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Special MAA Centennial Events

This year the MAA is celebrating its centennial and much of the celebration will take place at MAA MathFest. Be sure to attend the special centennial events listed below and explore our MAA Centennial website to learn more about MAA's first 100 years.

MAA Headquarters Building Tour

Tuesday, August 4, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM, MAA Carriage House
Friday, August 7, 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM, MAA Carriage House

Since 1978, MAA has had the privilege of occupying its current space, a picturesque row house in the beautiful Dupont Circle neighborhood of downtown Washington, DC. Tours detailing the captivating decorations and fascinating history of this building will be available during the week of MAA MathFest, and will last approximately 20-30 minutes. Interested participants are encouraged to meet in the MAA Carriage House (1781 Church Street NW, Washington, DC 20036). View map

MAA Centennial Lecture 1

Replicators, Transformers, and Robot Swarms: Science Fiction through Geometric Algorithms

Wednesday, August 5, 8:20 AM - 9:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Erik Demaine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MAA Centennial Lecture 2

Network Science: From the Online World to Cancer Genomics

Wednesday, August 5, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Jennifer Chayes, Microsoft Research

MAA Invited Paper Sessions

Generations of Monthly Gems 

Wednesday, August 5, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 1

The session is designed to help celebrate the MAA's Centennial. With thousands of papers to draw on, 6 speakers will give 25-minute talks on papers chosen from throughout the Monthly's history. Speakers will highlight the significance of these papers and remark on their impact on mathematics and science in general.

Scott Chapman, Sam Houston State University
Dan Velleman, Amherst College
Bruce Palka, National Science Foundation
Roger Horn, University of Utah
John Ewing, Math for America

1894 - 1919

Karen Parshall, University of Virginia

1920 - 1939

John Stillwell, University of San Francisco

1940 - 1959

Ron Graham, University of California at San Diego

1960 - 1979

Bob Devaney, Boston University

1980 - 1999

Paul Zorn, St. Olaf College

2000 - 2015

Rebecca Goldin, George Mason University

Centennial Reception

Wednesday, August 5, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Exhibit Hall A

Join us for the MAA MathFest Centennial Reception to celebrate the beginning of the conference and the opening of the Exhibit Hall. Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, and a chance to meet fellow attendees and all of our sponsors and exhibitors. This event is complimentary for all registered attendees and guests.

Mathematical Carnival at the Centennial Reception

Wednesday, August 5, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Exhibit Hall A

Mathematical presenters to include:
Dominic Klyve: Juggling and Math
Susan Goldstine: Flexagons
Colm Mulcahy: Mathematical Card Tricks
Jason Rosenhouse: Monty Hall Interactive Game
Karl Schaffer: String Polyhedra

Tim Chartier, Davidson College

Centennial Group Photo

Wednesday, August 5, 6:45 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 1

Be a part of history! Join us for the MAA MathFest Centennial group photo.

Cirque de Mathematiques

Wednesday, August 5, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

Come enjoy an evening of mathematical delights! Be amazed, tickled and touched by drama, magic, mime and dance. James Tanton will emcee an evening featuring performances by Colin Adams, Art Benjamin, Tanya and Tim Chartier, and Karl Schaffer.

Tim Chartier, Davidson College

MAA Centennial Lecture 3

Mathematics for Art Investigation

Thursday, August 6, 8:30 AM - 9:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Ingrid Daubechies, Duke University

MAA Centennial Lecture 4

The Role and Function of Mathematical Models in Interdisciplinary Mentorship through Research: Lessons from the World of Epidemics

Thursday, August 6, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University

Presidential Reminiscences

Thursday, August 6, 3:00 PM - 4:45 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

Past presidents of the MAA will share memories of their time in office and offer their thoughts on the future of the Association. Francis Su, current president of the MAA, will introduce the session.

Victor Katz, University of the District of Columbia
Jim Tattersall, Providence College

Speakers

Henry O. Pollack, Teachers College, Columbia University; MAA President 1975-1976
Lynn Steen (Paul Zorn with video presentation by Gerry Alexanderson), MAA President 1985-1986
Lida K. Barrett, West Point (retired); MAA President 1989-1990
Kenneth Ross, University of Oregon (professor emeritus); MAA President 1995-1996
Thomas F. Banchoff, Brown University; MAA President 1999-2000

The Man Who Knew Infinity: Sneak Peek and Expert Panel

Thursday, August 6, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

The Man Who Knew Infinity film will be released in late 2015. The film, which stars Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel, is based on the New York Times Best Selling biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel. An expert panel will discuss Ramanujan, his life, and the film. The panel will include: Matthew Brown (Director of the film), Manjul Bhargava (Mathematician), Robert Kanigel (biographer), Ken Ono (Mathematician). A sneak peek of the film will be screened.

Ken Ono, Emory University

Mathematicians by Day, Musicians by Night

Thursday, August 6, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

The deep connection between mathematics and music comes to life as mathematicians take the stage as performers. Musicians will include pianist Noam Elkies (a three-time Putnam Fellow), tenor Frank Farris (former Mathematics Magazine editor), a trio playing Brahms, a quintet playing Mozart, and a choir of mathematician-singers. Expect to be delighted by wonderful music - and amazed at the versatility of the performers, all of whom work day jobs as mathematicians. Emceed by Paul Zorn, St. Olaf College, Past MAA President.

Dave Kung, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Project NExT Director

MAA Centennial Lecture 5

CSHPM Kenneth O. May Lecture

"We Are Evidently on the Verge of Important Steps Forward": The American Mathematical Community, 1915-1950

Friday, August 7, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Karen Parshall, University of Virginia

Workshop

Beauty of Three Dimensional Polyhedra Workshop (in Celebration of the MAA’s Centennial)

Friday, August 7, 1:00 PM - 2:20 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Maryland C

I have long been fascinated by the Platonic and Archimedean solids and their mathematical beauty. In this workshop I will demonstrate, and we will work with, a variety of materials I’ve come across over the years for building polyhedra. For example, we’ll build with coffee stirrers (really cheap, less than 10¢ for the icosahedron), origami (about 25¢ for the Buckyball), and retail manipulatives (a few dollars for the truncated tetrahedron). We will also look at some online tools for exploring (and enjoying) the Platonic and Archimedean solids and their mathematical relationships and properties. These dynamic tools are useful is seeing how, for example, the snub icosidodecahedron is formed. (Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop or device to the workshop.) Included will be how the icosahedron (this is the MAA!) can be built using three golden rectangles.

James R. Olsen, Western Illinois University

Presidential Reminiscences

Friday, August 7, 3:45 PM - 6:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

Past presidents of the MAA will share memories of their time in office and offer their thoughts on the future of the Association. Francis Su, current president of the MAA, will introduce the session.

Victor Katz, University of the District of Columbia
Jim Tattersall, Providence College

Speakers

Ann E. Watkins, California State University Northridge; MAA President 2001-2002
Ronald L. Graham, University of California, San Diego; MAA President 2003-2004
Carl C. Cowen, Indiana University - Purdue; MAA President 2005-2006
Joseph A. Gallian, University of Minnesota Duluth; MAA President 2007-2008
David M. Bressoud, Macalester College; MAA President 2009-2010
Paul M. Zorn, St. Olaf College; MAA President 2011-2012
Robert L. Devaney, Boston University; MAA President 2013-2014

SIGMAA Activity

Contributed Paper Session on Math Circle Problems in Honor of the MAA’s 100th Anniversary

Friday, August 7, afternoon

A mathematics circle is an enrichment activity for K-12 students or their teachers, which brings them into direct contact with mathematics professionals, fostering a passion and excitement for deep mathematics in the participants. It is usually a weekly or monthly activity, but it can also be an intensive summer experience. Circles provide rich open-ended problems that enable students or their teachers to strengthen their problem-solving skills and deepen their appreciation for and excitement about mathematics. In honor of the MAA’s 100th anniversary, we especially encourage talks that address a problem or topic involving the number 100 that was successful at your math circle.

Katherine Morrison, University of Northern Colorado
Philip Yasskin, Texas A&M University
Paul Zeitz, University of San Francisco

Albert’s Bridge: A Tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, Featuring the MAA Community Players

Friday, August 7, 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3

A host of your favorite MAA personalities come together for a spirited performance of an early comedy written for radio by Tom Stoppard. Stoppard's richly mathematical play Arcadia, first produced in 1993, has been heralded as one of the best plays of the 20th century. Albert's Bridge was written 25 years before Arcadia, when Stoppard was a struggling journalist, but it still exhibits the playwright's propensity for running roughshod over the fabricated boundaries between mathematics and good storytelling. In the performance, elementary algebra, philosophy, and even some physics at the play's conclusion are weaved together into a comic commentary on the inevitable tragedy of life.

Steve Abbott, Middlebury College

MAA Centennial Lecture 6

Saturday, August 8, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 2/3
Manjul Bhargava, Princeton University

Special Invited Session

The Geometry of Triangles

Saturday, August 8, 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM, Marriott Wardman Park, Salon 1

Richard Guy and John Conway will share their latest ideas about the geometry of Euclidean triangles.

A Triangle Has Eight Vertices (But Only One Center)

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Richard GuyUniversity of Calgary

New Ideas about the Geometry of Triangles

2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
John ConwayPrinceton University

Year: 
2015