In 1991, the MAA Board of Governors established Section Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching to recognize excellence in mathematics teaching at the post-secondary level. The Rocky Mountain Section Award is named in honor of Burton W. Jones, a lifelong advocate of excellence in teaching and strong supporter of the MAA. In addition to being recognized with a cerrtificate and a check, award recipients are invited to deliver the opening address at the next section meeting.
Criteria for the DTA award require more than effective teaching. Awardees are expected to be outstanding teachers who are widely recognized, within and beyond their own institution, for extraordinary success in teaching. Professor Jim Loats of the Metropolitan State College of Denver easily meets every measure of these criteria.
Jim has compiled a long list of accomplishments that set him apart as a mathematics educator. He served as the leader of the Rocky Mountain Teacher Education Collaborative Mathematics Team for five years, and as co-PI of a number of other grants aimed at improving mathematics education in our region. He has been a member of the MAA Committee on the Mathematical Preparation of Teachers, and given numerous presentations on teaching. Jim is also the co-author of Algebra Unplugged, first published in 1997 and now in its second printing, and has written a second book entitled Calculus for Cats. Both books provide entertaining introductions to important mathematical ideas by finding meaningful contexts for these concepts.
Above and beyond all this, Jim is an innovative teacher who continually revises his classes to make them less teacher-centered, and more focused on having students make sense of mathematics. He take risks in his teaching, and in turn encourages and supports risk-taking on the part of his students. Using a good set of problems as the foundation, Jim's goal is to create a mini-mathematical community in which students engage in the real process of doing mathematics: asking questions, making conjectures, proving results or finding counterexamples, and generalizing their findings.
A long time activist for reform in teacher preparation, Jim's commitment to employing in his own classroom the pedagogy that he preaches to others has positively impacted the mathematics learning experience for innumerable K _ 12 students throughout the region. His own students comment on the challenges they encounter in his classes, and go on to say that they are more competent and more confident about mathematics and their ability to teach it as a result of these challenges. Jim's support, good humor and patient are cited by his students as primary reasons for their success.
Jim's commitment to high quality mathematics teaching and learning, his dedication to his own students, his leadership, patience, sense of humor and empathetic ear have made him a role model for all of us in the Rocky Mountain Section. It is a distinct pleasure to recognize the excellence he has brought to mathematics education in our region with the 2001 Burton W. Jones Distinguished Teaching Award.
Colorado State University
Robert E. Gaines, vice provost for Faculty Affairs and faculty member of Colorado State University since 1967, died unexpectedly on 29 April 2001 at the age of 59. Prof. Gaines received his doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado in 1967 and joined the mathematics faculty at Colorado State University that same year. He served as a chair of the Department of Mathematics for over 20 years, and received the CSU Distinguished Service Award as outstanding department head in 1981. Rick Miranda, who became department chair in 1997, noted at that time that Bob Gaines was "very fair and concerned about all the faculty and how their work was going. He was great with students, too, and over the years strengthened an already solid undergraduate program. He left quite a solid legacy to the department." Prof. Gaines is survived by his wife, Martha Jean, and two daughters, both graduates of Colorado State. The Robert E. Gaines Memorial Fund has been established, in care of Bohlender Funeral Home, to benefit the Junior Impala Girls Basketball Program.
The Department of Mathematics has a new faculty member, Siye Wu, whose interests lie in topology and geometry. Last spring Professors Jerry Malitz, Jan Mycielski and Richard Roth retired.
We regret the recent passing of Professor Emeritus Wolfgang Thron on 21 August 2001 at the age of 83. He was born in Ribnitz, Germany in 1918, received his PhD in 1943 from Rice and joined the faculty of the University of Colorado in 1954. He retired in 1985. Among his areas of research were point set topology and complex variables.
University of Colorado, Denver
Tom Russell stepped down as department chair after 5 years of service. He is succeeded by former chair Rich Lundgren, who will serve a one-year term until an external chair is hired.
The department welcomes statistician Mark Fitzgerald who joined the faculty this fall.
Harvey Greenberg is the director of the newly formed Center for Computational Biology, based at CU-Denver. The Center is an interdisciplinary initiative designed to focus on research and teaching of bioinformatics and mathematical biology.
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Charlotte Murphy received the Distinguished Service Award from the college. Nancy Thompson, who retired in 00 - 01, was awarded emeritus status. Celestino Mendez is retiring at the end of the Fall 2001 term.
Jerry Shultz was promoted to full Professor. Steve Beaty was granted early tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Computer Science. Linda Sundbye was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences.
The Department welcomes two new computer science faculty: Jody Paul and Ilia Georgiev. Aaron Gordon in computer science is on sabbatical this year.
The Department sadly notes the deaths of three retired faculty during 2000 - 2001: Ernest Cisneros, Emeritus Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences; James Van Doren, Professor of Computer Science; Ronald Whittekin, Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Sciences.
The Department finished its third year of the approximately $1,000,000 grant "Making Connections" that introduces interdisciplinary math curriculum into 3rd - 5th grade classrooms in the Denver Public School System, and has entered an evaluation extension phase. Other grants include the evaluation extension of the RMTEC grant, a grant to evaluate the success of new techniques for educating high school teachers, a junior high math content project, Eisenhower workshops, and Title III grant money for various projects including expansion of the Mathematics Group Learning Program, evaluation and placement of students in the Computer Science program, and smart classroom conversion.
The Department welcomed two new faculty members this fall, John McArthur and Karla Oty. Both are graduates of CU - Boulder with several years experience at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Karla's background is in analysis; John's area is Applied Mathematics. Jim Louisell is on leave, teaching in the Department of Matheamtics at the University of Minnesota, during the 2001 - 2002 academic year.
The Department is looking forward to our return in Spring 2002 to a completely remodelled Physics/Math Building after a year in temporary quarter. Paul Chacon headed the remodel project for the department.
Each year, the section recognizes just of few of the longtime active members of the MAA who reside in our section. At the Spring 2001 Meeting Banquet, the following twenty-five year supporters of the MAA were recognized: Ed Adams, Bill Briggs, Steve Janke, Ann Klotz, John Paulson, Kenneth Rager, Nancy Thompson and John Watkins. Each received a certificate honoring their long-term commitment to the mission of the MAA. Other longtime supporters of the MAA celebrating a multiple-of-5 anniversary include Vern Backens (40 years), Louis Barrett (45 years), Edwin Crow (60 years), Forest Fisch (55 years), Donald McLaughlin (40 years), Robert Rice (60 years), George Simmons (40 years), Palmer Smith (45 years) and Patricia Tucker (45 years). Congratulations, all!
CCTM Report (Submitted by Jim Loats, Metro)
In late September, CCTM held its Fall Conference in Denver. Attendance was nearly 1300 people. We are considering two regional conferences in the summer, one in Pueblo and the other in Glenwood Springs. The Colorado Mathematics Teacher (CMT) is now being edited by Catherine Kelly <ckelly@brain.uccs.edu>, of UCCS. It is 36 pages of articles and great ideas. She is always on the lookout for articles of interest to readership; feel free to contact her with suggestions. For $15 you can receive the CMT by joining CCTM. Contact Patty Bell <prbell@psd.k12.co.us>. CSAP and its impact on schools, teachers and students continues to be an area of concern. The next Board meeting will be January 19 in southeast Denver. Anyone wanting more information about CCTM is encouraged to contact Jim Loats at 303-556-3109 or loatsj@mscd.edu.
With the approaching end of Bill Emerson's term of office as section governor, planning for the election of his successor has begun. The individual elected to this position will serve as our representative on the national Board of Governors for a three year term beginning 1 July 2002. The section nominating committee has assembled the following excellent slate of candidates for this position:
Patrick Enright, Arapahoe Community College
Tensia Soto-Johnson, University of Southern Colorado
Don Teets, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Candidates are now in the process of preparing their biographical statements.
Per the Association By-laws, the election will be conducted by the Executive Director of the Association via a mail vote. Ballots will be mailed to all members in early February 2002, due back to national by 15 March 2002. Until then, please join the Executive Committee in thanking Bill Emerson for his fine service as our section governor since 1999!
Nominees are now being sought for the position of 2003 - 2005 Section Chair. This individual will serve a one-year term as Chair Elect beginning April 2002, as well as a one-year term as Past Chair ending April 2006.
Nominees are also being sought for the position of 2002 - 2005 Secretary/Treasurer/Newsletter Editor.
Both elections will take place at the 2002 Spring Section Meeting in Laramie. For information about the responsibilities of either position, please contact the Section Secretary <jbarnett@uscolo.edu >.
To make a nomination, please contact the Nomination Committee Chair LuAnn Linton at Arapahoe Community College, llinton@arapahoe.edu, 303-797-5830.
About Our Logo
The logo for the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Association of America was created by Mark Petersen in response to the Student Logo Competition conducted in academic year 2000 - 2001. A graduate student in the Applied Mathematics Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder at that time, Mark created his entry using Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Word Art.
Mark says of his design:
"The mountain symbols were chosen because analysis is the foundation for all of mathematics. The equation eip + 1 = 0 must rank among the most beautiful formulas in mathematics. It connects the five most important constants of mathematics ith the three most important operations - addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. These five constants symbolize the four major branches of classical mathematics: arithmetic, represented by 0 and 1; algebra, by i; geometry, by p; and analysis, by e. (Quoted from Eli Maor's e, The Story of a Number). I chose to portray this equation as a train because rail has historically been the life blood of the American West, and trains are complimentary to any mountain scene."
Congratulations, Mark, on your successful entry, and thanks for the lovely new logo design!
Applications for Section Activities Grants are again being accepted to assist Section members fund projects in support of the Section Mission. Proposals may request up to $500 per project; matching funds are preferred, but not required.
The project director(s) must be a current member(s) of MAA, and the proposal must be clearly tied to one or more of the Rocky Mountain Section Mission Goals. A copy of these goals appears on the inside back cover of this newsletter.
Applications may be submitted at any time, but should be received by the Section Secretary no later than 31 January 2002 for review during the Spring semester. Application materials must include:
(a) Description of project (no more than one page);
(b) Statement of how project supports Section Goals (no more than one page);
(c) Estimated budget, including description of matching funds available, if any;
(d) Vitae of project director(s).
All applications will be reviewed by two non-officer members of the Section, with final funding decisions made by the Executive Committee on the basis of the reviewers' reports. Monies for projects funded in the Spring semester will be available to project director(s) no later than March 1. Upon completion of the project, the director(s) of the funded projects are required to file a brief report (no more than one page), and to present a project report at the next meeting of the Section.
In recent years, the section has been in the enviable position of funding annual meeting expenses through registration and vendor fees, supplemented by host institution contributions. Thus, athough the newsletter and other incidentals largley use up our annual subvention from national, we have been able to build up a reasonable cushion for emergencies and select program inititiatves. Additional funds are needed, however, to pursue other initiatives suggested by the membership, and to maintain support for existing initiatives such as student activities at section meetings.
The successful John Fauvel Memorial Conference, supported in part by the Section Activity Grant program, provides an excellent example of what can be done to support our section mission and goals with even a small amount of funding. A voluntary section dues contribution from you now can help build up funds in support of similar initiatives! To submit your dues, simply return the coupon below with a check for any amount you wish — every little bit will help, and all contributors will receive a letter acknowledging the contribution for their financial records.
MAA Rocky Mountain Section Voluntary Dues Contribution Form
Name _______________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________
__________________________________ _ ZIP______________
Please indicate in the space provided how you would like your dues to be used:
____________ Undergraduate Student Initiatives
____________ Graduate Student Initiatives
____________ Burton W. Jones DTA Fund
____________ Section Activity Grant Program
____________ Wherever needed most
____________ Other: ____________________________________
____________ TOTAL DUES PAID ($10 recommended)
Please make check payable to MAA Rocky Mountain Section and return to Janet Barnett, MAA Rocky Mountain Section Treasurer, Department of Mathematics and Physcis, University of Southern Colorado, 2200 Bonforte Boulevard, Pueblo, CO 81001-4901.
John Fauvel Memorial Conference
at Colorado College
Submitted by Mike Siddoway, Colorado College.
As the first high country aspens began to show their autumn colors in late September, mathematicians from across the region, across the country, and one from across the Atlantic converged on Colorado College to celebrate the achievement and influence of Prof. John Fauvel who passed away in May 2001 after a long struggle with liver disease. The Rocky Mountain MAA, The Colorado College Department of Mathematics, and the Colorado College Office of the Dean generously supported the conference.
Prof. Fauvel was among the most prominent historians of Mathematics in the world at the time of his death. He published many papers in the field and several books, including the best seller Let Newton Be! Most importantly, Prof. Fauvel helped edit several influential history of mathematics sourcebooks. Two of these publications, "Learn From the Masters!" and "History of Mathematics Reader", helped bring original sources into mathematics courses across North America.
Prof. Fauvel was very active in the MAA. His many talks at the national joint AMS/MAA meetings in History of Mathematics sessions have been among the most anticipated and well-attended presentations over the past ten years. He also spoke at several MAA Rocky Mountain Regional meetings, giving a contributed talk at Fort Lewis College in 1989 and an invited talk at Adams State College in 1999. He traveled throughout the west during each of his Colorado visits giving invited talks in Denver, Pueblo, Las Cruces, and Berkeley in 1999. While at UC - Berkeley, he continued his long-term researches into the life and work of Florian Cajori, an American pioneer in the study of mathematical history and one time professor at Colorado College.
While at Colorado College, Prof. Fauvel taught mathematical courses in the classics and history departments, as well as in the department of mathematics. He gave several public lectures that showcased his ability to make mathematics come alive for a non-academic audience. He was committed throughout his life to taking mathematics outside the academy and to weaving the subject's story into instruction at all levels.
The gathering took place on Saturday, September 22nd. A total of eleven talks were delivered, including presentations by special guests Robin Wilson of the Open University and Fred Rickey of the U.S. Military Academy. Half hour talks were presented by Janet Barnett (USC), George Heine (Bureau of Land Management), Harold Davenport (Mesa), Igor Szczyrba (UNC), Donald Teets (SDSMT), Steven Janke (Colorado College), Jane McDougall (Colorado College), and Deborah Arangno (USAFA). The conference attracted mathematicians from across Colorado, including representatives from Arapahoe Community College, CU - Boulder, and Fort Lewis College. The conference closed with a festive banquet at Trattoria DeAngelo's in downtown Colorado Springs which continued Prof. Fauvel's tradition of celebrating the people in mathematics, and set the stage for future collaborations among teacher-scholars in the Rocky Mountain region.
Plans are now under way for the 2002 Spring Section Meeting, to be held at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, April 12 - 13, and the program already looks splendid!
The meeting will be officially opened with an address by our 2001 Burton W. Jones Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient, Professor Jim Loats of the Metropolitan State College of Denver. A promoter of excellence in mathematics education at all levels, Jim will examine issues related to mathematics teaching and learning at the college level, as well as the professional development needs of K - 12 teachers. A long-time proponent of increased mathematics content knowledge for K - 12 teachers, Jim will also discuss the implications of currently available K -12 curricula which rely heavily on the teacher's content knowledge being deep and connected. In light of this heightened need for content-based professional development, Jim's opening address promises to sound the call to all college and university faculty to become more involved with teacher preparation in this time of curricular transition in the schools.
The program committee is also delighted to report that this year's Keynote Address will be delivered by MAA President-Elect, Dr. Ronald Graham. Chief Scientist Emeritus at AT&T Labs Research and a long time collaborator of Paul Erdös, Ron has played many roles within the MAA, ranging from a term as First Vice President in 1982_83 to service on various committees and editorial boards. He has been equally active in the AMS, where his service includes a term as President from 1993 - 1995. He is the winner of several awards, including the prestigious Pólya Prize in Combinatorics and the MAA Lester R. Ford Award and the MAA Carl Allendoerfer Award, both for expository writing. Ron has given invited talks at all sorts of meetings, including the International Congress of Mathematicians, and has served the MAA as a Hedrick Lecturer, a Pólya Lecturer, and a Presidents' Lecturer. Beyond this, Ron is an expert juggler and gymnast who has also mastered Ping-Pong (he is the former champion of Bell Labs), bowling (he has two perfect games under his belt) and Mandarin (he says he can pass himself off as Chinese in telephone conversations). We are indeed fortunate to secure such a splendid and multi-talented speaker on our program!
Preceding the program on Friday morning , Bill Emerson (MSCD) and Lou Talman (MSCD) will offer a workshop entitled Creating and Exporting Computer Animations to the Web. Participants will use Mathematica to develop animations that illustrate concepts from the undergraduate curriculum and learn to export these animations to the Web via QuickTime. A modest familiarity with Mathematica or other computer algebra system will be assumed. A minimal workshop fee, which can be paid with meeting registrations in the Spring, will be charged to help defray workshop costs.
Rounding out the scientific program will be talks contributed by intelligent, involved and inspirational people like you! Reports on projects, research announcements or anything you believe would be of interest to those in attendance are encouraged. Although talks on all topics mathematical are welcome, special sessions are being organized around the following themes:
Interesting Ideas in Number Theory and Geometry
Organized by Jane Arledge (Mesa) and Rob Tubbs (CU - Boulder)
In this session, we will share interesting tidbits of knowledge and explore connections in the broad areas of number theory and geometry. Talks should be addressed to general mathematics faculty.
Innovative Courses
Organized by Sylvia Hobart (University of Wyoming)
What courses do you teach that are not just the traditional curriculum? Let us know about them!
The Training of Teachers of Mathematics
Organized by Charles Funkhouser (University of Wyoming)
This session invites talks about K-12 teacher training — both the preparation of future teachers, and what the people teaching those future teachers should know.
History of Mathematics
Organized by Janet Barnett (University of Southern Colorado)
This session invites talks on how history can be used to teach mathematics in courses other than a history of mathematics course, as well as more general historical talks on any theme. Talks related to the life and work of Professor John Fauvel are particularly invited.
Student presentations are also especially encouraged! Registration for all students is free, and student speakers receive a complimentary one-year membership in the MAA. More information on student activities, and a special flyer for student recruitment purposes, will be included in the Spring Newsletter.
Textbook publishers and other vendors will also be displaying their wares at the meeting, with ample opportunity to browse provided. Please encourage book reps to contact Sylvia Hobart and take advantage of this captive audience!
MAA books will also be on display, with the opportunity to purchase books at discounts below membership prices! Not only does this save you money, but the section will receive a 10% "rebate" on all orders placed at the meeting.
A Speaker Response Form can be found on page 11 of this newsletter. Registration and hotel information will be mailed early in the Spring semester.
For more information about the meeting, or to make suggestions concerning the program, please contact Program Co-Chair Sylvia Hobart <sahobart@uwyo.edu>.
The deadline for submission of abstracts for the 2002 Spring Section Meeting is March 1, 2002.
Proposals received from students and MAA members after this date will be scheduled on a first-come, first-scheduled, space-available basis.
Proposals from non-members who are sponsored by MAA members must reach the program organizers by the deadline to be included in the program.
As in past years, the default talk length will be 20 minutes. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate requests for other talk lengths, as well as other scheduling preferences, within the constraints of the schedule.
For non-electronic submissions, please use the Speaker Response Form located on the following page. E-mail equivalents of this form are encouraged! Please be sure to include all requested information if using e-mail.
Topic suggestions for special sessions, panels and open discussions are also being accepted at this time. Please see page 9 of this newsletter for a description of special sessions currently proposed for the program.
If you are interested in organizing a special topic session, panel or open discussion — or if you know of a topic which would be of particular interest for the meeting — please contact Program Co - Chair Sylvia Hobart sahobart@uwyo.edu, 307 - 766 - 4159.
Speaker Name .
Affiliation .
Mailing Address .
Email Address Phone Number .
Faculty Sponsor* .
MAA Member Sponsor** .
Title of Talk: .
.
Abstract (100 words or less): .
.
.
.
.
.
Is this talk intended for any of the following special sessions?
Interesting Ideas in Number Theory and Geometry .
Innovative Courses .
Training of Teachers of Mathematics .
History of Mathematics .
Special Equipment Needs: .
Schedule Preference Request: .
Special Talk Length Request: .
PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM OR AN E-MAIL EQUIVALENT TO:
(Note: e-mail submissions are strongly preferred.)
Professor Sylvia Hobart
Department of Mathematics
University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming 82071-3036
sahobart@uwyo.edu
* For student speakers only ** For non-MAA members/non-students only
501 Chinese mathematician and astronomer Tsu Ch'ung Chi dies.
801 Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah Al-Kindi is born in Kufah, Iraq.
901 Al-Sabi Thabit ibn Qurra al-Harrani dies on February 18 in Baghdad.
1201 Nasir al-Din al-Tusi is born on February 18 in Tus, Khorasan (now Iran).
1401 Nicholas of Cusa, author of the Alfonsine Tables, is born in Kues, Trier (now Germany).
1501 Girolamo Cardano, author of Ars Magna and Liber de Ludo Aleae, is born in Pavia. Indian mathematician Nilakantha Somayaji writes his treatise Tantrasamgraha.
Summa author Luca Pacioli teaches at the University of Bologna during 1501-02.
1601 Pierre de Fermat is born on August 17 in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, France.
Florimond de Beaune, author of the first important introduction to Descartes' cartesian geometry, is born on October 7 in Blois, France.
Astronomer Tycho Brahe dies in Prague, Bohemia; Kepler assumes his post.
1701 Bernard Lamy publishes his Traité de perspective.
Leibniz submits Essai d'une nouvelle science des nombres to the Paris Academy;
this is his first publication in analytic geometry.
Machin uses an improved method to obtain 100 digits of p.
Jakob Hermann, a distant relative of Euler, becomes a member of the Berlin Scademy.
William Whiston is appointed assistant to Newton at Cambridge.
Luigi Guido Grandi discusses the conical loxodrome,
the curve that cuts the generators of a cone of revolution in a constant angle.
1801 Gauss publishes Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, computes the orbit of Ceres that
leads to it being rediscovered, and proves Fermat's conjecture that every
number can be written as the sum of three triangular numbers. (A slow year!)
Peter Barlow begins publishing mathematical articles in the Ladies Diary.
Lazare Carnot publishes De la correlation des figures de géométrie.
J. Fourier returns to France with the remains of Napoleon's expeditionary force.
Amédée Mannheim retires from teaching at Ecole Polytechnique at the age of 70.
1901 Russell discovers "Russell's paradox" in naive set theory.
Runge-Kutta method for numerically solving ordinary diff. equations is proposed.
Lebesgue formulates the theory of measure.
L. Dickson publishes Linear groups with an exposition of the Galois field theory.
Lazzerini calculates p by throwing needles (á la Buffon) 34080 times.
Earle Hedrick becomes an instructor in mathematics at Yale University.
Frobenius completely determines the characters of alternating groups.
Hermite dies on January 14 in Paris.
A. Erlang receives doctorate from Göttingen; Hilbert supervises hisdissertation.
* Historical details courtesy of St. Andrew's History website, http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history.
Western State College hosted the 2001 Annual Spring Section Meeting over the weekend of April 20 - 21. The 135 participants in attendance included 42 student registrants, plus a representative each from Tennessee and Texas!
The meeting was officially opened with a warm welcome from Jay Helman, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western State College. Barbara Bath, our 2000 Burton W. Jones Distinguished Teacher Award Recipient from Colorado School of Mines, then shared the story of her path from the National Institutes of Health to the Colorado School of Mines to the National Science Foundation. Her comments on opportunities avaialable at NSF, where she spent 2000 _ 2001 in the Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education Division, were especially encouraging.
Friday evening's banquet talk by Thomas Banchoff (Brown University) took us on another delightful tour … of an art exhibit in Providence! Images from his talk Surfaces Beyond the Third Dimension in Portugal can be accessed through http://www.math.brown.edu/faculty/banchoff.html by following the link labeled "He continues to work on a number of other projects" to the link "Recent Computer-Based Artwork". (It's worth a visit ... or two!) Also located on Prof. Banchoff's website are links to the courses we toured with him in his Saturday morning Keynote Address, Interactive Mathematics via the Internet, Across All Dimensions.
In addition to the three invited talks, 26 contributed paper talks were presented, including 9 by students. [See pages 14 - 15]. The program also included an NSF Grant Writing Workshop, conducted by Stuart Boersma of Central Washington University, and three panel discussions, one specifically for students. Other meeting features included the usual early morning Business Meeting [see pages 16 -17], a Department Chairs Luncheon hosted by Western's Department Chair Denis Hyams, a meeting of Department Liaisons, and an interactive technology poster session held in conjunction with the exhibits. Friday evening's reception, hosted by the Western Department of Mathematics, provided an ideal opportunity to catch up with colleagues from across the section. And, of course, no Rocky Mountain Section meeting is complete without some bad weather; although not many of us were prevented from reaching Gunnison, a few unplanned overnight stays on the way home were reported!
The Section wishes to thank the Western State Foundation Committee and Annette Fear of Harcourt College Publishers for their financial support of the meeting. Special thanks are also due to Denis Hyams, Western Mathematics Department Chair, for his support (financial and otherwise) of the meeting. Thanks also go out to the Western State College Department of Mathematics faculty for their hours of volunteer work and gracious hospitality throughout the meeting.
And, last but certainly not least, many (many!) thanks and hearty congratulations are due to Western Program Chair Heidi Keck for her incredible attention to detail in organizing such a superb conference experience ... thanks, Heidi!
Contributed Papers - 2001 Western State College Meeting
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Opportunities for students after graduation
Bill Briggs (UCD), Frank Duca (UCD), George Heine (BLM), Richard Roth (CU-Boulder)
Attracting New Math Majors
Bill Emerson (MSCD), Charlotte Murphy (MSCD), Jim Derr (USC), Ron Tubbs(CU-Boulder)
Resources and Ideas for Organizing a Math Tutorial Lab
Mary Sloan (Arapahoe), Shannon Schumann (UCD), Roxanne Byrne (UCD), Tammy Watkins (USC)
HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS SPECIAL SESSION
HAROLD DAVENPORT, Mesa State College
A Historical Sketch of the Classical Algebras in the 19th & 20th Century
JANET HEINE BARNETT, University of Southern Colorado
The Hyperbolic Functions in the 18th Century: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?
GEORGE W. HEINE, Bureau of Land Management
Mathematicians as Map Makers in the Age of Euler
RICHARD L. ROTH, University of Colorado at Boulder
Proving Lagrange's Theorem: Cauchy vs. Galois
IGOR SZCZYRBA, University of Northern Colorado
How History of Mathematics Can Be Used in Teaching Calculus and Its Applications
TECHNOLOGY PROJECT SPECIAL SESSION
ROXANNE M. BYRNE & SHANNON SCHUMMAN, University of Colorado at Denver
Mathematics Online Tutoring Program
ERICA JOHNSON, Arapahoe Community College
A Technology-Based Statistics lab Course
HARRY S. MILLS, Western State College of Colorado
Using Spreadsheets in Finite Mathematics
RALPH THOMAS, Eduscape
Teaching Interactive Mathematics on the Internet
TEACHER PREPARATION SPECIAL SESSION
HELEN GERRETSON, University of Northern Colorado
Hands-on Mathematics for Nurturing Science Literacy
JIM LOATS, Metropolitan State College of Denver
The draft MAA-CBMS report: "The Mathematics Education of Teachers" (MET)
JENNIFER LUEBECK, University of Northern Colorado
Defying Distance: Retention and Renewal of Rural K-12 Mathematics Teachers
BONNIE STEELE, University of Northern Colorado
A Comparison of GPA and Class Grade Predictor Variables:
Spatial Ability VS Field Dependence/Independence
GENERAL SESSIONS
BARBARA AAKER & MONICA STOUPA, Community College of Denver
Mathematics - the Musical: Using Multiple Intelligences in a Mathematics Classroom
CHARLIE ANDERSON,
Catalan-like Sequences in Unit Interval Graphs and Generating Trees
SHAHAR BONEH, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Another Probability Paradox and Its Related Insight
BILL BRIGGS, University of Colorado at Denver
Mathematics of Election 2000
GEORGE S. DONOVAN, Metro State College of Denver
Solving a Predator-Prey Problem (badly) Using Mathematica
JERRY DWYER, University of Tennessee
Mathematics Outreach - Why and How?
DON GILMORE, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Pendulum Motion in the Mathematics Classroom
ANDREW G. KECK, Western State College
Switching Behavior of Chemical Defense to Herbivory
HOWARD SHAW, Western State College (retired)
Proper Time in Relativity, and Hyperbolic Functions
DULASS SIEWERT, Black Hills State University
Biclique Covers and Partitions of Upset Tournaments
IGOR SZCZYRBA, University of Northern Colorado
On Some Linguistic, Notational and Educational Roots of
Misconceptions in Mathematics Education
LOUIS A. TALMAN, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Some (Almost) Rational Thoughts
WILLIAM F. TRENCH, Trinity University (San Antonio, TX - Emeritus)
Low Rank Structured Matrices
STUDENT PAPERS
EMILY BECKER, University of Denver
Cantor's Critics
RICCI BELDEN, Murray Fisher, Thela Morales, & Lee Pettijohn,
Mesa State College, Join the Club! Math Club Activities at Mesa State College
SAM CHAPMAN, University of Southern Colorado
Frequentist and Bayesian Statistical Inferences for a Bernoulli Situation
JENNY COWEL, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Which Finite Groups Can Be Realized as a Galois Group over theRational Numbers?
RICHARD HASENAUER, Mesa State College
Isoceles Triangles, Circles and Non-Archemedian Metrics
ELENA MCKEE, Western State College of Colorado
Using Gumm Method for Error-Detection
HEIDI NIEDRINGHAUS, University of Colorado—Denver
Non-Linear Models for Ozone Concentration in the Denver Metro Area
PAUL STUCKI, Western State College of Colorado
Projective Geometry: A Brief Introduction and Group Properties
JASON WAYMAN, Western State College of Colorado
Constructible Numbers
Section Chair John Brown (Western) called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. on 21 April 2001. The agenda was amended to include discussion of an academic journal and approved; minutes of the meeting for the preceding year were approved without amendment. Candidates for Chair-Elect were introduced by Nominating Committee Chair George Donovan (MSCD), and ballots were distributed.
The financial report was presented by Section Treasurer Janet Barnett (USC). In summary, we had $7329.78 in interest-bearing accounts on 7 April 2000 and $8195.30 in interest-bearing accounts on 19 April 2001; an additional $414 is currently on loan to Fort Lewis College as seed money for a summer short course. Of this total, $2995.61 is encumbered in some form, including an endowment of $1000 to support the annual Burton W. Jones DTA cash award. Barnett noted that the Western meeting is expected to break even, and that the annual section subsidy of approximately $700 from the National is expected by July 2001.
Brown reported on current issues under consideration by the Executive Committee Meeting. Despite the current healthy financial situation of the section, there appears to have been a significant membership decline in section membership from 2000 to 2001, the cause and extent of which will be investigated. Newsletter costs and the possibility of moving the newsletter to an electronic format will also be examined in the coming year. The website will continue to be maintained by Bill Briggs (UCD), who plans to update the site in the summer. The Section Activity Grant program has received no applications; possible reasons include lack of interest in and/or lack of awareness of the program. Applications will be solicited for at least one more year while the possibility of discontinuing the program is examined.
Section Governor Bill Emerson (MSCD) reported the following highlights from the national Board of Governors:
· The American Mathematical Competition will be receiving major funding from the AKAMAI Foundation.
· Mathfest 2001 will be August 2 - 4 in Madison, Wisconsin; the 2002 Joint Meetings will be January 6 _ 9 in San Diego.
· A decision to discontinue the Placement Exam program has been finalized. New programs supported by national include (1) Professional Development and Grant Writing Workshops (funded by a grant from the NSF); (2) dissemination of MAA Guidelines for Programs and Curriculum Reform documents; and (3) the Math Sciences Digital Library.
· Membership and finance appear to be stable at the national level. The membership data base is being moved back in-house after being out-serviced for several years.
Emerson also reminded members that recommendations concerning national committee membership are solicited from Section Governors on an annual basis; anyone interested in serving should contact him at emersonb@mscd.edu.
Various announcements were made by Brown, including dates and locations of upcoming regional and national meetings, the selection of Jim Loats (MSCD) as the 2001 Burton W. Jones Rocky Mountain Section Distinguished Teaching Award Recipient, the names of top scorers in the section in the AMC-12 Competition (Timothy Tsai, Cherry Creek HS) and the Putnam Competition (John Batchelder, CSU), the winner of the section logo competition (Mark Petersen, CU- Boulder), and contact information for upcoming professional development opportunities and recently released documents from the MAA.
Brown invited immediate past-president of the MAA Thomas Banchoff to make some remarks. Banchoff noted the importance of local participation to the Association, praised the contributions of the national staff (especially Tina Straley, Don Albers and Tom Rishel), and commented on the following current MAA programs: the Math Science Digital Library Project, MAA Online under the editorship of Fernando Gouvea, a recently funded Carnegie Foundation grant to evaluate new ways of assessing teaching and how we in the mathematics community present ourselves to the public, Math Awareness Month (co-sponsored by AMS and SIAM), and the upcoming 2001 International Mathematics Olympiad in Washington D.C. Banchoff concluded by encouraging the section membership to attend Mathfest 2001 in Madison.
Election business was concluded with the announcement that Jeff Berg (Arapahoe) had been elected to a two-year term as Vice-Chair. Brown thanked Barnett for her assistance with section business during his tenure as chair and introduced Lou Talman (MSCD) as incoming section chair. Meeting announcements concluded with a report by Dick Gibbs (Fort Lewis) on student competitions in the section during the 2000 _ 2001 academic year.
Charlotte Murphy (MSCD) led a brief discussion concerning the possible expansion of an academic journal produced by the MSCD Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as a service to the section membership at large. The journal is currently distributed in the local Denver area and includes research and expository articles on mathematics, as well as reports on teaching and service related activities, thereby providing Metro faculty with a venue for articles that may not be appropriate for other journals. Metro is interested in expanding the scope of the journal, tying it more closely to section activities, and making it (at least in part) a refereed effort. Murphy reported that department chairs at Friday's luncheon were receptive to the possibility of providing faculty with a regional venue for publication in the face of limited travel funds. One strategy suggested for doing this was to invite select speakers at section meetings to be "guest authors" of the journal. Comments concerning the journal expansion idea should be sent to Charlotte Murphy <murphyc@mscd.edu>, or journal editor George Donovan <donovang@mscd.edu>.
The Section moved to thank Western State College, Western mathematics faculty and students, and Program Chair Heidi Keck for their efforts in organizing and hosting the meeting. The meeting was adjourned by Brown at 8:55 a.m.
CUPM Curriculum Initiative Update
The Committee on the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics (CUPM) began a major curriculum initiative at Mathfest 1999. Since then, CUPM and their Subcommittee on Calculus Reform and the First Two Years (CRAFTY) has sponsored paper sessions, workshops, panels and focus groups to promote discussion of issues central to developing mathematics curricula for the coming decade.
A copy of the resulting discussion document Mathematics and the Mathematical Sciences in 2010: What Should Students Know? is located at http://www.maa.org/news/cupm_text.html. The document Toward a Working Draft Curriculum Guide, containing interim reports from four of CUPM's working groups (Communication; Ideas and Themes; Analytic Reasoning, Proof, Problem Solving; Recruitment and Retention of Majors), is located at http://www.maa.org/news/cupmint.htm. Other working groups are examining connections to other disciplines, assessment, and technology.
Comments on the interim reports and discussion document, or suggestions of successful existing practices, especially ones for which assessment data are available, can be sent to cupm-curric@maa.org , or as hard copy to Harriet Pollatsek, Chair of CUPM, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Mount Holyoke College.
Report on Mathematical Education of Teachers Released
Copies of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences report on The Mathematical Education of Teachers were sent to mathematics departments across the nation in September. The report attempts to distill the essence of current thinking on curriculum and policy issues and to apply these ideas to programs for the preparation of future teachers. The authors hope the report will motivate the mathematical community to get more involved with teacher preparation. A major theme of the report is that school mathematics has intellectual substance and depth, and that this should guide the efforts to reform teacher preparation programs.
The report is available in two formats. Part I only, published by the MAA, can be obtained free of charge from CBMS (1529 Eighteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, or send email to kolbe@math.georgetown.edu). The complete report (Parts I and II) was published by the American Mathematical Society. Both parts are also available online at http://www.maa.org/cbms/.
MAA Job Opening-Visiting Mathematicians
The MAA is seeking Visiting Mathematicians for one or both terms of academic year 2002-03. Areas of expertise that are of particular interest to the MAA are teacher preparation, public policy, public awareness, and on-line publishing. Contact Executive Director, Tina H. Straley, for more information at tstraley@maa.org.
MAA Awarded NSF Grant to Support Assessment
The MAA has been awarded a $499,928 Assessment of Student Achievement grant by the NSF for a three-year project entitled Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics. This new program is part of NSF's Education and Human Resources division, and this was the first round of proposals. The solicitation attracted 144 proposals, of which only 10 were funded. A second solicitation is now in process.
The objective of the project is to support faculty members and departments in efforts to assess student learning. Project products will include a workshop series, a volume of case studies and syntheses of case studies on assessment, and a web site for information about assessment. Bernard L. Madison (MAA Visiting Mathematician from the University of Arkansas) is the Project Director and principal author of the proposal.
As a part of the SAUM project, the MAA Notes volume Assessment Practices in Undergraduate Mathematics (editors Gold, Marion, and Keith) will be sent to every US mathematics department within the next few months. Additional case studies on assessment will be collected, and some in the original volume will be updated, to constitute a new volume for possible publication in the MAA Notes series.
SAUM is also developing a workshop series aimed at having 10 to 12 institutional teams working jointly on assessment efforts over two years. The first workshop is already scheduled and will be supported by the MAA PREP program, another NSF-funded activity. The workshop will begin with a two-day session following the Joint Mathematics Meetings at San Diego in January 2002 and end with a session at the close of the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore in January 2003. Support for travel, housing, and food is available. More information can be found at MAA Online under Professional Development (http://www.maa.org/pfdev/prep/prep.html).
Additionally, SAUM will be supporting travel for assessment experts to attend section meetings in order to lead discussions about assessment. The Section Program Committee is pursuing the possibility of having such a session at an upcoming Spring meetings, possibly Laramie. Watch for an update in the Spring Newsletter.
MAA Special Interest Groups: SIGMAAs
Since July 1999, MAA has sponsored Special Interest Groups known as SIGMAAs to provide MAA members who share common mathematical interests opportunities to organize and interact professionally.
To date, three special interest groups have been approved by the MAA Committee on SIGMAAs. These are the BIG SIGMAA, devoted to mathematics and mathematicians in Business, Industry, and Government, the SIGMAA on RUME, focusing on Research on Undergraduate Education, and the SIGMAA on Statistics Education. MAA has made the process of joining a SIGMAA an easy one; members will find a check box on their dues renewal form, and interested persons simply indicate their willingness to be a member and include the $10 SIGMAA dues with their MAA renewal.
Any group of MAA members may propose the creation of a new SIGMAA by submitting an application to the MAA Committee on SIGMAAs. Information on the application process, as well as links to the websites of the three existing SIGMAAs, is located at http://www.maa.org/sigmaa/sigmaa.html.
Odds and Endings
Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, 6 - 9 January 2002
NCTM National Meeting, Las Vegas, 22 - 24 April 2002
MAA Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Laramie, 12 - 13 April 2002
MAA Mathfest, Burlington, Vermont, 1 - 3 August 2002
CCTM Annual Meeting, Denver, 4 - 5 October 2002
AMATYC National Conference, Phoenix, 14 - 17 November 2002
Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore 15 - 18 January 2003
NCTM National Meeting, San Antonio, 9 - 12 April 2003
MAA Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, US Air Force Academy, April 2003
AMATYC National Conference, Salt Lake City, 13 - 16 November 2003
CCHE Faculty-to-Faculty Report, From Ron Loser (Adams State College)
Here is the latest draft Colorado Council on Higher Education statement on mathematics content requirements for general education in Colorado, as discussed at the October 2001 Faculty-to-Faculty Conference. (Editor's Note: Questions/comments can sent to Ron (reloser@adams.edu) or to jbarnett@uscolo.edu.)
The General Education requirement for Mathematics is for students to take at least 3 hours of Mathematics courses at the college level which meet the stated criteria (*). A college level mathematics course is one that has required prerequisites as least as high, and a standard of rigor at least as stringent, as the levels maintained by a typical college algebra course. The following are some examples of prototypical courses that would meet the requirement if taught by mathematics departments according to existing standard curricula; any course with one of these courses as a pre-requisite would also meet the criteria.
Liberal Arts Mathematics, College Algebra, Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus,
Survey of Calculus, Calculus I, II or III, Mathematics for Elementary Educators, Mathematics for Secondary Educators, Statistics (with an introduction to Probability), Finite Mathematics/Business Mathematics/Financial Mathematics
We are also trying to set standardized examination levels for post-secondary mathematics credit. We will likely adopt the following for AP, we are still seeking information for CLEP.
AB Calculus: Minimum grade of 4 for 1 semester credit
BC Calculus: Minimum grade of 3 for 1 semester credit (or 5 on the AB subscore)
Minimum grade of 4 for 2 semesters credit
Statistics: Minimum grade of 4 for one semester credit
(*) It is possible that a single 3-credit hour course could meet all but one of the stated criteria and be part of a sequence that taken in total would meet all requirements. In such a case, a student could get credit by completing the sequence. For example, a student would need at least 5 hours of a typical Mathematics for Elementary Educators sequence to fulfill the criteria.