimidating by focusing on one project at a time.
Close Abstract1:30P.M., Lindsay Dever (Millersville University)
Millersville’s Corequisite College Algebra Journey
View Abstract
In 2021, Millersville piloted a co-requisite College Algebra course, where students who placed below College Algebra were given extra support to complete the course in one semester, rather than starting in a remedial course. Over the past four years, we have changed the structure of the course as well as added supports including a graduate assistant, success coaching, and the adaptive homework system ALEKS. I will discuss lessons learned as well as challenges that we anticipate moving forward.
Close Abstract1:50P.M., Susanna Molitoris-Miller (Kutztown University)
Implementing Self-Directed Learning in General Education Level Mathematics Courses
View Abstract
Self-directed learning is a pedagogical approach which gives learners increased automony in their educational experiences. This may include choice related to what to study, how to obtain information or build skills, and how to present evidence of their learning. In this talk I share experieces I have had implementing this approach, present advantages for teachers and learners, and discuss practical ways to confront logistical challenges.
Close AbstractBack to index
Faculty Session 2
Frey 345
1:10P.M., Xuemao Zhang (East Stroudsburg University)
Development of Teaching Web Applications with AI
View Abstract
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, has significantly simplified coding. This presentation explores how AI-assisted development streamlines the creation of interactive Shiny web applications, enhancing the teaching and learning of Calculus. By leveraging these technologies, educators can develop web apps that deepen students’ conceptual understanding. For example, I have developed several web apps for teaching Integral Calculus, including a Riemann Sum Calculator, Area Between Two Curves, Volumes of Solids of Revolution, and Taylor Series Approximation. These applications demonstrate the potential of AI-powered tools in mathematics education, providing students with an intuitive and engaging learning experience.
Close Abstract1:30P.M., Yi-Ching Lee (Franklin & Marshall)
Demonstration of Decision Tree Models with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data
View Abstract
Decision tree models are supervised learning models for both classification and regression problems by building a tree structure. The models have become increasingly popular because they allow for flexible assumptions about the models and can effectively handle collinearity among predictors. In this talk, a demonstration of the tree models will be conducted using substance abuse and mental health datasets. In addition, illustrations utilizing the substance abuse and mental health datasets will be provided to examine the model structures and demonstrate the process of selecting a threshold point at each node.
Close Abstract1:50P.M., Eirini Kilikian (University of Delaware)
Agent-based modeling of lung fibrotic disease for testing and identifying new drug targets
View Abstract
Lung fibrosis is a complicated condition that is challenging to study in vivo. In this work, we present an Agent-Based Model (ABM) that simulates human
fibrotic lung disease, in order to investigate the contributions of
fibroblast cellular heterogeneity to pathogenesis, and identify novel molecular targets for drugs that can slow or reverse disease progression. We test real and hypothetical drugs for personalized medicine. This project was initiated in the ICERM Workshop "Women in Mathematical Computational Biology" in January 2025.
Close AbstractBack to index
Faculty Session 3
Frey 347
1:10P.M., Eric Faust (Villanova University)
Critical Groups of Arithmetical Structures on Cycle Graphs with A Doubled Edge
View Abstract
An arithmetical structure is a positive-integer labeling of a finite, connected graph such that the label at each vertex divides the sum of its neighbors and the greatest common divisor among all labels is 1. Associated to each of these is a finite abelian group known as the structure's critical group. We show how to determine the critical group of an arithmetical structure on cycle graphs with one doubled edge in terms of the entries of the arithmetical structure and use this to investigate which finite abelian groups can occur as critical groups of arithmetical structures on these graphs. We then show how various structure operations influence the critical group.
Close Abstract1:30P.M., Jennifer Vasquez (University of Scranton)
Cycling Tic-Tac-Toe:Quantum TTT revisited
View Abstract
We propose a new approach to quantum tic-tac-toe using graph theory that maintains the quantum aspects, but allows us to generalize the game.
Close Abstract1:50P.M., Novi Herawati Bong (University of Delaware)
Threshold Strong Dimension of Trees
View Abstract
Let $G$ be a connected graph and $u,v$ and $w$ vertices of $G$. The vertex $w$ is said to be strongly resolve $u$ and $v$ if there is either a shortest $u-w$ path that contains $v$ or a shortest $v-w$ path that contains $u$. A set $W$ of vertices of $G$ is a strong resolving set if every pair of vertices of $G$ is strongly resolved by some vertex of $W$. A smallest strong resolving set of a graph is called a strong basis and its cardinality, denoted by $\beta_s(G)$, the strong dimension of $G$. The threshold strong dimension of a graph $G$, denoted $\tau_s(G)$, is the smallest strong dimension among all graphs having $G$ as spanning subgraph. In this talk, I will focus on the threshold strong dimension of trees. This is a joint work with Nadia Benakli, Shonda Dueck (Gosselin), Linda Eroh, Beth Novick, and Ortrud R. Oellermann.
Close AbstractBack to index
Faculty Session 4
Frey 349
1:10P.M., Randon Weaver (University of Delaware)
Unitals Embedded in Projective Planes
View Abstract
A unital of order $q$ is a point-block incidence structure with $q^3 + 1$ points such that any block contains precisely $q + 1$ points, and any two points are contained in exactly one block. Unitals find applications in linear codes and have connections to blocking sets, polarities, and the Hasse-Weil bound. They have been studied extensively over the last half century. Though their classification remains unresolved in the classical plane, there has also been some work done on their existence in other planes. This talk gives a classification result of unitals in the regular nearfield planes that is similar to known classification results in the classical planes.
Close Abstract1:30P.M., Shashank Ravichandran (University of Delaware)
The effective size of a metric space: An introduction to magnitude and diversity
View Abstract
Consider a metric space with just 2 points at distance $d$. The magnitude of a metric space is a quantification of its "effective size" which, in this case, tends to 1 as $d\to 0$, and tends to 2 as the $d\to +\infty$. This quantity was first studied in ecology in the 70s but in the past two decades has been shown to be a natural notion of size for finite metric spaces, and is extended to any compact metric space as well. Ecologists are also interested in various measures of biodiversity, and within the same body of work as magnitude, a spectrum of Renyi type entropies has been generalized and studied. The main ideas at the foundation of these areas of work are quite intuitive and easy to explain to anyone with a cursory understanding of linear algebra, but the magnitude of even simple subsets of Euclidean space is unknown, along with more foundational aspects that make these intuitions concrete. In this talk, I will introduce this new area of mathematics, which has yet to make inroads in the older world of the geometry of finite metric spaces. For more on this, see the survey, ``The magnitude of a metric space: from category theory to geometric measure theory'', Tom Leinster and Mark Meckes,
\url{https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1606.00095}.
Close Abstract1:50P.M., Stephen Brittain (University of Delaware)
PTR polynomials for the Hughes planes
View Abstract
Coordinatization was introduced by Marshall Hall in the 1940s, introducing algebraic methods to the study of projective planes. The resulting object, known as a planar ternary ring (PTR), is a trivariate function with specific properties. When the plane has prime power order, the PTR can be described as a polynomial over a finite field. While the PTR produced by the plane is coordinatization dependent, each PTR uniquely describes a projective plane. Thus, studying the PTR is equivalent to studying the projective plane. In this talk, we give the first description of a class of PTR polynomials for the Hughes planes, a historically important infinite class of projective planes first described in the 1950s. Unexpectedly, the polynomial forms have generalized Catalan numbers among their coefficients.
Close AbstractBack to index