Mathematics Awareness Week

Summaries of 1994 Activities

Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana - The mathematical sciences club held its first annual conference for area mathematics students. Activities included an address by keynote speaker Charles Sampson, a retired mathematician from Eli Lilly Corporation, a student poster display, and seven talks about mathematics by students.

Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey - Produced its first six-hour television science and technology marathon which aired on 27 April. The marathon covered a broad range of science and technology subjects from the earth's environment to the dark matter in the universe.

Boston University, Massachusetts - The Student Chapter of the Mathematical Association of America organized a talk entitled, "How Small is a Small Oscillation and What to Do When it Isn't" given by Professor Barry Granoff, followed by a pizza party. They also held a week-long mathematics exhibit with statistical data, pie-charts, and geometric shapes drawn with the Mathematica.

Broward Community College, Coconut Creek, Florida - Held a series of events including a mathematics contest in which 18 teams of four members each participated in three rounds of questions. Prizes were given in the form of gift certificates to the campus bookstore. To highlight the Mathematics and Medicine theme, three speakers from the medical field lectured on the connection between mathematics and each of their related specialties; respiratory therapy, radiology, and emergency medical service. Two workshops gave guidance on using the TI-82 graphics calculator. An open house in the mathematics lab was followed by a presentation on fractals given by Professor William Long. Also, Dr. Paul Nolting, an author and specialist on learning strategies and disabilities, gave a workshop on test taking and overcoming math anxiety.

Cedar Crest College, Allentown, Pennsylvania - Presented a MathConnDialogue session entitled, "MathConnTinuum: DinoSIZING to ComputeRIZING." MathConnDialogue enhances the teaching of mathematics by providing professional enrichment and growth as well as a forum for exchange of ideas among teachers. The Governor issued a proclamation designating Mathematics Awareness Week in Pennsylvania.

Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Held a week-long series of activities including lectures given by mathematics professors, a panel discussion on how mathematics is applied in medical education and the day-to-day practice of health professionals, student presentations of independent study projects, and a contest for the best creative project related to mathematics.

Hood College, Frederick, Maryland - Pi Mu Epsilon held its annual induction ceremony at which Jane Daniels of the National Science Foundation gave a talk on women in science and engineering. The student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America sponsored a campus talk by J. Kevin Colligan of the National Security Agency entitled, "Elementary Cryptography." The Least Squares Mathematics Club held a meeting at which it recognized outstanding students with special awards. And David Smith of Duke University addressed the science faculty about calculus reform and its place in the curriculum

Houston Community College, Texas - Hosted a colloquium at which Samuel Alpha, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas in Galveston, gave a talk related to the MAW 1994 theme, Mathematics and Medicine.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania - Held its third annual poster contest in which four mathematics classes participated. The faculty judged the posters, which were displayed along the halls of the mathematics classroom area.

Ohio State University, Lima, Ohio - The Mathematics Learning Center conducted a contest in which students competed at three levels according to their mathematical ability. During a five-day period, four problems were posted daily and solutions were due by the end of the day. Contest winners received gift certificates for the campus bookstore.

St. John's University, Jamaica, New York - Hosted its third annual Sonia Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day. The program featured three women panelists working in mathematical careers: Danielle Carr, a mathematician from the Courant Institute, NYU, spoke about the modeling of neurological processes; Doris G. White, a poultry and plant geneticist, discussed the use of mathematics in the field of genetics; and Clare A. Gnecco, a biostatistician with the Food and Drug Administration, spoke about the critical role of statistics in medical research. The Governor issued a proclamation designating Mathematics Awareness Week in New York.

Texas Tech University, Houston, Texas - Conducted a two-day symposium on Mathematics and Medicine. Dalton Tarwater wrote an article on the same subject which was published in the Texas Techsan, an alumni magazine with over 15,000 subscribers.

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona - The Student Actuary Club celebrated MAW with an exhibit and made materials available from the Society of Actuaries for the purpose of interesting students in the profession.

University of California, Berkeley, California - Held several events throughout the week including poster displays, a mathematics library exhibit, lectures, and seminars. Many of these activities were targeted at getting undergraduate students interested in mathematics, and to pursue and explore the wide range of careers, fields, and graduate school programs in the discipline.

University of Texas System, Center for High Performance Computing, Austin, Texas - Hosted the First World Congress on Computational Medicine, Public Health, and Biotechnology. A transdisciplinary group of researchers in medicine, public health, computer science, mathematics, and numerous other disciplines participated in the four-day series of lectures, seminars, and symposiums for the purposes of examining the grand challenge problems of the next decades.

William Paterson College of New Jersey, Wayne, New Jersey - Held a week-long series of talks given by faculty and students stressing the importance of mathematics in society. Some lectures were geared toward a general audience, describing various applications of mathematics, and other talks were for students studying mathematical problems arising in medicine. Alumni with mathematics degrees from industry, business, and academia were invited to share their work experiences.

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Created: January 7 1995 --- Last modified: Wed Mar 15 11:29:29 1995