Dear Michigan AMC Winners,

To celebrate your outstanding achievements, you, your parents, and your teachers are cordially invited to the MAA-Michigan Awards Ceremony in recognition of the AMC winners, with Dr. Gary McDonald, a former member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MathCounts Foundation, and currently a professor of Mathematics and Statistis at Oakland University. The ceremony will start with a short mathematical presentation by Dr. McDonald and followed by awards presentations.

Dr. McDonald will lead us to take a look at the MathCounts National Competition results over the past several decades and see if there are any noteworthy trends -- e.g., do the same states always appear at the top? How has Michigan done over time? Is Michigan getting better, worse, or staying about the same? What factors might explain significant differences between state results over time? Further, Dr. McDonald will bring a few math puzzles, we will "solve" them and then see what we can learn from them.

The ceremony will be held at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Oakland University, on Friday, September 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The event is supported by American Mathematics Competitions and sponsored by Oakland University, American Mathematical Society, Wolfram Research, and the Art of Problem Solving Foundation. Please refer to the program (in the green window on the right) for more details.

If you haven't done so, please email and tell me if you will be able to attend the awards ceremony. Siblings are welcome, but send me a note first please.

Remember to bring your cameras if you want to take pictures.