Meetings of the Math Club

In 2007-08, Math Club will meet on alternate (roughly speaking) Thursdays at 7:15 p.m. in SC 301. 

Students interested in mathematics are invited to attend the meetings.  You need not be a math major to attend.  Meetings are for networking with other students interested in mathematics and faculty members.  Meetings also provide an opportunity to learn a little bit about mathematical topics not necessarily covered in the math major curriculum.  

Coming up:

• DEADLINE to sign up for the Putnam competition:  MONDAY 8 OCTOBER -- send email to Dr. Higgins at Aparna.Higgins@notes.udayton.edu or sign up on the big Post-It sheet outside her office in SC-329-C.

• Thursday October 18, 2007:  Next meeting

Previously:

Thursday October 4, 2007:

About a dozen students, one alumna and three faculty members attended this meeting. 

• We distributed Math Horizons (Sept 07 issue) to each student present.  We have some more -- send email to Dr. Higgins if you want to get one.  We request that when the new issues show up, you bring these in and we will give these to students who haven't read them and you can have a new issue. 
• We distributed posters for Undergraduate Mathematics Day.  If you want a really cool poster of your own, send Dr. Higgins an email message.  Remember to sign up for Undergraduate Math Day -- registration is required, free, and open now. 
• Ruth Hinde (math alumna, 2005) spoke to us about volunteering immediately after graduation.  She is an Assistant Coordinator for the Marianist Volunteer Program, and can be reached at  rhinde@sm-usa.org.
• Professor Higgins talked about the Putnam Competition (Saturday 1 December 2007).  This is the handout she provided.  When applying for a job or for graduate schools, it is nice to be able to distinguish oneself from the many others who will be applying.  Showing a serious time and energy commitment to one's discipline beyond the mere requirements is a good way of doing so.  Giving a talk at a math conference (like Undergraduate math Day -- see two bullets above) is one such outlet, participating in the Putnam Competition is another. You must register to take the Putnam -- send Dr. Higgins email at Aparna.Higgins@notes.udayton.edu.     
• Professors Art Busch and Maher Qumsiyeh led us through a few competition-style problems to see how we might tackle them and to re-assure us that we don't need to have a lot of mathematics background to get far on several problems.  We just need to be willing to play with a few examples and gain some insight.     

Sunday September 23, 2007:

    Math Club Picnic, Orchardly Park, Oakwood. 

About fifteen students and eight faculty members (and some spouses and children) attended the Math Club Picnic.  It was a beautiful day.  In addition to good food and Cornhole and Frisbee games, we had a scare when an errant Frisbee almost knocked out Danielle Carleton while she was on the swings.  The picnic served to let faculty and students get to know each other a little more than does the classroom setting.

Thursday September 13, 2007:

        Erin Shafer, junior, internship at Wright Patterson Air Force Base

About twenty people attended the meeting. We worked on a couple fun math brainteasers while we socialized and ate pizza. Danielle Carleton (President) talked about some of our future events, such as the Math Club Picnic (Sunday September 23), and Undergraduate Mathematics Day (Saturday November 1). We also passed out a sign up sheet for those interested in participating in some volunteer tutoring. Erin Shafer spoke to us about her internship at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. She discussed how and when to apply, and what math courses helped her in her work. She also talked about her work in statistical analysis.

Thursday August 30, 2007:

        David Aaby, junior, REU at San Diego State University

About thirty people attended this first meeting.  We opened with a brainteaser, while folks got something to eat and drink -- pizza and pop, cake and candy.  David Aaby told us a little about Research Experiences for Undergraduates -- what they are, how and when to apply for them, and then described a little of the mathematical biology project he worked on at the San Diego State University.  He gave us a peek at category theory and phylogeny.  We are interested in hearing from you what you would like to see the Math Club do.   

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