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Photos from the 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings

More than 6000 people came to the 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in Atlanta, GA January 4-7. There were many excellent addresses, sessions, and panels to choose from, but Atlanta's weather became the headliner near the end of the meeting as a potentially paralyzing storm was forecast for the area, which resulted in cancelled flights and disrupted travel plans. Fortunately, there was not nearly as much snow and ice as predicted, and the city returned to normal quickly (although the final day was colder than Rhett's parting words to Scarlett).

Below are photos from the meeting and more information.

Photos from Invited Addresses:

JMM2017 Invited Addresses

In order:

  • Alice Silverberg, University of California, Irvine: AMS-MAA Invited Address, Through the Cryptographer's Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
  • Carlos E. Kenig, University of Chicago: AMS Colloquium Lectures, The Focusing Energy Critical Wave Equation
  • Laura Taalman, James Madison University: MAA Invited Address, Math by Design: 3D Printing for the Working Mathematician
  • Jason Cantarella, University of Georgia: MAA Invited Address, Random Polygons, Grassmannians, and A Problem of Lewis Carroll
  • Francis Su, Harvey Mudd College: MAA Retiring Presidential Address, Mathematics for Human Flourishing (introduced by Deanna Haunsperger, MAA president-elect, interview about his address)
  • Donald Richards, Penn State University: AMS-MAA Invited Address, Distance Correlation: A New Tool for Detecting Association and Measuring Correlation between Data Sets
  • Susan Holmes, Stanford University: MAA Invited Address, Finding Meaningful Patterns: the Decoding of the Human Microbiome
  • Ingrid Daubechies, Duke University: MAA-AMS-SIAM Gerald and Judith Porter Public Lecture, Mathematics for Art Investigation

The Joint Prize Session (and reception afterwards):

JMM2017 Prize Session

See the 2017 Prize booklet for more information about the winners and their work.

The Mathematical Art Exhibition:

2017 Mathematical Art Exhibition

The 2017 Mathematical Art Exhibition Awards were made "for aesthetically pleasing works that combine mathematics and art."

  • "Fractal Monarchs," by Doug Dunham and John Shier, was awarded Best Photograph, Painting, or Print;
  • "Torus," by Jiangmei Wu, was awarded Best Textile, Sculpture, or Other Medium; and
  • "AAABBB, two juxtapositions: Dots & Blossoms, Windmills & Pinwheels," by Mary Klotz, received Honorable Mention. See the press release for images and descriptions of these works and for more information about the awards.


Mathemati-Con photos:

JMM2017 Mathemati-Con

Mathemati-Con was a collection of public events on the last day of the meeting featuring James Tanton, Arthur Benjamin, Sarah Greenwald, Mime-matics by Tim and Tanya Chartier, a Math Circles session, Who Wants to Be a Mathematician, and the Porter Lecture by Ingrid Daubechies.

AMS Activities at JMM 2017:

AMS Activities at JMM17

Among the many activities were a special time at the exhibits to meet AMS Executive Director Catherine Roberts, the Department Chairs Workshop, the BIG (Business, Industry, and Government) booth, the MRC (Mathematics Research Communities) booth, the AMS Committee on the Professional panel discussion "Diversity and Inclusion in the Mathematical Sciences," the AMS Congressional Fellowship Session that featured a video message from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), the Employment Center, the Grad School Fair (co-sponsored with the MAA), a demonstration of MathSciNet®, the Mathematical Reviews reception, and the AMS Dinner.

The National Who Wants to Be a Mathematician game (photo, not gallery):
Ken Ono, Robert Bryant, Ken Ribet, and Graham O'Donnell

Awards ceremony host Ken Ono (Emory University), AMS President Robert Bryant, AMS President-Elect Ken Ribet, and WWTBAM national champ Graham O'Donnell, a junior at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, FL, who took home \$5,000 for himself and \$5,000 for the school's math department. See the 2017 national Who Wants to Be a Mathematician webpage for more photos, videos, and more information about the contestants and game.

Joint Mathematics Meetings Media Coverage:
Here are some links to coverage of the meeting: "To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics," Interview with Francis Su by Kevin Hartnett, Quanta, 2/2/17, Joint Mathematics Morsels, by Brian Hayes on his bit player blog; "'Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?' Comes to Atlanta," by Martha Dalton, WABE, Atlanta's NPR station. Photos by Erik Lesser, Atlanta's European Press Agency photographer.

Attendees and anyone interested in JMM can follow the meetings on JMM Twitter (@JointMath) and on the JMM 2017 Blog, written by Adriana Salerno, Anna Haensch, Beth Malmskog, and Kelsey Houston-Edwards. Adriana, Anna, and Kelsey are former AMS-AAAS Media Fellows.

See you at JMM 2018 in San Diego, CA, January 10-13.