Mathematics Summer News Wrap Up
Published: September 2, 2024.
The summer weeks added many activities and honors for the º£½ÇÉçÇø Mathematics faculty and students.
Amanda Harsy, Michael Smith, and Chris Wielgos publish book chapters in 'Teaching Mathematics Through Cross-Curricular Projects'
Mathematics professors Dr. Amanda Harsy and Michael Smith, as well as English and Film Studies professor Dr. Chris Wielgos, published several chapters in a recently published book, .
It is a part of the American Mathematical Society/Mathematical Association of America Classroom Materials. This book offers engaging cross-curricular modules to supplement various pure math courses.
Harsy, Smith, and Wielgos wrote chapters in this book highlighting innovative projects used in º£½ÇÉçÇø classes. Harsy and Smith wrote a chapter, “Get in the Game with Linear Algebra,” outlining a sports analytics lab used in Linear Algebra. Harsy and Wielgos’ chapter “Solving with Sherlock” outlines two projects that meld detective film and literature with mathematical deductive reasoning used in the Interdisciplinary Seminar course Solving with Sherlock. Finally, Harsy contributed a third chapter, “Graph Theoretical Modeling of tile-based DNA Self-assembly,” with Leyda Almodovar Velazquez (Stonehill College), Cory Johnson (CSU San Bernardino), and Jessica Sorrells (Converse University) about projects related to mathematics, biology and nanotechnology.
Drs. Harsy, Schultze, Stephenson, and Sulyok Run Summer@ICERM Research Experience
Mathematics faculty Drs. Amanda Harsy, Adam Schultze, Brittany Stephenson, and Cara Sulyok managed the at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) at Brown University.
The theme of the eight-week program was “Mathematical Models to Predict, Prepare, and Prevent.” Five student research teams worked on projects involving mathematical modeling applied to epidemiology and sports analytics. Eighteen undergraduate students and four graduate teaching assistants from institutions across the United States worked collaboratively with the Lewis professors.
Mathematics Students Win Honors at National Mathematics Conference
Eight students mentored by Lewis Mathematics faculty presented their research in August at , the second-largest annual mathematics conference in the world, and the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in Indianapolis.
Mathematics major Zachary Campbell won the Janet L. Andersen Award for Undergraduate Research in Mathematical or Computational Biology and was awarded one of ²Ñ²¹³Ù³ó¹ó±ð²õ³Ù’s Outstanding Poster Awards. Sulyok mentored Campbell on his presentation, "Mathematically Modeling Recurrent C. difficile Infections in Long-Term Care Facilities.”
Stephenson and Sulyok co-advised mathematics majors Chuckie Gentile and Mackenzie Welsh and data science and computer science double major Nuvia Hernandez, who presented “Development of Agent-Based Models for Evaluation of Precision Nutrition Interventions through a Socioeconomic Lens.”
Mathematics majors Philiffe Tebalan and Evan Burns, who Harsy mentored, also presented their work, “Graph Theoretical Modeling of Self-Assembling DNA of the Double Cone Graph.”
Harsy also mentored Kaitlyn Buck, a mathematics major from the University of Texas at Austin, and Rawdah Abdullah, a Dominican University mathematics major.
Buck’s poster presentation, “Multi-Dimensional Graphs Modeling Self-Assembling DNA Nanostructures” was honored with one of ²Ñ²¹³Ù³ó´Ú±ð²õ³Ù’s Outstanding Poster Awards. Abdullah’s presentation, “Optimal Tile-Based Self-Assembly of DNA Using Graph Theory,” was funded by the .
Mathematics Faculty Present at National Mathematics Conference
Mathematics faculty Amanda Harsy, Marie Meyer, Brittany Stephenson, and Cara Sulyok presented at Mathfest, the second largest annual mathematics conference in the world, and the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America in Indianapolis this August.
Sulyok and Stephenson gave an invited presentation, “Agent-based Modeling of Environmental Disease Transmission in a Multi-Ward Hospital.”
Harsy presented at the MAA Project NExT pre-conference workshop “Supporting Students In and Out of the Classroom” and at the invited paper session organized by the editors of a recently published book, Teaching Mathematics Through Cross-Curricular Projects. Her talk, “Get in the Game with Linear Algebra,” highlighted her chapter with Micheal Smith, which had the same title.
Additionally, as part of her role as the Chair of the Math and Sports Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America, Harsy organized the business meeting and the Math and Sports Paper Session.
Finally, Marie Meyer organized and ran a two-day mini course, “Teaching Mathematics with Games.”
Harsy and Smith Publish Paper and Present at the SIAM Conference on Applied Linear Algebra in Paris
Harsy and Smith recently published a paper, “,” in the ±Ê¸é±õ²Ñ±«³§ special issue, “Teaching Linear Algebra: an International Perspective.” This paper highlights º£½ÇÉçÇø’s innovative application and project-based approach to teaching linear algebra.
Smith and Harsy also presented “Teaching Linear Algebra with Applications” at the invited paper session, “Linear Algebra Education for the Modern World,” of the in Paris, France.
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