Illinois Section of the MAA

The 1997 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Section of the MAA

The Seventy-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Illinois Section of the MAA was held March 21 and 22, 1997, on the campus of Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois.

The 1998 Annual Meeting will be held March 27 and 28, 1998, on the campus of McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois.

The 1997 Annual Meeting included a Minicourse by Frank Demana, invited addresses by Thomas Banchoff, George Francis, and Jerrold Grossman, a Banquet address by Ivars Peterson, several panel discussions, publishers exhibits, and activities for students.

There follows a brief summary of the meeting. Abstracts of most of the talks are also available. More detailed accounts of the meeting may be found in the Spring 1997 ISMAA Newletter.

Outline of Meeting Activities

[ ISMAA Home Page ]

September 22, 1997

Session Schedule

All meeting sessions were held in the Starr Science Building.

Friday, March 21, 1997
9:00 a.m. Minicourse
Room 235
Balanced Approach to Mathematics Using the CBL and TI-92
Presenter: Frank Demana, Ohio State University
1:20 p.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
Peterson Science Auditorium, Room 207
Speaker: W. T. O'Hare, Academic Dean, Rockford College
Presider: Ralph Czerwinski, ISMAA Chair
1:30 p.m. Opening Address
Forty Years of Sphere Eversions
Speaker: George Francis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Presider: Ralph Czerwinski, ISMAA Chair
2:30 p.m. Break and Book Exhibits
Starr Science Building Lobby
3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions I
3:00 p.m. Student Mathematics Contest
Twenty one students participated in the math contest. There were nine teams from six colleges. Each team consited of at most three students. There were six problems, and each team could submit solutions to four of these problems. The problems were written and scored by Gegory Galperin, Hillel Gauchman, and Duane Broline all of the Mathematics Department at Eastern Illinois University.

The first place team consisted of Kevin Bourillion and Mike Fitzpatrick from Bradley University, the second place team consisted of Nahyan Fancy and Anton Kamenov from Knox College, and the third place team consisted of Christopher Aylward, Wayne Fetter, and Jakob Krummenacher from Rockford College. The members of the first place team were awarded membership in the MAA.

4:15 p.m. Annual Business Meeting
Presider: Ralph Czerwinski, ISMAA Chair

Robert Hathway of Illinois State University was elected Chair-Elect. Jon Johnson of Elmhurst College was elected Secretary-Treasurer. Pete Stuckey of McHenry County College was elected Director for Community Colleges. Cheryl Hawker of Eastern Illinois University, Philip Marcus of Eureka College, and James Marshall of Illinois College were elected Directors at Large.

The proposed bylaw changes were approved. The revised bylaws will be forwarded to the MAA Board of Governors for their approval.

6:00 p.m. Reception, Tour and Social Hour
Howard Center at the Clock Tower Resort
6:00 p.m., 6:30p.m. Time Museum Tours
Time Museum at the Clock Tower Resort
7:00 p.m. Student Pizza Party
Eli Terry Room at the Clock Tower Resort
7:00 p.m. ISMAA Annual Banquet
Howard Center at the Clock Tower Resort
Presiders: Ralph Czerwinski and Jane Swafford

The Distinguished Service to ISMAA was presented by by Robert Hathway, ISMAA Awards Committee Chair, to Larry Morley of Western Illinois University.

Ivars Peterson, Mathematics/Physics and Online Editor for Science News gave an after dinner talk titled MythMath: From Bumblebees to Poincaré

Following the meeting, the videos Outside In and Erdös - N is a Number were shown. Outside In described in detail a particular sphere eversion and supplemented Prof. Francis' opening talk. Erdös - N is a Number was about the life and work of Paul Erdös and complemented Prof. Grossman's closing address.

Saturday, March 22, 1997
8:30 a.m. Invited Address
Totally Electronic Journals, Paperless Classes, and Equivisibility of Ellipsoids
Speaker: Thomas Banchoff, Brown University
Presider: Ruth Hartman, Black Hawk College
9:30 p.m. Break and Book Exhibits
Starr Science Building Lobby
9:45 a.m. Concurrent Sessions II
10:50 a.m. Concurrent Sessions III
12:00 noon Closing Address
Paul Erdös: The Master of Collaboration
Speaker: Jerrold W. Grossman, Oakland University
12:50 p.m. Concluding Remarks
Presider: Jane Swafford, ISMAA Chair

[ Outline of Meeting Events ] [ ISMAA Home Page ]

Minicourse

A Mnicourse, Balanced Approach to Mathematics Using the CBL and TI-92, was presented from 9:30 to 11:30 Friday morning by Frank Demana of Ohio State University. Examples were given to illustrate how technology can be used to give students a balanced approach (numerical, graphical, algebraic/analytic) to mathematics. Prof. Demana also illustrated how the CAS of the TI-92 can be used to help students give proofs and develop an appreciation of the power of mathematics.

[ Outline of Meeting Events ] [ ISMAA Home Page ]

Publishers's Exhibits

Publishers Exhibits were on the fourth floor of the Starr Science Building. Exhibitors included:

Friday afternoon Rosemary Schmalz was present from 2:30 to 3:00 to sign her book Out of the Mouths of Mathematicians.

[ Outline of Meeting Events ] [ ISMAA Home Page ]