The Mathematical Association of America Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section

On April 11 and 12, 2003, Norfolk State University hosted the Spring 2003 MD-DC-VA Regional Meeting of the MAA.

• The Friday night banquet featured a panel on the Education of and Career Opportunities for "Nontraditional" Mathematics Majors

  Organizers: Stephanie Cawthorne & Elsa Schaefer, Marymount University

  Abstract: This panel, sponsored by the MA-VA-DC section Project NExT, explores the needs of and opportunities for "nontraditional" mathematics majors. "Nontraditional" major is a label the MER has been using to describe an undergraduate mathematics major who does not plan to teach or to attend graduate school. The panel will discuss specific career opportunities for these "nontraditional" majors in the MD-VA-DC area. Furthermore, it will consider curricular needs to support these majors. Finally, the panel will consider whether attracting "nontraditional" majors might be a way to increase the number of mathematics majors colleges and universities graduate.

• On Saturday, Dr. Ranjan Roy of Beloit College in Beloit, WI gave the invited address The Binomial and Other Infinite Series: A Historical Perspective and Dr. Edward Burger of Williams College in Williamstown, MA discussed How to Always Win at Limbo or You can sum some of the series some of the time, and some of the series none of the time... but can you sum some of the series ALL of the time?

Invited Addresses

Ranjan Roy

Invited Address: The Binomial and Other Infinite Series: A Historical Perspective

Abstract: The binomial expansion for a rational exponent was discovered but not proved by Newton in 1664. Euler, Gauss, Cauchy, Abel, Dirichlet, Weierstrass and others contributed important ideas which eventually led to a complete proof in the nineteenth century. In this talk, I will discuss the historical development of the binomial theorem and the series expansions of the trig functions, giving multiple proofs.

Biographical Sketch: Ranjan Roy is a recipient of the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo National Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching. Professor Roy earned his B.S. in 1967 and M.S. in 1969 from the Indian Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in 1973 at SUNY at Stony Brook. Since 1982, Professor Roy has worked at Beloit College in Wisconsin. Research interests: Published papers in Fuchsian groups, fluid mechanics, meromorphic functions, differential equations, special functions and history of mathematics. Authored Special Functions (Camb. Univ. Press, 1999) in collaboration with George Andrews and Richard Askey.

Edward Burger

Invited Address: How to Always Win at Limbo or You can sum some of the series some of the time, and some of the series none of the time... but can you sum some of the series ALL of the time?

Abstract: Have you ever gone out with someone for a while and asked yourself: "How close are we?" This presentation will answer that question by answering: What does it mean for two things to be close to one another? We'll take a strange look infinite series, dare to mention a calculus student's fantasy, and momentarily consider trancendental meditation. In fact, we'll even attempt to build some very exotic series that can be used if you ever have to flee the country in a hurry: we'll either succeed or fail... you'll have to come to the talk to find out. Will you be at the edge of your seats? Perhaps; but if not, then you'll probably fall asleep and either way, after the talk, you'll feel refreshed. No matter what, you'll learn a sneaky way to always win at Limbo.

Biographical Sketch: Edward Burger is a professor of mathematics at Williams College. His research interests are in diophantine analysis and the geometry of numbers. He is the author of over 25 research articles and two books - The Heart of Mathematics: An invitation to effective thinking (winner of a 2001 Robert W. Hamilton Book Award), and Exploring the Number Jungle: A journey into diophantine analysis (published by the AMS).

Burger is known for his entertaining, energetic, and enlightening presentations. He has lectured at numerous conferences and universities around the world. His over 175 lectures include several AMS-MAA Invited Addresses at winter and summer national meetings; keynote addresses at national NCTM Conferences; and many MAA sectional meetings. He has also made numerous appearances on radio and television including various NPR affiliates and NBC-TV.

Burger was awarded the 2000 Northeastern Section of the MAA Award for Distinguished Teaching and 2001 MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo National Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. He was the 2001 Genevieve W. Gore Distinguished Resident at Westminster College and the 2001 Cecil and Ida Green Honors Professor at Texas Christian University. He was also an Ulam Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Burger is a member of the AMS Committee on Committees; was the chair of the Program Committee for the MAA Mathfest 2001; and is an associate editor of the American Mathematical Monthly and is the 2001-2003 MAA Polya Lecturer.