Prior to the meeting in San Diego, the Board of Governors, by email vote, elected Celestino Mendez to be Governor-at-Large for Minorities. The Board also elected Claudia Carter Governor-at-Large for High School Teachers. Both terms expire in 2005.

The following is a summary of selected items from the meeting on January 5, 2002, in San Diego.

Since July 2001 there have been 1846 new applicants for individual memberships and 57 new institutional members.

Despite the volatile stock market, MAA investments have not done too badly. The software conversion significantly exceeded estimates, but the cost will be amortized over five years instead of three to accommodate this. Because of the anthrax problems, some book orders and dues are still missing in the postal system which may result in further budget problems. Some cost-cutting measures have been designed by the staff in case this happens. There will be a 4% increase in dues for 2003, but student dues will not be affected.

Despite the increased cost of the software conversion, it is believed that the cost-savings will more than compensate. We now own the database, and records will be much more accurate and changes will be timely.

Some extremely interesting new publications are available. Look for them at the Section meeting at Santa Fe. The journals will soon be available on-line, and it will soon be possible to order books on-line as well.

PREP, Professional Enhancement Programs, has a new slate of courses including knot theory, departmental assessment, a workshop for department chairs, distance learning, quantitative literacy, statistical methods, finite mathematics, history, and teaching future secondary teachers. Watch for the announcements in Focus.

John Kenelly was elected Treasurer of the MAA.

MathFest sites include Burlington, Vermont, August 1-3, 2002, Boulder, Colorado, July 31-August 2, 2003, and Providence, Rhode Island, August 12-14, 2004. After much debate, Albuquerque, New Mexico was approved for 2005.

Math Horizons continues to flourish, and Project NexT is continuing to grow.

The Board of Governors agreed to invite students to attend the meetings: a graduate student at the Joint Meetings and an undergraduate at MathFest. They will write reports for Focus.

2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

Overview of Meeting

Don't let the deadlines for registration and reservations slip by.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Accommodations
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

Accommodations for the 2002 Joint Meetings of the Florida Section of the Mathematical Association of America and the Florida Two Year College Mathematics Association.

Reservations are held in the name "Mathematics Conference at SFCC".

Best Western Gateway Grand (Rooms Held Until February 4)
4200 NW 97th Blvd (Exit 77)
Gainesville Fl 32606
(352) 331 – 3336
Double: $61
Deluxe King: $69

Cabot Lodge (Rooms Held Until February 14)
3726 SW 40th Blvd (Exit 75)
Gainesville Fl 32608
(352) 375 – 2400
Double: $67
King: $67

Courtyard by Marriott (Rooms Held Until February 14)
3700 SW 42nd Street (Exit 75)
Gainesville Fl 32608
(352) 335 – 9100
Double: $99
King: $99

Days Inn (Rooms Held Until February 14)
7516 W Newberry Rd (Exit 76)
Gainesville Fl 32606
(352) 332 – 3033
Double: $48
King: $48

Holiday Inn West (Rooms Held Until February 1)
7417 NW 8th Ave (Exit 76)
Gainesville Fl 32605
(352) 332 – 7500
Double: $82
King: $82

Call For Papers
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

If you would like to present a paper, please send all information to:

Marcelle Bessman
Department of Mathematics
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville, FL  32211
mbessma@ju.edu

Please submit a short abstract of your presentation including the following information:  name, address, phone number, e-mail address, whether student or faculty, title of presentation, length of time required, equipment needed (subject to availability), and a brief description of whether the emphasis will be on research, technology, pedagogy, etc.

Directions
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

The conference will be held in buildings R, S, and W with registration in building W.

Food Service
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

Program
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

Friday, March 1

Saturday, March 2

Registration Form (PDF)
2002 Joint Annual Meetings
MAA Florida Section & FTYCMA

Ken Pothoven
Department of Mathematics - PHY 114
University of South Florida
4202 East Fowler Ave. Tampa, Florida 33620-5700

Robert C. Meacham

Dr. Robert C. Meacham, a mathematics professor and founding faculty member of Eckerd College, died Tuesday (Feb. 19, 2002) at the College Harbor Retirement Community. He was 81.

He came to St. Petersburg in the summer of 1960 for the first classes that fall at Florida Presbyterian College, which became Eckerd College in 1972.

During his 33 years at the college, Dr. Meacham served terms as president of the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors and as Florida governor of the American Mathematical Association.

A talented tennis player, he coached the Eckerd team for several years during the 1970s.

The son of a Presbyterian minister and a homemaker, Robert Colegrove Meacham was born in Moultrie, Ga., and grew up in Birmingham, Ala. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College).

As a Navy lieutenant in World War II, he served as a radar, torpedo and gunnery officer aboard the submarine Picuda during six war patrols in the Pacific from 1944 to 1945. He received two Silver Star medals, a Bronze Star and letter of commendation.

After the war, with a master of science degree and a doctorate in applied mathematics from Brown University, he taught at Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Florida before coming to Florida Presbyterian.

In 1966, he studied the emerging field of computer science in Palo Alto, Calif., under a National Science Foundation grant.

He had served as an elder at Lakeview Presbyterian Church.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Katharine Miller Meacham; two daughters, Katharine Meacham, Asheville, N.C., and Laura Keane, St. Petersburg; a son, Andrew, St. Petersburg, a Times correspondent; a sister, Charlotte Parsons, Scituate, Mass.; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 23, 2002 at Griffin Chapel on the Eckerd campus. The family suggests contributions to the Meacham Mathematics Memorial, established in the name of Dr. Meacham and a son, the late Robert C. Meacham, c/o Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711; or to Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 1310 22nd Ave. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33705.

Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes & Cremation Tribute Center-Ninth Street Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, FL; February 20, 2002; Craig Basse

Rollins College

Faculty

Jay Yellen begins a regular faculty appointment in Fall 2002 as Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Rollins College.  He received his B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics at Polytechnic University of New York and did his doctoral work in finite group theory at Colorado State University.   He has had regular faculty appointments at Allegheny College, SUNY at Fredonia, and Florida Institute of Technology, and he has held visiting positions at Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Columbia University.  He is the coauthor, with Jonathan Gross, of "Graph Theory and Its Applications" (CRC Press, 1999) and is currently a Visiting Associate Professor at Rollins College.

St. Petersburg College

Faculty

Jim Rutledge gave a presentation on Mathematics and MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego and participated in the MAA Teaching Future Teachers workshop that followed the meetings.  He was delighted to see that Dr. Fredric Zerla, USF, received the MAA Award for Meritorious Service.

Stetson University

Student Senior Research

Five Mathematics Seniors and twelve Computing Seniors presented their Senior Research Proposals during Fall 2001. They will spend Spring 2002 completing their research, writing a comprehensive paper and presenting their findings to the department. Some are hoping to present their work at the March Meeting at Santa Fe Community College. The abstracts and complete drafts may be found here: http://www.stetson.edu/departments/mathcs/students/research

Restructuring the Mathematics Major

The Mathematics Major at Stetson University has been overhauled to keep pace with the growing demands of industry and academia for individuals with specific as well as broad ranging mathematical and computational skills. The concentrations have been picked from a myriad of possibilities with the following factors in mind: careers after graduation, current national and global trends, and the resources available at Stetson University. To learn more about this restructuring, please visit: http://www.stetson.edu/departments/mathcs/programs/math/tracks.shtml

Department Colloquium

In addition to the Mathematics Senior Research Proposals at the end of November, there were four talks in the department colloquium series. Spring 2002 promises to feature many exciting talks as well. All past, current, and future abstracts may be found here: http://www.stetson.edu/departments/mathcs/events/colloquium/

Annual Fall Picnic

The department enjoyed its annual fall picnic amidst the pristine surroundings of DeLeon Springs, FL. Pictures will be available soon and may be viewed at: http://www.stetson.edu/departments/mathcs/events/recreational

University of Central Florida

AMS Fall 2002 Southeastern Section Meeting

The Mathematics Department at the University of Central Florida will host The Fall 2002 AMS Southeaster Section Meeting , November 9-10.  Meeting # 982, Notices Program Issue: January 2003, Abstract Issue: 23/4 Deadlines Program.  For additional information, contact Dr. Piotr Mikusinski, piotrm@mail.ucf.edu.

Professor Peter Hilton

The Mathematics Department at the University of Central Florida is pleased to report that Professor Peter Hilton is serving as a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics in our Department.  In March, Professor Hilton will be on a lecture tour in Michigan, speaking to four universities.    In June, Professor Hilton will give an invited talk at the Algebra/Topology seminar at the E.T.H., in Zurich, Switzerland.    The University on Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand has renewed Professor Hilton’s Erskine Visiting Fellowship.  He will be in New Zealand for six weeks, July/August 2002.  He will give several public lectures and two lectures each to the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Philosophy.

University of South Florida

Faculty

Natasha Jonoska has joined the editorial board of the journal New Generation Computing.

Mile Krajcevski has published the book "Tilings of the Plane, Hyperbolic Groups and Small Cancellation Conditions" in the Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society series.

Yuncheng You, with George Sell of the University of Minnesota, has published the book "Dynamics of Evolutionary Equations" in Springer's Applied Mathematics Series.

Fred Zerla received the Certificate of Meritorious Service from the Mathematical Association of America on January 7 at the Joint Meeting with the American Mathematical Association in San Diego.  The Certificate is in recognition of service to the MAA at the national level, or for service to a section.  Professor Zerla was nominated by the Florida Section.  The First such award was made in 1984.  The Certification notes:

Professor Zerla has, for several years, been advisor to student mathematical societies, including Pi Mu Epsilon and the University's student MAA chapter.  He was already an active MAA member when the Florida Section was founded in 1967 holding such offices as Vice-President for Programs, President, Local Arrangements Coordinator, and Governor.  In addition, he has served for many years as coordinator of the Suncoast Region, one of the most active and visible regions within the Florida Section.

Employment Opportunities

Saint Leo University

Saint Leo University,  Florida’s oldest Catholic education institution in Benedictine tradition, currently enrolls nearly 10,000 students in 15 regional centers throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States.  The School of arts and Sciences is seeking candidates for a proposed full-time, tenure-track faculty position in Mathematics for University Campus location, 30 miles north of Tampa, Florida.  The appointment will be at the Assistant professor level.   Normal, undergraduate, semester teaching load is 4-4.   PhD in mathematics is required and previous college teaching is preferred.  Opportunities exist for teaching mathematics in the summer session and/or on-line. Review of the applications begins immediately for anticipated start date of August 16, 2002. Letter of introduction shall document successful teaching experience and research interest, a current cv/resume, 3 letters of recommendation, and official transcripts.

Application materials to be submitted to:

Department of Human Resources, MC-2327
Saint Leo University
P.O. Box 6665
Saint Leo, FL   33574

Please refer to Assistant Professor Mathematics Position #02089.

Stetson University

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is pleased to announce three faculty positions beginning in Fall 2002. Two are in Computer Science and one is in Mathematics. Please visit the following link for the descriptions: http://www.stetson.edu/departments/mathcs/positions

Professional Development Opportunities

DIMACS Reconnect Conference 2002
Rutgers University, August 11-17, 2002

Rutgers University in New Jersey is sponsoring a "Reconnect" conference this upcoming August.  The goal is to "reconnect" faculty whose primary job is teaching undergraduates to the math and computer science research enterprise.  NSF is a major sponsor so most expenses are covered.  For more information consult the website http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/reconnect/2002/

Knot Theory
Wake Forest University, June 24-28, 2002
Organized and Presented by: Colin Adams, Williams College

Knot theory is a great topic for exciting students about mathematics. It is visual and hands on. Students can begin working on problems the first day with their shoelaces. Knot theory is also an incredibly active field. There is a tremendous amount of work going on currently, and one can easily state open problems. It also has important applications to chemistry, biochemistry and physics. This workshop is aimed at college and university teachers who are interested in knowing more about knot theory. There is no assumption of previous background in the field, however a familiarity with basic topology will help. The goals of the workshop are as follows:

1. Participants will be able to teach an undergraduate course in knot theory.
2. Participants will be able to do research in knot theory.
3. Participants will be able to direct student research in knot theory.

Each day will be divided into a morning session when we learn about specific topics in knot theory and an afternoon session, when we conjecture wildly, throw around ideas, and do original research.

Information about the workshop presenter:

Colin Adams is the Francis C. Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics at Williams College. He wrote "The Knot Book: an Elementary Intorduction to the Mathematical Theory of Knots" and has taught an undergraduate course on knot theory many times. He has published over 30 articles on knot theory and related subjects. He has directed over 40 undergraduate students on research in knot theory and co-authored papers with a total of 33 different undergraduates. Adams received the Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award of the MAA in 1998, was a Polya Lecturer for the MAA 1998-2000,and is currently a Sigma Xi Lecturer.

For more information on this workshop and others, and an application form, go to http://www.maa.org/pfdev/pfdev_index.html

PREP WORKSHOPS

There are a variety of workshops being offered this summer under the MAA's PREP program.  The Knot Theory workshop above is a sample of those that can be found at http://www.maa.org/pfdev/prep/prep.html.