[Mathreu] [Fwd: 2008 SUMS Conference October 18]

[Kevin James]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	2008 SUMS Conference October 18
Date: 	Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:14:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: 	Laura Taalman <taal at math.jmu.edu>
To: 	EB <brownet at math.jmu.edu>, Laura Taalman <taal at math.jmu.edu>



CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS AND POSTERS

SUMS Conference
October 18, 2008
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia (about two hours west of D.C.)

The fourth annual Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics 
(SUMS) Conference at James Madison University is a one-day undergraduate 
research conference that will feature:

* undergraduate contributed talks on their mathematical research

* undergraduate and high school poster sessions on research and expository 
topics

* panel sessions on REU programs, graduate school, and industry

* an opening address by Michael Mossinghoff, University of South Carolina 
and Davidson College

* a closing address by Robin Wilson, Cal Poly Pomona

* a special AMC workshop for high school students and faculty

Last year, SUMS hosted 237 conference participants from 32 colleges and 
universities and 14 high schools, and featured 28 student talks and 32 
student posters.

Registration and lunch are free.  Limited travel funds are available on a 
rolling application basis.  The deadline for registration and abstract 
submission is October 3.

For more information, please contact either of the SUMS Directors at the 
email addresses below.  A poster for the conference is attached to this 
email.  Abstracts for the invited addresses are listed below.  Visit 
www.math.jmu.edu/SUMS for registration and scheduling information.

Thank you,
Elizabeth Brown (brownet at math.jmu.edu)
Laura Taalman (taal at math.jmu.edu)
SUMS Directors


**************************
SUMS 2008 Opening Speaker (10 AM):
Michael Mossinghoff, University of South Carolina and Davidson College

Sufferin' Succotash!  A Problem of Sylvester's

Abstract: Suppose a finite number of points are placed in the plane in 
such a way that they do not all lie on the same line. Must there exist a 
line that connects exactly two of the points?  Suppose each of the points 
are then colored red or blue in some way. Must there exist a line that 
joins two or more points of one color, but intersects none of the other 
color? Can you always join exactly two points of one color and none of the 
other? Does anything change if you have an infinite number of points? 
We'll investigate these questions, some of which were raised more than a 
century ago by the British mathematician James Joseph Sylvester. We'll 
describe some novel methods used to investigate these problems, and 
discuss several interesting results, including some contributions made by 
undergraduate students.

Biography:  Michael Mossinghoff has a Ph.D. in mathematics from the 
University of Texas at Austin, and a master's degree in computer science 
from Stanford University.  After teaching at Appalachian State University 
and at UCLA, he joined the faculty at Davidson College in 2002, where he 
teaches mathematics and computer science.  For the current academic year, 
he is a visiting associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at 
the University of South Carolina.  His research studies algorithmic and 
analytic problems in number theory and discrete geometry, and extremal 
problem on integer polynomials.  His article A $1 Problem won the Lester 
R. Ford prize for exposition from the Mathematical Association of America 
in 2007.  The second edition of his book, Combinatorics and Graph Theory, 
co-authored with John Harris and Jeffry Hirst, has just been published by 
Springer Verlag.

**************************
SUMS 2008 Closing Speaker (4 PM):
Robin Wilson, Cal Poly Pomona

Knots, Surfaces, and 3-Manifolds

Abstract: The areas of knot theory and 3-manifold topology are closely 
related. In fact, the exterior of a knot is itself an example of a 
3-manifold. One approach to studying 3-manifolds is to understand the 
surfaces that are contained in them. In this talk I will give an 
introduction to knot theory, its connections with 3-manifold topology, and 
the study of surfaces in 3-manifolds and knot exteriors. I will also 
discuss some recent research about bridge surfaces in knot complements.

Biography: Robin Wilson was earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the 
University of California at Davis in 2006, earned a Masters in Mathematics 
from Howard University in 2001, and completed his undergraduate work at 
the University of California at Berkeley in 1999.  He held a University of 
California Presidentâ??s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Santa Barbara in 
2006-2007 and since 2007 he has been on the faculty at the California 
State Polytechnic University, Pomona.  His current research is in the 
areas of knot theory and 3-manifold topology.

**************************
Funding for the JMU SUMS Conference is provided by NSF grant DMS-0536991 
through the MAA Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences Program, 
www.maa.org/RUMC/.  Additional funding is also provided by James Madison 
University, including the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, 
College of Science and Mathematics, Mathematics and Statistics Club, Pi Mu 
Epsilon Club, and Research for Undergraduates Program.


-- 
Kevin James 
Associate Professor 

O-21 Martin Hall
Department of Mathematical Sciences 
Clemson University
BOX 340975
Clemson, SC 29634-0975

phone: (864) 656-6766        
fax:   (864) 656-5230
web:   www (dot) math (dot) clemson (dot) edu/~kevja/

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