Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, January 6-9

Contact: Mike Breen or Annette Emerson
AMS Public Awareness Officers
Email: paoffice@ams.org
Telephone: 401-455-4000
Fax: 401-331-3842

December 21, 2001

Providence, RI: The annual meetings of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and Mathematical Association of America (MAA) will take place at the San Diego Convention Center, January 6-9. Nearly 4,000 mathematicians in all specialties of mathematics are expected to attend. Researchers will present approximately 1400 papers from all areas of mathematics.

Highlights of the Meetings include talks by: James Schatz of the National Security Agency; Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry; AMS retiring President Felix Browder; and MAA retiring President Banchoff; and presentations by faculty at the University of California, San Diego, San Diego State University, and the University of San Diego.

Topics range from mathematics education, to applications of mathematics in biology, medicine and the environment, to using sports to teach mathematics, to the mathematics of encryption used on the Internet.

Also, the AMS Public Awareness Office will sponsor Who Wants To Be A Mathematician , a contest featuring 10 San Diego high school students competing for the $2000 Grand Prize, Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2, Upper Level of the San Diego Convention Center.

Talks of Special Interest

Mathematics at the National Security Agency. James R. Schatz, National Security Agency. Tuesday January 8, 4:20 p.m. - 5:10 p.m. Encryption is an essential part of security and mathematics is essential to encryption. The head of the NSA’s mathematical research group, Dr. James Schatz, will describe the range of mathematical work that goes on at the NSA, the mathematical culture inside the Agency, and the excitement of the problems that the Agency works on.

Random multifractals, negative dimensions and infinite moments. Benoit Mandelbrot, Yale University, fractal@watson.ibm.com. Monday January 7, 11:40 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Professor Mandelbrot is considered to be the father of fractal geometry, which is an area of mathematics that involves some of the most beautiful graphics and most appealing research. Mandelbrot’s talk is part of the two-day AMS Special Session Fractal Geometry and Applications: A Jubilee of Benoit Mandelbrot, which will take place in the morning and afternoon both Sunday and Monday. See fractal pictures at http://www.icd.com/tsd/fractals/fractals.htm.

Reflections on the future of mathematics. AMS Retiring Presidential Address by Felix Browder, Rutgers University. Sunday January 6, 10:05 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. Browder, a Presidential National Science Award laureate in 1999, will describe future patterns in mathematics while reflecting on celebrated past efforts to describe mathematical trends.

The Down Side of the Trapezoid: An Immediate Past President surveys the Internet. MAA Retiring Presidential Address by Thomas Banchoff, Brown University. Wednesday January 9, 10:05 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. Banchoff will survey some of the developments in Internet technology and will feature interactive computer-generated illustrations from virtual art galleries for surfaces beyond the third dimension. Some illustrations are at http://alem3d.obidos.org/en/.

Using polynomials to gain insight into the design of cryptosystems. Susan Landau, Sun Microsystems, Inc., susan.landau@sun.com. Landau will speak on the design of modern cryptosystems and how polynomials are used, for example in the new Advanced Encryption Standard.

Making light of mathematics. AMS Josiah Willard Gibbs Lecture by Michael V. Berry, Bristol University. Open to the General Public, Sunday January 6, 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. The Gibbs lecture is for a scientifically literate, but not necessarily mathematically advanced, audience. Berry, an extremely entertaining lecturer, will speak on phenomena in classical optics and quantum mechanics which can be regarded as embodiments of mathematics not previously considered relevant to this area of physics.

How the world sees mathematicians. Organizer: Allyn Jackson, AMS axj@ams.org ; Panelists: Dave Bayer, Columbia University, K. C. Cole, Los Angeles Times, Keith J. Devlin, Stanford University. Bayer was the mathematical advisor on the film A Beautiful Mind and served as Russell Crowe’s hand double. Cole is a science reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the author of the recent book The Universe and the Teacup: The mathematics of truth and beauty. Devlin is mathematics correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition whose most recent book is The Math Gene.

Also of interest:

Highway relativity. Bryan Dawson, bdawson@uu.edu, and Troy Riggs, Union University. Sunday January 6, 3:15 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

MAA Session on General Contributed Papers. Organizers: Shawnee McMurran and Laura Wallace, California State University, San Bernardino, Sarah Mabrouk, Framingham State College. Monday January 7, 9:00 a.m. - 11:55 a.m. Includes talks on card games, dominoes, and the recent International Mathematics Olympiad.

Cinemath: Mathematics on the Silver Screen. Charlie L Smith, Park University, charlie@mail.park.edu. Monday January 7, 2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.

Joint Prize Session and Reception. The AMS and MAA present awards to distinguished mathematicians. Monday January 7, 4:25 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Does the price of chocolate chip cookies affect the quality? Ann E Moskol, Rhode Island College,Amoskol@ric.edu. Tuesday January 8, 8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m.

Why can’t a turkey fly: The power of power functions. Florence S Gordon, New York Institute of Technology, fgordon@nyit.edu. Tuesday January 8, 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m.

A project to teach parametric equations using Star Wars: Episode I Carl Lutzer, Rochester Institute of Technology, cvlsma@rit.edu. Tuesday January 8, 2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

New watermarking schemes from coding theory. Nigel Boston, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, n-boston@uiuc.edu. Tuesday January 8, 4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Some combinatorial problems associated with the Internet. Ron Graham, University of California, San Diego, graham@ucsd.edu. Wednesday January 9, 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Mathematics Education

Reforms in mathematics education: Best practices and malpractices. An MAA Invited Address by Manuel P. Berriozábal, University of Texas at San Antonio, Wednesday January 9, 9:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. A discussion of a variety of programs and practices to improve the quality of mathematics education. These will include outreach programs for precollege and college students, particularly those which impact students from minority groups underrepresented in mathematics-related areas.

A meta-analysis of the effects of calculators on students in pre-college mathematics classes. Aimee J Ellington, Virginia Commonwealth University, ajellington@vcu.edu. Sunday January 6, 10:40 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. The findings of 53 calculator-based research studies conducted between 1984 and 2000 were integrated to determine the effect of calculators on students in pre-college mathematics classes.

Integrating Mathematics and Pedagogy: A large scale research study of an intervention designed to change prospective teachers’ beliefs about mathematics in order to maximize their mathematics learning. rambrose@mail.sdsu.edu, Jennifer Chauvot, Lisa Clement Randy Philipp, San Diego State University. Wednesday January 9, 9:40 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. The Integrating Mathematics and Pedagogy Project is now studying an intervention designed to help prospective elementary school teachers change their beliefs about mathematics. The intervention requires prospective teachers to work with children. In the process, prospective teachers recognize that the mathematics they will teach is more complicated than they imagined.

AMS-MAA-MER Special Session on Mathematics and Education Reform. Organizers: William H. Barker, Bowdoin College, Jerry L. Bona, University of Texas at Austin, Naomi D. Fisher, University of Illinois at Chicago, Kenneth C. Millett, University of California Santa Barbara. Sunday January 6, 2:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Talks on preparation of high school math teachers and on the context of mathematics courses in high schools.

Tools of American mathematics teaching, 1820-2000. Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, Mathematics Collections, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., kidwellp@si.edu. Sunday January 6, 9:45 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. A discussion on devices ranging from an early blackboard to German geometric models shown at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, to Cuisenaire rods from the era of the Cold War and the New Math, to such recent products as geoboards, graphing calculators and mathematical software.

MAA Session on Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of Students in Mathematics. Organizers: William Yslas Velez, University of Arizona, Marjorie Enneking, Portland State University, William A. Hawkins, SUMMA, Michael B. Freeman, University of Kentucky, Robert E. Megginson, University of Michigan, Wade Ellis, West Valley College. Tuesday January 8, 8:00 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.

Scissors and string: Conjectures and theorems. Kevin L Hartshorn, University of California, Davis, khartsho@math.ucdavis.edu. Monday January 7, 8:40 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

Mathematics and Medicine

Functional equations for HIV. Terry J Quinn, Ohio University Southern, quinnt@oak.cats.ohiou.edu, Sanjay Rai, Jacksonville University, and Bob L Robertson, Drury University. Monday January 7, 11:00 a.m. -11:15 a.m. A non-linear system of functional differential equations that incorporates a time-delay to account for the time taken for latently infected cells to become actively infected. This relates to current medical treatments that are designed to prolong the delay.

Optimal control of an HIV immunology model. Hem R Joshi, University of Tennessee, joshi@math.utk.edu. Tuesday January 8, 1:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. A system of ordinary differential equations, which describes the interaction of HIV and T-cells in the immune system is utilized, and optimal controls representing drug treatment strategies of this model are explored.

Also of interest:

Why is there a warning on my can of diet soda? The mathematics and ethics of medical screening tests. Michael A Brilleslyper, U.S. Air Force Academy, mike.brilleslyper@usafa.af.mil. Monday January 7, 10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Mathematics and the Environment

MAA Session on Environmental Mathematics in the Classroom. Ben Fusaro, Florida State University and Marty E. Walter, University of Colorado. Tuesday January 8, 1:00 p.m. - 2:55 p.m. and Wednesday January 9, 1:00 p.m. - 2:55 p.m.

Sports and Games

Who Wants To Be A Mathematician, hosted by AMS Public Awareness Officer Mike Breen, myb@ams.org. Tues. Jan. 8, 10:00 - 10:55 a.m. Ten San Diego high school students have a chance to win $2000 by answering questions about mathematics.

Banking on “The Weakest Link.” Paul R. Coe, Dominican University, coepaul@email.dom.edu. Monday January 7, 10:20 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. The speaker will present the optimal strategy for banking by the contestants on the TV game show "The Weakest Link."

MAA Session on Using Examples From Sports To Enhance The Teaching Of Mathematics. Robert E. Lewand, Goucher College and Howard L. Penn, U.S. Naval Academy. Tuesday January 8, 8:00 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. and Wednesday January 9, 8:20 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. A two-day session with talks on how several aspects of different sports relate to mathematics.

Some of the talks from the session on Tuesday :

Home run hitting. Howard L. Penn, United States Naval Academy, hlp@usna.edu. 8:00 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Using Halley’s Gunnery Law and information from the Web, the author arrived at a theoretical measure of the difficulty of hitting home runs in each park. He will explore whether this formula is a good predictor.

Exceedances in sports. Farzad D Noubary, Penn State University Schreyer Honors College, fnoubary@yahoo.com. 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. The most memorable moments in life are those that are out of the ordinary. In sports, no average performances ever make the news. This presentation concentrates on the mathematics of exceedances and their application to sports.

How far does a marathoner really run? Robert N Talbert, Franklin College, rtalbert@franklincollege.edu. 8:40 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. The talk focuses on the following question: If a runner weaves from side-to-side, how much further than 26.2 miles will she run? This question involves calculus and some modeling with trigonometric functions.

The Michael Jordan Problem: Solving a system of linear inequalities for lattice points. Daniel J. Teague, North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics, teague@ncssm.edu. 9:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. As Michael Jordan came to the line, the announcer said, “Michael Jordan is making 78% of his free throws.” At this point in the season, how many free throws had Michael Jordan made? Several solution paths are described to find the six possible integer solutions.

An Analysis of Scoring Algorithms in Boxing. Robert E Lewand, Goucher College, rlewand@goucher.edu. 9:40 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. A description of, and comparison among, several scoring alternatives to the “Ten-Point Must System.”

Using Examples from Sports to Enhance the Teaching of Mathematics, II. Wednesday January 9, 8:20 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.

Some of the talks from Wednesday’s session

0 for April, or, are batting slumps inevitable? E. L. May, Salisbury University, elmay@salisbury.edu. 8:20 a.m. - 8:40 a.m. Even a very good hitter averages only one hit in every three at-bats over the long haul. This means that two of every three of his official at-bats are going to end in his failure. This talk seeks to answer the following questions: Should we be surprised when slumps occur? And how devastating is a slump, anyway?

Limits and Olympic data: Forecasting the winning time. David H Carhart, dcarhart@bentley.edu and Karen J Schroeder , Bentley College. 8:40 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. The results of student investigation into different events from the Winter Olympics in order to find that function which best matches the historical winning times. After the investigations, students were then asked to find and defend a limit for their particular event, resulting in a forecast for the Olympics.

Sports applications for discrete mathematics, probability and statistics, mathematics and technology, or other undergraduate courses. Vince Schielack, Texas A&M University, vinces@math.tamu.edu. 9:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Included are: (1) should a football team attempt a one- or a two-point conversion; (2) using tournaments to show how to sum geometric series; (3) calculating the expected number of baseball cards it would take to complete a set; (4) discovering the little-known formula used by the National Football League in its widely publicized passer ratings; (5) some annual data on Super Bowl ticket prices and player salaries that lead to exponential or logistic regression models; and (6) the maximum horizontal distance a shot-putter could throw from atop a cliff.

Using linear algebra to determine quarterback passer ratings. Owen D Byer, Eastern Mennonite University, byer@emu.edu. 9:20 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. The formula used to compute quarterback passer ratings in the National Football League is not well known and is generally assumed to be quite complicated, yet one can determine the function relatively easily.

Dominance matrices and team rankings. Thomas W Polaski, Winthrop University, polaskit@winthrop.edu. 10:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. A good way to start a sports argument is to bring up the subject of team rankings. These rankings are necessary to decide which teams advance to post-season play, but are not well understood by most fans. This talk will show how powers of matrices called dominance matrices may be used to define a type of “strength of schedule” ranking, and will apply this technique to recent college football rankings. The study of such matrices may be used to motivate matrix multiplication for sports-minded students.

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the 30,000-member American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.