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ALBION COLLEGE
M A T H
E M A T I C S
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Mathematics Department Calendar of Events
1998-1999
August 19-22, 1998
Math Camp. Entering and returning math enthusiasts participate
in a variety of social and recreational activities related to mathematics.
Friday Afternoon Math Tea
Every Friday at 3:14 math students, math faculty, and friends of the Math
Department gather in Norris 109 for cookies and soft drinks; some people
even drink tea. Check out the progress on the
Menger sponge, and join in
the discussion of the latest news from our department and the wider world
of mathematics. Martha O'Kennon's Abstract Algebra class will be the hosts
of the first Math Tea of the semester on August 28.
September 2, 1998
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| image copyright © 1997 by
Xah Lee,
used with permission |
Mathematics Colloquium. Janet Jagger, professor of mathematics at
Trinity and All Saints
College will speak about Dandelin Spheres. She discovered this
fascinating topic last year, and it requires only a little background in
trigonometry and analytic geometry. Invite your friends: Norris 109 at
8:03 pm. Refreshements.
September 4, 1998
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109.
September 11, 1998
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109.
September 13, 1998

Math/Physics/Chemistry/Geology Picnic. Come join faculty and
staff of the Science Complex for a free picnic in Victory Park. Experience
homemade root beer brewed by the Math Camp participants under the direction
of brewmaster Bob Messer. See the Chef Paul Anderson assisted by the Chef
French (the Child Julia of the Department Chemistry) perform their culinary
magic at the charcoal grill. We will recognize the outstanding first-year
math students of 1997-98 and present them with gift certificates to
Cascarelli's. Who knows, there may even be a quiz. Sign up in the Math
office so we know how much food to prepare.
September 18, 1998
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. Michelle Penner's Calculus 2
class will be the hosts for this tea. This is your chance to meet Fey,
the world's friendlest Doberman Pinscher.
September 25, 1998
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. The First-Year Seminar
on Chance will join with the Bernoulli monks of Monte Carlo
in hosting this tea.
October 2-3, 1998
October 2-4, 1998
1998 Midwestern ACM
Chapter Conference. The conference is open to everyone willing
to register. No ACM or industry affiliation required, simply an interest
in computers and technology. Students interested should contact
Dave Reimann for
further information.
October 16, 1998
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. Join our guest Carol Gnich
(mathematics specialist at the Albion Open School), Kath Fear (Director
of the Albion College Elementary Education Program), Scott Dillery
(Mathematics professor teaching Math for Elementary Teachers), and
elementary education student teachers from Albion College for a
discussion of the mathematics background necessary for elementary
school teachers.
October 23, 1998
Friday Afternoon Mathematics Tea. The Mathematics Department
will host this tea and provide information on the mathematics of pizza
and spring mathematics courses. All Math majors, Computer Science majors,
Math/Physics majors, Math/Econ majors, prospective majors, and friends
of the department are invited to join us Friday at 3:14 in Norris 109.
Come early. Stay as long as you like.
November 7, 1998
November 14, 1998
1998 ACM East Central Region Programming Contest.
Two teams from Albion College traveled to the
University of Waterloo
to compete in East Central Regional meet of the ACM International
Collegiate Programming Contest. Of the eight programming challenges,
Albion's first team, the Screeming Bus solved one in 207 minutes,
finishing 67th among 92 teams. With a nonnegative score, Albion's
second team, the Illogical Fuzz, tied for 83th place.
Waterloo A team was the winning team solving six problems in 952
minutes. Carnegie-Mellon University was a close second with six
problems in 992 minutes.
December 5, 1998
Fifty-ninth Annual William
Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition. Your final exams will be
a breeze in comparison to the Putnam exam. The six people on last year's team
bring a lot of experience to this year's competition. We look forward to a
positive score from our representative
James Smaby
on this year's team.
January 15, 1999
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. Welcome back from break.
Mike Schulte will give an introductory lesson in change ringing.
Try your hand at ringing a pair of bells in the first 16 of the 40,320
possible permutations of eight bells.
January 15, 16, 1999
Pi the Movie.
The Union Board is showing this ingeniously paranoid thriller in Norris 101,
8:00pm on Friday and 10:00pm on Saturday. The Math Department is co-sponsoring
this presentation and will provide free popcorn to all Pi enthusiasts.
January 22, 1999
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. Learn about the adventures
of students who participated in off-campus programs last fall.
Kevin Chalut
will tell about his work at Oak Ridge National Laboratories,
Kristin Esshaki will tell about her experience in Aberdeen,
Emily Duke will describe her practice teaching, and
Emily Ridings
will relate her experiences in London.
February 5-8, 1999
Mathematical Contest in Modeling.
Scott
Dillery is coaching the teams of students in preparation for a weekend
of working on an open-ended problem in applied mathematics. Last year
Albion College was represented by three teams. All were designated
successful competitors. This year the competition offers a new
category involving an interdisciplinary problem in mathematics,
chemistry, environmental science, and environmental engineering.
All math enthusiasts are invited to join in eating pizza and
supporting the teams at the kickoff in Norris 109 on Thursday night
shortly before the official opening of the problem sets at 12:01am.
The team members are
February 19, 1999
Math Tea, 3:14 pm in Norris 109. Michelle Penner will present
a preliminary version of her talk "A Brief History of Pi".
February 27, 1999
Denison
Spring Programming Contest.
The Contest challenges a team of four programmers to solve up to five
programming problems in a period of four hours. The programmers have
their choice of programming in Pascal and/or C++. The team with the most
questions solved in the least amount of time wins.
See Dave Reimann or the
related Web page for more information about this competition.
This year's team
consisting of
Joe Smith,
Scott Curtis,
Ryan Maurer,
and
Andrew Frick
finished 3rd out of 13 teams, solving 2 problems and the first team to
correctly solve a problem.
Congratulations to Joe, Scott, Ryan, and Andrew!
Click here
for the final contest results. Be a part of next year's action!
March 19, 1999
Friday Afternoon Mathematics Tea.
The Mathematics Department will provide information
about fall courses in Mathematics and
Computer Science. All Math majors, Computer Science majors,
Math/Physics majors, Math/Econ majors, prospective majors, and friends
of the department are invited to join us Friday at 3:14 in Norris 109.
Bring your friends; bring your questions; bring your schedule.
April 1999
April 10, 1999
April 30, 1999
International Plaid Day. One of the highlights of Mathematics Awareness
Month at Albion College is International Plaid Day. We have contacted people
around the world who will join faculty, students, and staff on campus in
wearing plaid to show their support of mathematics. Last year, even the Rock
took on a suitable color scheme.
Link to the Albion College home page.
Link to the Mathematics Department.
Modified March 1, 1999, by David Reimann
Modified November 11, 1999, by Robert Messer