Winter 2010 Newsletter

From the Chair	A Call for Papers
The Governor's Corner	Hey Students!!
The Annual KYMAA Meeting	Kentucky Section NExT

From the Chair

I was able to attend the Section Officers' meeting while at the Joint Meetings in San Francisco recently. It is always good to hear and ask questions about national initiatives, as well as to have the opportunity to speak with other folks serving the MAA at the section level.

There were two items at this meeting on which I would like to briefly report. We heard quite a bit about the new electronic membership option now available. Members who choose this option receive electronic access to all three of the major journals the MAA publishes, as well as some archival access. In the coming months, e-membership will be made available to students, both undergraduate and graduate. This sounds like it will be a fabulous deal; I encourage you to steer your students toward it. Another focus of the meeting was recruitment of new members. Several brainstorming groups were formed, and a number of very nice suggestions came up in discussion. This is a topic I am sure the KYMAA Executive Committee will take up soon.

The planning for our annual Spring Meeting, to be held at the University of Kentucky on March 26-27, is going very well. Dora Ahmadi, Chair-Elect, has a wonderful slate of invited speakers and is anxiously awaiting your contributed talk submission so that she can assemble the rest of what is sure to be a dynamic program. Russell Brown, Site Coordinator, has been working diligently to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. Additionally, it is extremely exciting to hold our gathering jointly with the AMS Spring Southeastern Sectional Meeting. Those who register for both meetings will receive a discount. The weekend will hold an amazing and diverse array of opportunities for gathering and sharing mathematics. I strongly encourage you not only to come to Lexington in late March, but also to invite colleagues who may not have attended one of our meetings in a while, new colleagues who may be interested in Section NExT, and your students, as well. I hope to see you there!

The Governor's Corner

I have just returned from the Joint Meetings in San Francisco. While I enjoyed the conference activities, I confess to playing hooky one afternoon to walk around town and to hear the San Francisco Symphony perform Ravel.

The Board of Governors met on January 12, 2010, immediately before the Joint Meetings. Among the items reported was a major NSF grant to the MAA for a five-year project, "Characteristics of Successful Programs in College Calculus." MAA President David Bressoud wrote about this project in his column at MAA Online.

While finances continue to be a concern for the MAA, the report for 2009 included the encouraging news that our investments did much better in 2009 than in 2008. Also, the 2009 Mathfest appears to have made money, as a result of the record attendance. This has not been the case in the past, and it is a good omen. However, the operating budget for 2009 ran a significant deficit. In the short run this is not a problem, for the MAA's reserves are ample to meet needs. The 2010 operating budget also includes a deficit but only a small one. (Details are available in the "Members only" portion of MAA Online.)

Once again the MAA is offering a large slate of summer PREP workshops. In response to the current economic times, the PREP registration fees have been halved for 2010. There are several online workshops being offered. For the on-site workshops, some travel grants are available. These workshops are great experiences, and everyone should consider participating.

As you may have noticed, electronic memberships became available this fall. As of early January approximately 1600 MAA members had chosen an electronic membership, and more are expected once students begin to take advantage of this option.

The largest issue of the Governors' meeting was a review of the proposed revisions to the MAA bylaws. For over two hours, the Chair of the Task Force presented a carefully thought out proposal and answered questions on many details. Further revisions will take place in the next few months to reflect this discussion. The final proposal will come to the entire membership at a future business meeting (perhaps in January 2011).

The Annual KYMAA Meeting

Our 2010 KYMAA Annual Meeting is scheduled for March 26 - 27, 2010, at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. The American Mathematical Society Southeastern Section Spring Meeting will also be held at the University of Kentucky on March 27 - 28. These meetings should be outstanding and we strongly encourage you to join the fun. Perhaps you can give a talk, or just come and listen to what your fellow mathematicians are up to these days.

Professor Bruce Reznik will be a joint speaker at both meetings. The other invited addresses for the KYMAA Annual Meeting will be given by former MAA Secretary Martha Siegel of Towson University and the teaching award co-winners David Shannon of Transylvania University and Christine Shannon of Centre College.

More information is provided below, including a call for papers and information for students. Information to facilitate your attendance of the KYMAA meeting, including various forms for registration and talks and lodging information, can be found on our 2010 Annual Meeting and 2010 Meeting Program webpages. Complete program details will appear in the next newsletter on March 8, 2010. (For more information about the AMS Southeastern Section Meeting see their program page.) Please note the following important dates for the KYMAA Annual Meeting:

• February 26 : Deadline for submitting abstracts for talks at the meeting.
• March 8 : Publication date of meeting program on this website.
• MARCH 12 : Registration Deadline. You Must register by this date if you would like to join us for meals at the meeting since the caterer needs a headcount by this date. At the very least e-mail our section treasurer Molly Dunkum at molly.dunkum@wku.edu . Payment for meals should be in regular mail by this date.
• March 26 - 27 : a grand celebration of Kentucky mathematics at UK!

• Presentation Abstract Form
• Registration Form

• Presentation Abstract Form
• Registration Form

Finally, our schedule of hosts for future section meetings is:

March 25-26, 2011

Eastern Kentucky University

Please contact any officer of KYMAA if you would interested in hosting a future meeting; we're always on the look out for a good meeting site!

A Call for Papers

Excitement is in the air as we prepare for a celebration of mathematics! It is time to begin planning your talk for our 2010 Joint Meeting of the Kentucky Section of the MAA and the AMS Southeastern Section. The MAA portion of the meeting will take place March 26 and conclude on March 27. The AMS Southeastern Sectional meeting will begin on March 27 and will end March 28. The meeting will take place at the University of Kentucky. Faculty and students, both graduate and undergraduate, from across the state and beyond are encouraged to present a talk. Let us begin this new decade meeting with a record number of presentations from faculty and students! Whether you wish to present recent research, the solution to an interesting problem, or share some pedagogical insight, your submission is welcome. We are also always very glad to hear from undergraduates about work they have done in summer research projects, in competitions, or on honors projects. If you wish to organize a panel discussion, please let us know.

For both faculty and students, if you wish to make a presentation, fill out the Presentation Abstract Form and submit it by February 26. A copy of the form can be obtained here: Presentation Abstract Form (MS Word) or Presentation Abstract Form (PDF). In general, the time for individual presentations will be 15 minutes, including time for questions. Special presentations can be allocated more time if necessary. Please note any special needs and a time preference on the form, and please submit (e-mail strongly preferred) to:

Dora Ahmadi
Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics
Morehead State University
150 University Blvd.
Morehead, KY 403251

E-mail: d.ahmadi@moreheadstate.edu

Phone: 606-783-2930
Fax: 606-783-5002

Hey Students!

I hope your fall term went well. Seniors who are planning to go to graduate school are busy applying to graduate programs - and working hard to finish their undergraduate studies strong! If you will still be an undergraduate in the Fall Semester of 2010, then you should consider participating in a summer REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates). Check out http://www.maa.org/students/undergrad/research.html for more information. Faculty members can help you determine which REUs you would like best, and they can help you apply. Depending on the REU, the application deadline may be any time from the end of January through late March.

Don't forget the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and the Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM).  These are four day competitions that start at 8pm on Thursday, February 18 and end at 8pm on Monday, February 22. This competition is for three-student teams. Your institution may have more than one team, but a student may be on only one team and each team works on only one problem. More information is available from http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/. The registration deadline is 2pm on Thursday, February 18.

April is Mathematics Awareness Month. This year's theme is Mathematics and Sports. For information concerning activities and to download a poster, check out http://www.mathaware.org/. Encourage your mathematics and computer science clubs to organize activities during the month of April. You can also kick off the 2010 Mathematics Awareness Month celebration by organizing a trip to attend the Annual KYMAA Section Meeting, March 26 - 27, 2010 at the University of Kentucky.

The KYMAA Section Meeting is a great opportunity for students to give a talk to a friendly audience. Twenty-six of the papers presented at the 2009 meeting involved undergraduates. Start thinking about a presentation, discuss it with a professor at your institution and get ready. Here are some ideas: Discuss your team's work in the MCM or ICM. If there is a mathematics or computer science topic you would like to investigate, do the work, then share what you learned at the section meeting. This activity makes your resume more attractive.

When you register for the meeting, register for the Friday evening banquet, too. Meals for students will again be at a discounted price. Students who have attended the banquet in the past have truly enjoyed it. Don't miss it! I will be writing a newsletter to be included with the registration packet at the section meeting, and I need your help providing highlights of your activities. Please have one of your club members send a brief summary to m.dobranski@moreheadstate.edu. Your responses are highly appreciated.

If you have any questions about the information above, please feel free to contact me.

Kentucky Section NExT

The KYMAA is soliciting applications for the 2010 installment of the KYNExT program!

Modeled after the National Project NExT, the mission of the Kentucky Section NExT (New Experiences in Teaching), is to support soon-to-be, newly-minted, and recent-but-untenured Ph.D.s in the mathematical sciences (including all areas of mathematics, statistics, operations research, and mathematics education) in their role as mathematics faculty. In particular, the goal of KYNExT is to foster and enhance all aspects of an academic career: high-quality teaching and learning of mathematics, productive research and scholarship, and meaningful professional activities.

The KYNExT program will immediately precede the annual KYMAA spring meeting, beginning the evening before and ending just as the KYMAA meeting commences. This year's program includes inspiring presentations by award winning faculty from Kentucky and beyond, as well as panel discussions on discovering one's teaching style and on balancing responsibilities and activities beyond teaching.

To these ends, KYNExT seeks applications from any and all untenured mathematics faculty and mathematics graduate students who anticipate graduating with a Ph.D. by Fall 2011. KYNExT is intended to be a two-year program, so selection will favor applicants who are able to demonstrate a two-year commitment.

Please submit applications to Mike Dobranski at m.dobranski@moreheadstate.edu by Monday, March 1st. We anticipate that review of applications will be completed no later than March 12th. A complete application will include:

• A brief personal statement (two-page maximum, one-page preferred) describing your approach to teaching and learning mathematics, and what you expect to gain from participating in KYNExT.
• A short (one-page) vitae, which should include contact information, education and employment history, teaching experience, and research interests.
• A statement of support from your chair or dean indicating a willingness to:
  • Support or coordinate your release from teaching and other responsibilities on Friday, March 26, 2010 and Friday, March 25, 2011.
  • Pay for registration; Friday night lodging, if needed; and Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast and lunch, for the KYMAA Annual Meetings in Spring 2010 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and in Spring 2011 at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, estimated to be $100 to $150 per meeting for faculty staying overnight. Note that KYNExT funds will cover all costs of attending the KYNExT program itself, including Thursday night lodging, if needed; and breakfast and lunch on Friday, which is provided at the KYNExT meeting.