Contents for the Spring 2014 Issue |
| ISMAA Annual Meeting |
The 2014 Annual Meeting of the Illinois Section of the MAA
Don’t miss the ISMAA annual meeting at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Edwardsville, IL on March 28 and March 29, 2014.
This year’s plenary speakers include: Steven Krantz (Washington University, St. Louis), Rick Gillman (Valporaiso University) - Rick will also present the conference workshop;Anthony Giaquinto (Loyola University, Chicago), and Sharon Robbert (Trinity Christian College).
For more details and registration information see: http://sections.maa.org/illinois/2014AnnualMeeting.htm
Tony Bedenikovic
ISMAA Chair Department of Mathematics
Bradley University 309.677.2489
Dear Friends of the Illinois Section,
With great anticipation, I look forward to this year's meeting of the ISMAA, which will be held March 28 and 29 on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. I invite you to check out the details of the meeting in this newsletter and to make plans to join us in Edwardsville.
I am always struck by the richness of the ISMAA programs. This year, as in past years, we will have four plenary talks, multiple parallel sessions, and many opportunities for students to be part of our mathematics community. The program also includes a pre-meeting workshop and, of course, the banquet, which is the social centerpiece of the meeting. That's a lot of mathematical bang for the buck.
Please consider contributing to the success of the meeting. We invite contributed talks, from both faculty and students. Information for submitting abstracts is included in this newsletter.
Large groups of students are always a welcome sight at our meetings. I urge you to bring your students and to continue to inspire them to become part of the next generation of mathematicians. Becoming an ISMAA sponsor is one way to support your students. The three levels of ISMAA sponsorship are: Ordinary Sponsorship ($50), Sustaining Sponsorship ($100), and Speaker Sponsorship ($200). All levels of sponsorship include unlimited free registration for undergraduates. The two higher levels of sponsorship include free undergraduate registrations plus three free faculty registrations. Those who choose Speaker Sponsorship will be listed as an underwriter of a plenary talk at the ISMAA meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact me (abedenik@bradley.edu) or Pat Kiihne (pkiihne@mail.ic.edu), Secretary-Treasurer of the Section, if you would like to discuss this possibility further. Your commitment to the ISMAA mission by way of sponsorship is greatly appreciated.
On a final note, the Awards Committee of the ISMAA continues to seek nominations for its Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Service awards. We have many great educators in the state and many who serve the Section without praise. If you have a colleague who deserves recognition, please let us know. Nominations can be made to the Awards Committee Chair, Tim Comar (tcomar@ben.edu).
I hope to see you in Edwardsville in March. Become an Institutional Sponsor
Become an Institutional Sponsor
Now it’s time to start thinking about institutional sponsorship for 2014. Please encourage your institution to join us. Ordinary sponsorship ($50) includes unlimited free registration for undergraduates at the 2014 annual meeting; sustaining sponsorship ($100) includes three free faculty registrations in addition to the free student registration; and speaker sponsorship includes the three free faculty registrations, free student registration, and listing as an underwriter of a plenary speaker in the meeting program. To become an institutional sponsor, download the form (Word or pdf) and send it with payment to:
Pat Kiihne
ISMAA Secretary/Treasurer
Illinois College
1101 West College Avenue
Jacksonville, IL 62650
OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH (OUR) AWARDS 2014
The Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America invites submissions for the 2014 Outstanding Undergraduate Research (OUR) Awards. Up to three awards will be given for papers authored and presented by undergraduate students at the upcoming ISMAA meeting. Working in collaboration with a faculty advisor, undergraduate students who wish to apply for the OUR Awards should submit the following materials electronically (either as a PDF or MS Word document):
1. a brief, one-page cover letter stating the nature of the project and identifying the researchers involved;
2. a complete, original research paper;
3. a letter of support from the faculty advisor which also describes the student’s contribution to the work.
Submissions may be emailed to Tim Comar, Awards Committte Chair, at tcomar@ben.edu. Please include "OUR Awards" in the subject heading.
Papers need not have been submitted for publication in a professional journal at the time of consideration, but must be complete manuscripts, even if only a subset of the research will be presented at the meeting.
Applicants should make arrangements (see the ISMAA home page) to give a talk in the student session of the upcoming ISMAA meeting. Applicants will be evaluated both for quality of research and for quality of presentation.. The deadline for OUR Awards submissions is March 3, 2014.
Questions? Email tcomar@ben.edu
The ISMAA Awards Committee has extended the deadline for the section Distinguished Teaching and Distinguished Service awards to February 27, 2014. This is to enhance the likelihood of having section awardees this year. The section awardees will be presented at the ISMAA annual meeting, held at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville March 28 – 29, 2014. We strongly encourage all members to take the time and nominate a colleague worthy of the awards.
For the guidelines on eligibility and nomination please visit the MAA Teaching Award web page. Questions about the ISMAA awards should be addressed to the ISMAA Awards Committee Chair Tim Comar at (tcomar@ben.edu).
ISMAA Project NExT Program - 2014
Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) is a professional development program of the MAA, with major funding provided by the Exxon Education Foundation, and additional funding from several other sources. This program is designed to support new college faculty in their teaching, scholarly, and professional activities and to help these new faculty members to get involved in the mathematical community beyond their own institutions. The success of Project NExT on the national level has prompted a number of MAA sections to organize their own local versions of this program.
The Seventeenth Annual ISMAA Project NExT Program will be held in conjunction with the ISMAA annual meeting at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, March 28-29, 2014. Up to nine 2014 ISMAA Project NExT Fellows will be selected. Anyone within their first four years of teaching mathematics (after finishing a master's or doctoral degree) at any two or four-year college or university in Illinois is eligible, as well as any graduate students at universities in Illinois who are completing their PhD this year and have a position in Illinois for the 2014-2015 academic year. 2014 ISMAA Project NExT Fellows' meeting registration, pre-conference workshop registration, opening banquet fees, and Friday and Saturday lunches at the annual meeting will be paid for by the ISMAA Project NExT for the 2014 and 2015 ISMAA Annual Meetings.
The 2014 Program will begin on the morning of Friday, March 28, 2014, with the pre-conference workshop. The workshop is followed by an opening lunch during which new ISMAA NExT fellows will have an opportunity to get to know one another as well as other sectional Fellows and national NExT Fellows. The ISMAA Project NExT program will conclude on the morning of Saturday, March 29, 2014, preceding the closing address of the ISMAA meeting. The topic for the Saturday morning session will be determined by interest of the Fellows. At the meeting, we will match new ISMAA NExT Fellows with a Mentor. It is expected that each Mentor-Fellow pair will continue to communicate about professional development issues throughout the following academic year.
Application materials for 2014 ISMAA Project NExT Fellows can be accessed via the links below. For further information, please contact the Director for the ISMAA Project NExT Program:
2014 ISMAA Project NExT Application (MS Word)
2014 ISMAA Project NExT Application (pdf)
Cindy Traub
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026-1653
Phone: 618-650-2356
email: cytraub@siue.edu
The registration deadline for the 2014 ISMAA Project NExT Fellows is February 28, 2014.
Mathematics Teacher Education Summit
On Saturday, March 1, 2014 there will be a Mathematics Teacher Education Summit at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield. This teacher education summit is designed to provide updates, networking, and sharing opportunities for all involved in the teacher education process in Illinois. The focus is on the new math standards for elementary ('Part 20') and middle school teachers ('Part 21'). For more information see
http://illinoiseledandmsteachered.wordpress.com/.
This Summit is being jointly sponsored by ISMAA, IMACC, ICTM, and IMTE.