October 3, 2007
Robert Vallin wants everybody to know that mathematics is fun. In fact, he'd like undergraduate students to capture the fun of math on video so that he can prove it to everyone. And he wants to pay students to do so.
With this in mind, the MAA is introducing its first-ever MathTube Contest. The contest, open to teams of up to three undergraduate students, calls for creative videos that show the entertaining side of mathematics in a style similar to that of other such videos found on the popular website YouTube.
"I want people to put tongue firmly in cheek and show us what they've got," said Vallin, MAA's Associate Director for Student Activities. One of Vallin's favorite math-related YouTube videos, the popular Finite Simple Group (of Order Two) video by The Klein Four Group, serves as a great example of the kind of creativity the panel of MAA judges will be looking for.
As a reward, each member of the creative team of the winning video will receive $100, complimentary registration for the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego, and a collection of MAA products, including a flying disc, a deck of cards, a travel mug, and a stress-relieving icosahedron. The next three runners-up will receive the pack of MAA goodies for each member of the creative team and a $25 gift certificate for MAA products. Vallin would also like to show the winning entries at one of the MAA booths at the JMM in San Diego this January.
The entry deadline for the MAA MathTube Contest is December 15th at 11:00 p.m. Vallin emphasizes that all participants should look carefully at the rules and regulations of the contest and make sure that they sign the consent form that must accompany all entries. Any further questions about the MAA MathTube Contest should be directed to Vallin, at rvallin@maa.org.—R. Miller