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All the sessions below are free and open to the public, but we do take donations!
WAMC Info session
Presented by: Matt Cushman, Jay Tu, and Lucie Brodska
Information session for the parents. We will talk about WAMC workshops, seminars, and competitions that WAMC participates in. We will also answer questions which you may have about WAMC programs.
Sept 2, Tuesdays, 6-7 pm
Online Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87914723806?pwd=dHBkNDNWOHBpdmdkT2xLbFBWTDZJUT09
Introductory Problem Solving Workshop
Presented by: Joyce Gong and Aaron Cushman
New to math competitions and problem solving? Join our free relaxed problem solving workshop based on AMC 8 and MATHCOUNTS material. Suitable for middle school students. Enjoy pizza after the end of the class.
If this problem set is too hard, then you are not ready yet.
If this problem set is too easy, then consider our other classes.
Location: Brownson Hall BR-180, Manhattanville University
Time: Tuesdays, 5-5:50 pm
Sept 9 - Combinations and Permutations
Sept 16 - Stars and Bars
Sept 23 - Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion (PIE)
Sept 30 - Divisors and Modulo
Oct 7 - Modular Arithmetic
Oct 14
Oct 21
Oct 28
Recreational Math Seminar
Our main event, open to all levels. Presenters and topics vary from week to week.
Location: Brownson Hall BR-180, Manhattanville University
Time: Tuesdays 6-7:30 pm
Sept 9
Title: Order in the Sort
Speaker: Matt Cushman, PhD
Abstract: Sorting a list of numbers is one of the most important families of algorithms. Similarly, the notion of "partially ordered set" is a fundamental concept used all over in
mathematics. We will discuss both of these concepts, give some examples, and discuss an elementary open question which has been open since the 1960s.
Sept 16
Title: Expander Graphs
Speaker: Dr. Brooke Feigon
Abstract: Is there a way to build the electricity grid in NYC that will both prevent occasional breaks in wires from causing mass blackouts, and also minimize the number of wires you’re using? We’ll explore this problem through “expander graphs” and see how these graphs are related to number theory and the Ramanujan conjecture.
Bio: Dr Feigon is a Professor of Mathematics at CUNY. She received her PhD in Mathematics from UCLA.
Sept 23
Title: On The Art Gallery Problem
Speaker: Dr. Ajay Deshpande
Abstract: How many guards are required to guard the interior of an art gallery with n walls? The Art Gallery Problem is a classic problem in computational geometry. A number of variations of this problem have been studied. I will begin by introducing the classic art gallery theorem that provides an upper bound on the number of vertex guards required. Then I will focus on a specific variation called the point-guard problem of finding the minimum number of points so that guards located at these points cover the interior of the art gallery and discuss approximate algorithms to solve this problem.
Bio: Ajay Deshpande received his PhD from MIT and currently works at Google. Previously he worked at IBM Research.
Sept 30
Title: The Cryptography Behind Crypto
Speaker: Dr. Lisa Yin
Abstract: What is Bitcoin? How do you "mine" one? And how does it stay secure without a central authority? The answer lies in cryptography! This talk explores the mathematical tools that
power Bitcoin—hash functions, digital signatures, and proof-of-work. Join us to uncover the magic behind Bitcoin and other digital gold!
Bio: Dr. Lisa Yin received her PhD in applied mathematics from MIT. Specialized in the field of cryptography and information security, Lisa has made major contributions in analyzing
and breaking ciphers that are widely used in practice. Lisa is also passionate about sharing her love for mathematics with young mathletes. As a former parent coach for a middle school math team, she led the team to win the MATHCOUNTS state championship in Connecticut for three consecutive years.
Oct 7
Title: Simplicial complexes
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Blumberg
Abstract: This talk will introduce simplicial complexes, which are combinatorial models of spaces. Dr. Blumberg will explain how this description allows easy algorithmic solutions to questions like "how can we distinguish between a disk and a circle".
Bio: Andrew J. Blumberg is a professor of math and computer science at Columbia. He has been interested in the interactions between geometry and computers for many years.
Oct 14
Title: LEAN Mathematics
Speaker: Dr. Matt Cushman
Abstract: Artificial intelligence is in the news constantly today, with LLMs attracting a lot of attention. These models have many connections to mathematics, in fact their foundations as neural networks are mathematical. But, what if we could use them to actually do mathematics? This seems like it could be very promising, and in fact they’ve already made some minor contributions. Unfortunately, LLMs are also known to “hallucinate”, thinking that they’ve managed to solve problems that they haven’t, and can even sound pretty convincing about their purported solutions.
We will discuss a way out of this problem: using the computer itself to verify the proof. This also enables the AI to improve, as the computer can supervise and thus iterate on its own output. To provide examples, we will introduce a bit of Lean, which is one of the most popular languages to formalize mathematics.
Bio: Matt Cushman helps run the Westchester Area Math Circle. He has a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and worked in quantitative finance.
Oct 21
Oct 28
Intermediate Problem Solving Workshop
Presented by Chen Lei and Joseph Girotto,
Interested in improving your AMC 10/12 score? Join us for a free topic-based workshop covering algebra, geometry, combinatorics, and number theory. Our spring workshop will concentrate on AMC 10/12 level problems.
Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87914723806?pwd=dHBkNDNWOHBpdmdkT2xLbFBWTDZJUT09
Thursdays, 6-6:50 PM, Online
Sept 4: Geometry I: Pythagorean Theorem, Similar Triangles, Centers of a Triangle
Sept 11: Geometry II: Law of Cosines/Sines, Ceva's Theorem, Heron's Formula
Sept 18: Algebra I: Algebraic Manipulations, Polynomials, Vieta's Formula
Sept 25: Algebra II: Complex Numbers, Logarithms, Trigonometric Identities
Oct 2: Combinatorics I: Permutations, Combinations, Pascal's Triangle
Oct 9: Combinatorics II: Expected Value, Probability
Oct 16: Number Theory I: Divisibility Rules, Number/Sum of Factors, Modular Operations
Oct 23: Number Theory II: Chinese Remainder Theorem, Fermat's Little Theorem
Oct 30: Miscellaneous: Problem Solving + Test Taking
Advanced Problem Solving Workshop
Presented by: Ethan Shi, Henry Xue, and Srihaan Seelam
Comfortable with the majority of AMC 10/12 problems? Interested in team competitions? Come and train with us for more advanced team contests. We will use past GiM, CMIMC, Purple Comet, and ARML problems
Location: Brownson Hall BR-101, Manhattanville College
Time: Sundays, 3:00-4:30 pm
Sept 7 - MMATHS (individual rounds only)
Sept 14 - CMWMC
Sept 21 - HMMT
Sept 28 - MMATHS
Oct 5 - HMMT
Oct 12 - MMATHS
Oct 19 - HMMT
Oct 26 - MMATHS (in BR 108 or 116 whichever one is bigger)
Nov 2 - HMMT
Nov 9 - MMATHS
Math Contests
Math Contests
Upcoming competitions:
MOAA (middle school)
Oct 11, 2025 at Phillips Academy, MA
Signup is open
CMWMC (high school, girls and non-binary only)
Oct 25, 2025 at Carnegie Mellon, PA
Signup is open
AMC 10A/12A
Nov 5, 2025, 6-8 pm
Signup will open in September
HMMT (high school)
Nov 8, 2025 at Harvard, MA
Signup not open yet
AMC 10B/12B
Nov 13, 2025, 6-8 pm
Signup will open in September
MMATHS (high school)
Nov 15, 2025 at Yale, CT
Signup not open yet
PUMAC (high school)
unofficial date: Nov 22 2025 at Princeton, NJ
Signup not open yet
LMT (middle school)
likely early December at Lexington High School, MA
Signup not open yet
Other Contests?
If you think there are other contests we should be hosting or sending teams to, please let us know.
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