Proposals
Below are some proposals for talks from the past (and current). By clicking on the ID number, more details are shown. By default, these are sorted chronologically (recent first) and by then by last name. The data can be sorted by alternate means by using the links at the top right, each allowing ascending or descending orders.
Displaying 21-40 of 471 results.
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ID:
391
Year: 2014
Name: Robert Devaney
Institution: Boston University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: The Fractal Geometry of the Mandelbrot Set
Abstract: In this lecture we describe several folk theorems concerning the Mandelbrot set. While this set is extremely complicated from a geometric point of view, we will show that, as long as you know how to add and how to count, you can understand this geometry completely. We will encounter many famous mathematical objects in the Mandelbrot set, like the Farey tree and the Fibonacci sequence. And we will find many soon-to-be-famous objects as well, like the "Devaney" sequence. There might even be a joke or two in the talk.
Year: 2014
Name: Robert Devaney
Institution: Boston University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: The Fractal Geometry of the Mandelbrot Set
Abstract: In this lecture we describe several folk theorems concerning the Mandelbrot set. While this set is extremely complicated from a geometric point of view, we will show that, as long as you know how to add and how to count, you can understand this geometry completely. We will encounter many famous mathematical objects in the Mandelbrot set, like the Farey tree and the Fibonacci sequence. And we will find many soon-to-be-famous objects as well, like the "Devaney" sequence. There might even be a joke or two in the talk.
ID:
392
Year: 2014
Name: Ruth Charney
Institution: Brandeis University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: An Excursion into the Strange World of Singular Geometry
Abstract: In high school we learn about the geometry of the plane. Later, we encounter the geometry of smooth manifolds. In this talk, we take a peek at the mind-bending geometry of singular spaces and their applications.
Year: 2014
Name: Ruth Charney
Institution: Brandeis University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: An Excursion into the Strange World of Singular Geometry
Abstract: In high school we learn about the geometry of the plane. Later, we encounter the geometry of smooth manifolds. In this talk, we take a peek at the mind-bending geometry of singular spaces and their applications.
ID:
515
Year: 2018
Name: Michael Dorff
Institution: Brigham Young University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: How Mathematics Is Making Hollywood Movies Better
Abstract: What’s your favorite movie? Star Wars? Avatar? The Avengers? Frozen? What do these and all the highest earning Hollywood movies since 2000 have in common? Mathematics! You probably didn’t think about it while watching these movies, but math was used to help make them. In this presentation, we will discuss how math is being used to create better and more realistic movies. Along the way we will discuss some specific movies and the mathematics behind them. We will include examples from Disney’s 2013 movie Frozen (how to use math to create realistic looking snow) to Pixar’s 2004 movie The Incredibles (how to use math to make an animated character move faster). Come and join us and get a better appreciation of mathematics and movies.
Year: 2018
Name: Michael Dorff
Institution: Brigham Young University
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: How Mathematics Is Making Hollywood Movies Better
Abstract: What’s your favorite movie? Star Wars? Avatar? The Avengers? Frozen? What do these and all the highest earning Hollywood movies since 2000 have in common? Mathematics! You probably didn’t think about it while watching these movies, but math was used to help make them. In this presentation, we will discuss how math is being used to create better and more realistic movies. Along the way we will discuss some specific movies and the mathematics behind them. We will include examples from Disney’s 2013 movie Frozen (how to use math to create realistic looking snow) to Pixar’s 2004 movie The Incredibles (how to use math to make an animated character move faster). Come and join us and get a better appreciation of mathematics and movies.
ID:
560
Year: 2021
Name: Marshall Whittlesey
Institution: California State University San Marcos
Subject area(s): Geometry
Title of Talk: Using quaternions to prove theorems in spherical geometry
Abstract: It is well known that the complex numbers can be used to do transformation geometry in the plane. In particular, rotation by angle ϴ about the origin is accomplished via multiplication by the complex number e^iϴ=cos ϴ+ i sin ϴ. It is less well known that the quaternion algebra (consisting of expressions of the form a+bi+cj+dk with i^2=j^2=k^2=ijk=-1) can be used to do similar transformations in three dimensional space. In this talk we show how to use quaternions to prove an interesting classical theorem in spherical geometry. These methods are featured in the speaker's new book with CRC Press, "Spherical Geometry and its Applications", which the author hopes will be attractive for use in topics courses in geometry.
Year: 2021
Name: Marshall Whittlesey
Institution: California State University San Marcos
Subject area(s): Geometry
Title of Talk: Using quaternions to prove theorems in spherical geometry
Abstract: It is well known that the complex numbers can be used to do transformation geometry in the plane. In particular, rotation by angle ϴ about the origin is accomplished via multiplication by the complex number e^iϴ=cos ϴ+ i sin ϴ. It is less well known that the quaternion algebra (consisting of expressions of the form a+bi+cj+dk with i^2=j^2=k^2=ijk=-1) can be used to do similar transformations in three dimensional space. In this talk we show how to use quaternions to prove an interesting classical theorem in spherical geometry. These methods are featured in the speaker's new book with CRC Press, "Spherical Geometry and its Applications", which the author hopes will be attractive for use in topics courses in geometry.
ID:
456
Year: 2016
Name: Stephen Kennedy
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Halving Your Cake
Abstract: It is a problem as old as humanity: given a resource to be shared (water, land, cake) how can it be shared fairly between several people? The answer, in the case of two claimants, is simple and ancient and known to every five-year-old with a sibling: I cut,You choose. Things get much more interesting, and challenging, if one has more than one sibling. We are forced to ask ourselves exactly what “fairly” means in the question; “fair” from whose point of view and by what criteria?
Year: 2016
Name: Stephen Kennedy
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Halving Your Cake
Abstract: It is a problem as old as humanity: given a resource to be shared (water, land, cake) how can it be shared fairly between several people? The answer, in the case of two claimants, is simple and ancient and known to every five-year-old with a sibling: I cut,You choose. Things get much more interesting, and challenging, if one has more than one sibling. We are forced to ask ourselves exactly what “fairly” means in the question; “fair” from whose point of view and by what criteria?
ID:
489
Year: 2017
Name: Deanna Haunsperger
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A Glimpse at the Horizon
Abstract: What do a square-wheeled bicycle, a 17th-century French painting, and the Indiana legislature all have in common? They appear among the many bright stars on the mathematical horizon, or, um, in Math Horizons. Math Horizons, the undergraduate magazine started by the MAA in 1994, publishes articles to introduce students to the world of mathematics outside the classroom. Some of mathematics’ best expositors have written for MH over the years; here is an idiosyncratic tour of the first ten years of Horizons.
Year: 2017
Name: Deanna Haunsperger
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A Glimpse at the Horizon
Abstract: What do a square-wheeled bicycle, a 17th-century French painting, and the Indiana legislature all have in common? They appear among the many bright stars on the mathematical horizon, or, um, in Math Horizons. Math Horizons, the undergraduate magazine started by the MAA in 1994, publishes articles to introduce students to the world of mathematics outside the classroom. Some of mathematics’ best expositors have written for MH over the years; here is an idiosyncratic tour of the first ten years of Horizons.
ID:
490
Year: 2017
Name: Deanna Haunsperger
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Does Your Vote Count?
Abstract: Are you frustrated that your candidate never wins? Does it seem like your vote doesn’t count? Maybe it doesn’t. Or at least not as much as the voting method with which you choose to tally the votes. Together we’ll take a glimpse into the important, interesting, paradoxical world of the mathematics behind tallying elections.
Year: 2017
Name: Deanna Haunsperger
Institution: Carleton College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Does Your Vote Count?
Abstract: Are you frustrated that your candidate never wins? Does it seem like your vote doesn’t count? Maybe it doesn’t. Or at least not as much as the voting method with which you choose to tally the votes. Together we’ll take a glimpse into the important, interesting, paradoxical world of the mathematics behind tallying elections.
ID:
562
Year: 2021
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): pedagogy, sports analytics
Title of Talk: Sports Analytics: Soccer -- An Honors Seminar Utilizing Cutting-Edge Technology for Course-Based Student Research
Abstract: In 2020, the speakers received a Moore Family Foundation grant to purchase 20 Catapult-brand GPS/accelerometer devices for use in student research. Subsequently, the speakers designed an honors seminar entitled Sports Analytics: Soccer to enable enrolled students to have a research experience with this new technology, studying aspects of “physical load” on the Central College women’s soccer team. This presentation will describe the structure of the course, the successes and challenges of the course, and what the future holds for this type of sports analytics undergraduate research at Central College.
Year: 2021
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): pedagogy, sports analytics
Title of Talk: Sports Analytics: Soccer -- An Honors Seminar Utilizing Cutting-Edge Technology for Course-Based Student Research
Abstract: In 2020, the speakers received a Moore Family Foundation grant to purchase 20 Catapult-brand GPS/accelerometer devices for use in student research. Subsequently, the speakers designed an honors seminar entitled Sports Analytics: Soccer to enable enrolled students to have a research experience with this new technology, studying aspects of “physical load” on the Central College women’s soccer team. This presentation will describe the structure of the course, the successes and challenges of the course, and what the future holds for this type of sports analytics undergraduate research at Central College.
ID:
315
Year: 2011
Name: Russell Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Algebra
Title of Talk: Baumslag-Solitar Groups and Their Representations
Abstract: The presenter will provide the audience with background on the Baumslag-Solitar groups and will share results from his search for simple representations of such groups. There will also be a discussion of the deformations of his simple representations and how this leads to determining the dimension of the representation variety and representation scheme at those simple representations.
Year: 2011
Name: Russell Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Algebra
Title of Talk: Baumslag-Solitar Groups and Their Representations
Abstract: The presenter will provide the audience with background on the Baumslag-Solitar groups and will share results from his search for simple representations of such groups. There will also be a discussion of the deformations of his simple representations and how this leads to determining the dimension of the representation variety and representation scheme at those simple representations.
ID:
93
Year: 2004
Name: Stephanie Kleven
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): graph theory or coding theory
Title of Talk: Perfect Codes on Odd Dimension Sierpinski Graphs
Abstract: Sierpinski graphs are built by an iterative construction from a complete graph on d vertices.
Year: 2004
Name: Stephanie Kleven
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): graph theory or coding theory
Title of Talk: Perfect Codes on Odd Dimension Sierpinski Graphs
Abstract: Sierpinski graphs are built by an iterative construction from a complete graph on d vertices.
ID:
94
Year: 2004
Name: Russell Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Calculus and Writing
Title of Talk: Using Letter-Writing to Enhance a Calculus Course
Abstract: In this talk, the presenter will describe the experience he is having with letter-writing in a first-semester calculus course. In particular, the presenter has his students write letters to family members, friends, or others in order to communicate what they are experiencing in their calculus class. The presenter will discuss his original goals for this activity, along with the procedural details he set forth. In addition, there will be examples of student letters along with a discussion of what the presenter might want to do differently the next time he runs this activity
Year: 2004
Name: Russell Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Calculus and Writing
Title of Talk: Using Letter-Writing to Enhance a Calculus Course
Abstract: In this talk, the presenter will describe the experience he is having with letter-writing in a first-semester calculus course. In particular, the presenter has his students write letters to family members, friends, or others in order to communicate what they are experiencing in their calculus class. The presenter will discuss his original goals for this activity, along with the procedural details he set forth. In addition, there will be examples of student letters along with a discussion of what the presenter might want to do differently the next time he runs this activity
ID:
95
Year: 2004
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Statistics
Title of Talk: Introduction to the statistical software Fathom
Abstract: This talk wiill give a brief introduction to how and why to use the Fathom software. If you are familiar with Geometer's Sketchpad, this produced by the same company and is similar in its ease of use
Year: 2004
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): Statistics
Title of Talk: Introduction to the statistical software Fathom
Abstract: This talk wiill give a brief introduction to how and why to use the Fathom software. If you are familiar with Geometer's Sketchpad, this produced by the same company and is similar in its ease of use
ID:
356
Year: 2013
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A tour of the new Iowa section web site
Abstract: I will give an overview of the content and structure of the new section web site including special emphasis on the tools portion and some of the pages related to the history of the section. I will also explain the process I took in coming to its current structure.
Year: 2013
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A tour of the new Iowa section web site
Abstract: I will give an overview of the content and structure of the new section web site including special emphasis on the tools portion and some of the pages related to the history of the section. I will also explain the process I took in coming to its current structure.
ID:
124
Year: 2005
Name: Erika Hartung
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Prince Rupert's Rectangles
Abstract: How would you like to win a bet? Could your skills in mathematics help you? Over 300 years ago this was the case for Prince Rupert. He won a wager that given two equal cubes, a hole can be cut in one that is large enough to pass the second through it. Since Prince Rupert
Year: 2005
Name: Erika Hartung
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Prince Rupert's Rectangles
Abstract: How would you like to win a bet? Could your skills in mathematics help you? Over 300 years ago this was the case for Prince Rupert. He won a wager that given two equal cubes, a hole can be cut in one that is large enough to pass the second through it. Since Prince Rupert
ID:
380
Year: 2014
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Planning a Course in Sports Analytics
Abstract: Sports analytics is becoming a popular topic of interest for many, but there are few mathematics courses that tap into this student interest. This presentation will offer the speaker's preliminary work in organizing a spring 2015 one-credit honors seminar in Sports Analytics. Comments, questions, critiques, and perspectives will be sought from the audience, as the planning for the course is ongoing.
Year: 2014
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Planning a Course in Sports Analytics
Abstract: Sports analytics is becoming a popular topic of interest for many, but there are few mathematics courses that tap into this student interest. This presentation will offer the speaker's preliminary work in organizing a spring 2015 one-credit honors seminar in Sports Analytics. Comments, questions, critiques, and perspectives will be sought from the audience, as the planning for the course is ongoing.
ID:
132
Year: 2005
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A tour of the new website for the IA section of the MAA
Abstract: This will be an overview of some of the new features that are available for members of the IA section of the MAA including looking at accessing the section database. Part of the talk will be particularly relevant for officers and liaisons.
Year: 2005
Name: Al Hibbard
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: A tour of the new website for the IA section of the MAA
Abstract: This will be an overview of some of the new features that are available for members of the IA section of the MAA including looking at accessing the section database. Part of the talk will be particularly relevant for officers and liaisons.
ID:
143
Year: 2006
Name: Mark Mills
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Using NASCAR to Illustrate Optimization
Abstract: Over the past several years, the authors have taken part in a Fantasy NASCAR league. For each race, we were required to
Year: 2006
Name: Mark Mills
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: Using NASCAR to Illustrate Optimization
Abstract: Over the past several years, the authors have taken part in a Fantasy NASCAR league. For each race, we were required to
ID:
411
Year: 2014
Name: Riley Burkart
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: History of the Iowa Section of the MAA
Abstract: The history of the Iowa Section stretches back to 1915, even predating the foundation of the Mathematical Association of America by a month. In this talk, the speaker will present his research on the history of the Iowa Section from its origin to the present, examining the trends and changes in the organization.
Year: 2014
Name: Riley Burkart
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: History of the Iowa Section of the MAA
Abstract: The history of the Iowa Section stretches back to 1915, even predating the foundation of the Mathematical Association of America by a month. In this talk, the speaker will present his research on the history of the Iowa Section from its origin to the present, examining the trends and changes in the organization.
ID:
163
Year: 2006
Name: Justin From
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: The Polynomial Root Squeezing Theorem
Abstract: Polynomials are one of the most widely used functions in mathematics, yet there are surprisingly many unanswered questions about their properties. This talk will present an innovative new idea referred to as the Polynomial Root Squeezing Theorem which shows that squeezing two of a polynomial
Year: 2006
Name: Justin From
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s):
Title of Talk: The Polynomial Root Squeezing Theorem
Abstract: Polynomials are one of the most widely used functions in mathematics, yet there are surprisingly many unanswered questions about their properties. This talk will present an innovative new idea referred to as the Polynomial Root Squeezing Theorem which shows that squeezing two of a polynomial
ID:
430
Year: 2015
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): analytics, statistics, data analysis
Title of Talk: Experiences Teaching a Sports Analytics Honors Seminar
Abstract: This talk will offer the presenter's experience designing and teaching an honors seminar on sports analytics. The seminar, offered in spring 2015, was designed for honors students in general and not necessarily for mathematics majors. The presenter will describe effective and not-so-effective aspects of the seminar, along with ideas for improving the seminar in the future. Feedback and input from the audience will be solicited.
Year: 2015
Name: Russ Goodman
Institution: Central College
Subject area(s): analytics, statistics, data analysis
Title of Talk: Experiences Teaching a Sports Analytics Honors Seminar
Abstract: This talk will offer the presenter's experience designing and teaching an honors seminar on sports analytics. The seminar, offered in spring 2015, was designed for honors students in general and not necessarily for mathematics majors. The presenter will describe effective and not-so-effective aspects of the seminar, along with ideas for improving the seminar in the future. Feedback and input from the audience will be solicited.