Math

Math Club

President: Jessica Gospe (Fall) and Brian Trautman (Spring)

Vice President: Les Miller
Secretary: Carlos Hernandez-Diaz
Treasurer: Crosby Beckman
Club Advisor: Professor Colin Starr
Contest Advisors: Professors Inga Johnson and Colin Starr

Club Meetings: 1:45-2:45 First Fridays in Collins 306.
Magazine Problem sessions: 1:45-3:45 Third Fridays in Collins 306.
Putnam Practice: 3:30-5:30 every Tuesday in Collins 306.

Here are detailed accounts in Professor Starr’s words:

***We have set meeting dates for the First Friday of each month at 1:45 in Collins 306. The third Friday of each month will be designated as a problem day; we will find problems in various math magazines and try to solve them and submit solution for publication under "Willamette University Math Club." (We were successful last year!)

***We have some potential speakers this semester; I will send you dates and times as these get set up.

***The Putnam Exam is Saturday, December 3. In case you are not familiar with it, the Putnam is a 12-question, 6-hour "competitive" math exam held every year. I put competitive in quotes because, while there are prizes for top scorers, it's mostly just for fun. And it is fun! The problems on the Putnam are among the most creative you will find anywhere. Putnam day is one of my favorite days of the year! Afterward, the math department buys dinner for participants so we can relax from the day's stresses. Please let me know if you would like to be on the team and/or the Putnam mailing list. Also, I will hold practice sessions Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30, starting today. (You do not have to come to the sessions to take the exam.)

*** The Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) is the first weekend in February. It begins midnight between Thursday and Friday and ends at 5 PM Monday. In between, a team of three students works on an open-ended, real-world problem like, for example, "design the most efficient parking lot," or "create an evacuation plan for Florida" (both of which appeared on previous MCM's), culminating a report on its findings. We are permitted two teams in the standard competition and may already have both, but there is also an "interdisciplinary" category if anyone else is interested. Talk to Professor Johnson about this event if you are interested for this year or next.

*** We plan to again have a Christmas/Holiday party with the white elephant gift exchange, etc. The tentative date is December 9, and the plan right now is to have it at my (Colin's) house.

*** We will also continue Math Movie Nights, including a trip to the theatre to see Proof when it comes out! Our other movies for the term include Fermat's Last Tango, The Right Stuff, and Primer. We have not set dates for these yet.

Webmaster’s note: The math club was initially organized by Professor Starr in the fall semester of 2003.

Member Kudos:

Math Club member, Jessica John, won first place in the Association of Women in Mathematics Essay Contest of 2003. Early in the fall of 2003, Jessica interviewed Professor Liz Stanhope and wrote her prize-winning essay based on the interview. The goal of the contest is to increase awareness of women's ongoing contributions to mathematics through the biographies of contemporary women mathematicians and statisticians in academic, government, and industrial careers. Jessica's essay can be seen in the 2003 AWM Essay Contest.

Math Club members John Boyer, Jeffrey Nickerson, and Craig Webster spent time and effort in February of 2004 challenging a problem for the Mathematical Contest in Modeling sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP). The problem was to determine whether or not fingerprints really are a reliable way to identify a person. The three students participated in this international competition as the very first team from Willamette and won a much deserved Honorable Mention. Contact Professor Johnson if you interested in entering the modeling contest.

Movie Night

Fourth Tuesday of each month in Collins 201 at 7:00 pm.

Movies seen so far include Sneakers, Enigma, Fermat's Last Tango, the NOVA’s Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, Donald in MathMagic Land, Infinity, Stand and Deliver, Pi, and a Beautiful Mind.

Field Trips: In the Fall of 2003, the club took a trip to OMSI.

Parties: See the photos of the 2003 Christmas party.