Invited Speakers

Section NExT Speaker

Jennifer Quinn, University of Washington Tacoma

Balancing Work/Life

Abstract: The classic battle of setting priorities. We will reflect on the current allocation (and ideal allocation) of our time among the following categories: Teaching, Research, Professional Development, Institutional Service, Professional Service, Personal Fulfillment, Personal Relations. We will then create strategies to realistically shift allocations from current to ideal.

Bio: Jennifer Quinn is a professor of mathematics at the University of Washington Tacoma. She earned her BA, MS, and PhD from Williams College, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin, respectively. She has taught in and chaired the mathematics department at Occidental College before moving to UW Tacoma where she has just completed serving as Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. She has held many positions of national leadership in mathematics including as Executive Director for the Association for Women in Mathematics, co-editor of Math Horizons, and, currently, Second Vice President of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). She received one of MAA’s 2007 Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching, the MAA’s 2006 Beckenbach Book award for Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof, co-authored with Arthur Benjamin. As a combinatorial scholar, Jenny thinks that beautiful proofs are as much art as science. Simplicity, elegance, and transparency should be the driving principles.

Meredith Greer, Bates College

Roller Coaster Math

Abstract: Amusement park roller coasters excite us, scare us, and capture our imagination. In this talk we use math and physics concepts such as vectors, parametric equations, curvature, energy, and gravity to consider the question: How do designers create rides that are exhilarating, yet physically safe? We examine both historical and modern coasters, including successes of technology… and a giant flop. Before we are done, we will see that mathematics is the key to balancing the constraints of human health with the goal of a thrilling ride.

Bio: Meredith Greer joined the Bates Mathematics Department in 2002 and currently serves as its chair. Her research in epidemiology and ecology includes projects on the dynamics of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak at Bates and effects of Gloeotrichia echinulata on lake eutrophication. She also likes to explore other applications of mathematics. Roller coasters were once merely entertainment, but then came the opportunity to combine coaster riding with mathematics. A new course, complete with field trip, was born.

Banquet Speaker

Catherine Roberts, College of the Holy Cross

Incorporating the Environment into Undergraduate Math Courses

Handout: Resources on Mathematics and the Environment

Abstract: It is more and more possible to thread environmental themes, issues, and content into your math courses. I'll share stories and ideas suitable for introductory topics courses and calculus courses. These changes have made my own teaching more meaningful, as students have engaged directly with their local surroundings and have been able to appreciate the need for quantitative and creative problem-solving in today's world.

Bio: Catherine Roberts is Professor and Chair of the Math/CS Department at the College of the Holy Cross. She went to Bowdoin as an undergraduate and has her PhD in Applied Math from Northwestern. She is also Editor in Chief of the journal Natural Resource Modeling. Catherine grew up on Cape Cod in Chatham and is married with two sons.

Christie Lecture

Hans Kaper, Mathematics and Climate Research Network

Mathematics and Climate: A New Partnership

Abstract: Climate is an emerging area of research in the mathematical sciences, part of a broader portfolio that addresses issues of complexity and sustainability. So far, the climate system has received relatively little attention in the mathematical sciences community, despite the fact that the stakes are high, decision makers have more questions than we can answer, and mathematical models and statistical arguments play a central role in assessment exercises. In this talk I will identify some problems of current interest in climate science and indicate how, as mathematicians, we can find inspiration for new applications.

Bio: Dr. Hans Kaper is an applied mathematician interested in the mathematics of physical systems. His research focuses on analytical and numerical methods for differential equations describing these systems. His current interest is in dynamical systems arising in climate science. Dr. Kaper is co-director of the "Mathematics and Climate Research Network" (www.mathclimate.org), an NSF-funded virtual organization to develop the mathematics needed to better understand the Earth's climate. He is the (co-)author of four books and more than 100 articles in refereed journals. His most recent book "Mathematics and Climate" (with Dr. Hans Engler) is in press and will be published by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) in October, 2013.

Dr. Kaper is a Corresponding Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), class of 2009. He currently serves as Chair of the SIAM Activity Group on Dynamical Systems and is a member of the SIAM Committee on Science Policy.

Dr. Kaper received his PhD in Mathematics and Physical Sciences from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. After a postdoctoral position at Stanford University he spent almost 40 years as a staff scientist at Argonne National Laboratory (1969-2008), where he was Director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division from 1988-1991. In 2001, Dr. Kaper joined the National Science Foundation, where he served as Program Director for Applied Mathematics and Computational Mathematics until 2008. Dr. Kaper is currently affiliated with Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Jennifer Quinn, University of Washington Tacoma

Mathematics to DIE for: The Battle Between Counting and Matching

Abstract: Positive sums count. Alternating sums match. So which is "easier" to consider mathematically? From the analysis of infinite series, we know that if a positive sum converges, then its alternating sum must also converge but the converse is not true. From linear algebra, we know that the permanent of an n × n matrix is usually hard to calculate, whereas its alternating sum, the determinant, can be computed efficiently and it has many nice theoretical properties. This talk is one part performance art and three parts combinatorics. The audience will judge a combinatorial competition between the competing techniques. Be prepared to explore a variety of positive and alternating sums involving binomial coefficients, Fibonacci numbers, and other beautiful combinatorial quantities. How are the terms in each sum concretely interpreted? What is being counted? What is being matched? Do alternating sums always give simpler results? You decide.

Bio: See above under Section NExT