Winter 2013 Newsletter

From the Chair A Call for Papers
The Governor's Corner Hey Students!!
The Annual KYMAA Meeting Come to MathFest


From the Chair

The Joint Meetings in Boston were fantastic! Over 7,000 mathematicians from around the world came together to network and share their enjoyment for mathematics. It was full of excitement.

If you did not get to go to the Joint Meetings, I hope our Kentucky Section meeting is on your calendar. It too promises to be an amazing event. Our Chair-Elect, Duk Lee, our colleagues at Bellarmine University, especially Daylene Zielinski, and the executive committee, have been working hard to organize an excellent meeting. The program has an array of impressive speakers. What an opportunity! Begin talking to your fellow faculty members and your students and get them excited about participating. Make it a point to encourage folks that have never attended a KYMAA meeting to join us this year. Send your abstract well before the deadline; register early and get your first choice of hotel room.

Bellarmine University is the place to kick off your Math Awareness Month activities in 2012!

I look forward to seeing you March 30-31 at Bellarmine.

Dora Ahmadi at d.ahmadi@moreheadstate.edu
KYMAA Chair


The Governor's Corner

The MAA Board of Governors met at the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) in San Diego. The primary issue underlying all of the Board's discussions was the financial future of the MAA. MAA budgets of the past several years have run deficits - usually in the $200,000 range. While this is not an immediate crisis, deficit budgets at this level cannot continue for more than five or so more years. At MathFest a decision was made by the Board of Governors to invest to keep the MAA operating at the present level rather than reduce what the MAA does. Because of that decision, the proposed 2013 budget projects a large deficit - over $600,000. At the JMM the governors revisited and reaffirmed the decision to invest rather than cut back. Our hope is that the new investments will result in increased revenue - some in the very short term.

An important change that should occur in 2013 is that the MAA will bring back in-house customer service which had been outsourced. This will involve additional MAA staff, rehab of some facilities, and improvements to MAA's IT; but bringing customer service in-house is expected to result in a more than $200,000 per year savings. Some of those savings could begin to occur this year.

The IT improvements have been in progress for some time and should result in a website that is more attractive and will provide better member services such as membership renewal. Bringing customer service in-house is possible because of the IT upgrade.

The MAA will attempt to raise development money from non-members (corporations and organizations who value what the MAA does) as well as members. A focus of that attempt will be the 2015 MAA Centennial. To accomplish this goal, the MAA has hired a person to lead the fund raising efforts. The nature of such positions is that there should be a payoff in the short-term.

MAA books are a potential source of increased revenue. The quality of MAA books is recognized as excellent. Approximately 15 to 20 new MAA books are published in a year. New books are a large part of book revenue. (The other good source of book revenue is books that are used as textbooks, but the MAA has few textbooks.) To assist in the "new book" process, the MAA has hired an acquisitions editor to do some of the things that are now done by MAA member-volunteers. The governors hope that this will get books into print sooner. This position is likely not to result in a short-term payoff, however.

The expected 2013 deficit consists of about $250,000 of "baseline deficit" and about $350,000 of investment. The Board of Governors will monitor the results and react as needed to keep the MAA financially sound.

Memberships are, of course, also a source of revenue. At the moment there are over 300 possible membership categories. The Board approved reducing the number of categories to six for 2014: "member", a second "member" category that would include some additional benefits (for additional cost), a category for K - 12 teachers, a category for all full-time students, and a category for departments. There would be no change in department memberships. Not all the details are in place, but the "member" category, for example, is expected to cost $169 (an essentially revenue neutral amount) and include what are essentially the present benefits except that members would then have electronic access to all MAA journals but would have to subscribe separately for print issues (for a price that would essentially be "at cost").

It should be noted that more than 80% of MAA members are 50 years old or older. The MAA is not acquiring younger faculty. This is a situation that sections could help to address. Of the approximately 2200 new members of the MAA this year, 44 are from Kentucky, but 34 of those are NKU students.

The financial situation that the MAA is now facing is not unique to the MAA. Other professional organizations without strong revenue sources are in the same or worse shape. The next several years will be important in determining the MAA's future.

Chris Christensen at christensen@nku.edu

KYMAA Governor


The Annual KYMAA Meeting

Our 2012 KYMAA Annual Meeting is scheduled for March 30 - 31, 2012, at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. This meeting should be outstanding and we strongly encourage you to participate. Perhaps you and/or your students can give a talk, or just come and listen to what your mathematical colleagues from across the state are up to these days.

We are very excited to have the following three invited speakers:

Erik Demaine (MIT), Bob Devaney (Boston Univ.), and Christie Perry (Morehead State Univ.). You do not want to miss these awesome speakers!

Complete program details will appear in the next newsletter on March 12, 2012. There will also be links to the meeting program and presentation abstracts.

Please note the following important dates for the 2012 KYMAA Annual Meeting:

  • Friday, March 2 : Deadline for submitting abstracts for talks at the meeting.
  • Monday, March 12 : Publication date of meeting program on this website.
  • Friday, March 16: 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 Jeff Heath at jeffrey.heath@centre.edu. Payment for meals should be in the regular (snail)mail by this date.
  • March 30 - 31 : A grand celebration of Kentucky mathematics at Bellarmine!
  • Hotel Information: Deadlines for KYMAA discount rates vary and there are a limited number of rooms available in three different hotels, so please hurry to make reservations.

Meeting registration forms can be obtained via the following links:

For speakers, the rooms will have available PCs, laptop docks, ELMO document cameras and whiteboard or chalkboard. If you need something other than any of these, indicates so under "Equipment Needs" on the abstract form. In general, the time for individual presentations will be 15 minutes, including time for questions. Special presentations can be allocated more time if necessary.

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

March 29-30, 2013 Transylvania University in Lexington
March 28-29, 2014 Murray State University

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

Links to abstracts, programs, and a map can be found at KYMAA meetings

Complete program details will appear in the next newsletter on March 12, 2012. There will also be links there to the meeting program and presentation abstracts.

Lodging

  • There is a block of 15 non-smoking rooms with two double beds at the Red Roof Inn (502-456-2993) at Newburg Road exit off of the Watterson (I-264) for $55.99 plus tax for Friday night, March 30th. This price is good through March 14th, then the price goes up to at least $69.99 plus tax. Say you're part of "KYMAA at Bellarmine" to get the group rate.
  • There is a block of 30 non-smoking rooms in a variety of bed arrangements at the Best Western (502-456-4411) at Newburg Road exit off of the Watterson (I-264) for $82 plus tax for Friday night, March 30th. These rooms include a continental breakfast on Saturday morning. This price is good through March 10th, then the price goes up to at least $109 plus tax. Say you're part of "KYMAA at Bellarmine" to get the group rate.
  • There is a block of 20 non-smoking rooms in a variety of bed arrangements at the La Quinta Inn (502-368-0007) at Preston Highway exit off of the Watterson (I-264) for $85 plus tax for Friday night, March 30th. These rooms include a continental breakfast on Saturday morning. This price is good through February 29th, then the price goes up to at least $115 plus tax. Say you're part of "KYMAA at Bellarmine" to get the group rate.

  • BOOK YOUR ROOMS EARLY. There are several events in Louisville the weekend of our conference.

  • Directions: Click for a map → MAP (pdf)


    A Call for Papers

    The deadline for submitting abstracts is passed.

    Click here to see the abstracts and a schedule of events:

    • Abstracts of Talks(PDF)

    • Programks(PDF)

      Excitement is in the air as we prepare for a celebration of mathematics! It is time to begin planning your talk for our 2012 Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Section of the Mathematical Association of America. The meeting will begin March 30 and conclude on March 31 at Bellarmine University in Louisville. Faculty and students, both graduate and undergraduate, from across the state and beyond are encouraged to present a talk. We look forward to 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, 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 March 2. 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. For speakers, the rooms will have available PCs, laptop docks, ELMO document cameras and whiteboard or chalkboard. If you need something other than any of these, indicates so under "Equipment Needs" on the abstract form.

      Please note any special needs and a time preference on the form, and please submit (e-mail strongly preferred) to:

      Duk Lee

      E-mail: duk.lee@asbury.edu

      Phone: 859-858-3511 ext. 2235


      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 2012, 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.

      April is Mathematics Awareness Month. This year's theme is "Mathematics, Statistics, and the Data Deluge". 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 2012 Mathematics Awareness Month celebration by organizing a trip to attend the Annual KYMAA Section Meeting, March 30-31, 2012 at Bellarmine University. The KYMAA Section Meeting is a great opportunity for students to give a talk to a friendly audience. Twenty-one of the papers presented at the 2010 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.


      Mike Dobranski, KYMAA Student Chapters Coordinator


      Come to MathFest this August

      MathFest is the annual national summer meeting of the MAA. This August it returns to Madison's Monona Terrace Convention Center, the beautiful facility designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Those who attended the fabulous 2008 MathFest there will want to come back, and those who didn't, -- DON'T MISS IT THIS TIME!. Click below for more information.