MAA Math Alert - August 2011

News and Views

Successful Summer for MAA-Sponsored Olympiad Teams
After training at the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program in June, the MAA-sponsored team to the International Mathematical Olympiad in Amsterdam in mid-July won six gold medals, the team's best showing since 1994. Article.

In late July and early August, the eight-member team of high school girls sponsored jointly by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and MAA traveled to the China Girls Math Olympiad and brought home eight medals. Article.

MAA MathFest 2011 Highlights
This year's MAA MathFest was a rollicking success, bringing about 1,400 members of the mathematical community to Lexington, Kentucky, for lectures, minicourses, poster sessions, music, backgammon, yoga, and much more. Article. Photo Highlights.

Fifth Series of Commemorative Bricks Installed in the Paul R. Halmos Commemorative Walk

The fifth series of bricks in the Paul R. Halmos Commemorative Walk was installed earlier this summer in the courtyard outside the entrance to the MAA's Carriage House Conference Center. The walk forms a map of the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers in the District of Columbia. This latest installation of 78 bricks, which includes bricks ordered through July 2011, brings the installation to where the two rivers meet. Funds raised through the bricks help support the Center and its activities. If you are interested in ordering a commemorative brick, please call Christina Knowles in the MAA's Development Office at 202-319-8497 or print out a from and mail it to Christina at the MAA.

Announcements

Tensor SUMMA Program Director Search
MAA is seeking a program director for the MAA Tensor SUMMA (Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement) program to succeed Carole Lacampagne, who will complete her term as Director in 2012. Article.

Project NExT
The MAA is seeking nominations and applications for two associate directors and an additional member of the Project NExT leadership team with terms to begin before MathFest 2012.Details will be available on the MAA website and in the October/November issue of MAA FOCUS.

Alder Award Nominations Due October 1st
The deadline for receiving nomination packets for the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member is October 1. Named after Henry Alder, former President of the MAA and lifetime active member of this organization, this prestigious award is intended to stimulate beginning faculty to accomplishment in teaching as well as in their scholarly endeavors. More information.

Attend ICME-12 in Seoul, Korea
Applications for travel grants are now available to attend the Twelfth International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-12), which will be held in Seoul, Korea, July 8-15, 2012. Application deadline is September 30, 2011. Information.

Association for Women in Mathematics 40th Anniversary Conference
The AWM 40th anniversary celebration will culminate with the conference 40 Years and Counting: AWM's Celebration of Women in Mathematics on September 17-18, 2011. Information.

Featured Articles

New in Loci: Convergence
"Extending al-Karaji's Work on Sums of Odd Powers of Integers" by Hasan Unal and Hakan Kursat Oral, who share their discovery of an 1867 article in a Turkish scientific journal that extends al-Karaji's famous formula for the sum of cubes to sums of higher odd powers. Article.

"The Best Way to Learn"
David Bressoud's August Launchings blog expands on Paul Halmos's idea that "the best way to learn is to do; the worst way to teach is to talk." Article.

Devlin's Angle on Ancient Computation
Keith Devlin tells the story of "The First Personal Computing Revolution" in his August blog. Article.

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