NEWSLETTER VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1 FALL 1996 SECTION OFFICERS 1996 - 1997 Chair: David John MWSC 816-271-4526 john@griffon.mwsc.edu Vice Chair: Jim Downing SMSU 417-836-5112 jrd399f@wpgate.smsu.edu Past Chair: Robert Sheets SEMO 573-651-2768 c222scm@semovm.semo.edu Governor: Lanny Morley TSU 816-785-4106 mt98@nemomus.bitnet Secretary Treas.: Yungchen Cheng SMSU 417-836-5112 yuc471f@ wpgate.smsu.edu Newsletter Editor: Vic Gummersheimer SEMO 573-651-2164 c027scm@semovm.semo.edu Student Chapters Dennis Malm NWMO 816-562-1208 Coordinator: 0100114@northwest.missouri.edu H.S. Lecture Coordinator: Robert Kennedy CMSU 816-543-4930 H.S. Contest Coordinator: Al Tinsley CMSU 816-543-4930 Jr. High Contest Coordinator: Robert Roe UMR 573-341-4917 Public Information Coordinator: Jerry Wilkerson MWSC 816-271-4374 NEWSLETTER INFORMATION The Newsletter is published in November and March each year. This Newsletter is also available on the Missouri Section www Home Page at http://www.math-cs.cmsu.edu/maa.html. Current information about articles appearing herein, such as the Spring Meeting, will be posted on the Home Page as it becomes available. MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT The Spring Meeting of the Missouri Section of the MAA will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, 1997, at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Spring Meeting will be a joint meeting with MOMATYC, the Missouri Mathematical Association for the Advancement of Teacher Training, (MAT)2, and Northwest Missouri Association of Mathematics Teachers (NWMAMT). The Second Annual Missouri MAA Collegiate Mathematics Competition will be held Thursday, April 10, and Friday, April 11, 1997. Complete details appear on page 2 of this Newsletter. Martha J. Siegel, Secretary-elect of the MAA, from Towson State University will be the featured speaker for the meeting. MAA BOOK SALE 20% discount, below member price, for all meeting registrants CALL FOR PAPERS You are invited to present a paper at the Spring Meeting. Papers are to be between 15 and 20 minutes in length and may be on research topics or expository in nature and may deal with any topic in mathematics or mathematics education. For example, papers may pertain to your current mathematical scholarly activity, new courses that you have developed, or successful techniques you have found useful in teaching. You may opt to design a presentation directed to the undergraduate and graduate students attending the meeting. Also, faculty are urged to assist honors students in presenting papers at the meeting. MAA student memberships will be awarded as prizes for the top student papers. The presenter's name, title, affiliation, title of paper, and abstract should be sent to: David John Department of CS/M/P Missouri Western State College 4525 Downs Drive St. Joseph, MO 64507 Deadline for receipt of abstracts is February 3, 1997. Please use the form at the endof this Newsletter. MISSOURI MAA COLLEGIATE MATHEMATICS COMPETITION The second Missouri MAA Collegiate Mathematics Competition will be held Thursday, April 10, 1997 and Friday, April 11, 1997 on the campus of Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri. Any college or university in the state of Missouri can send up to two teams of 1 to 3 undergraduates each to compete in the competition. A one-person team will only be allowed in the competition if this person is his or her college's only representative in the competition. A completed registration form for each team must be sent one week before the competition begins. Late registration will be accepted only if there is room for the team in the competition. No calculators or computers or reference material can be used during the competition. The contest will consist of challenging mathematical problems, comparable but not quite as difficult as the Putnam Exam. The Putnam Exam is a national exam sponsored by the MAA and given to outstanding college mathematics students. Previous Putnam Exams can be found in past October issues of the American Mathematical Monthly. The Thursday evening competition will begin at 7:30 pm and last until 10 pm and will consist of 5 problems for each team to solve. The Friday morning competition will begin at 8:30 am and will end at 11 am. It will also contain an additional 5 problems. Each problem will be worth 10 points and will be scored by a committee of the MAA Missouri section. The committee consists of the following members: Mangho Ahuja (SEMSU), Hang Chen (CMSU), Curtis Cooper (CMSU), Joseph Dence (UMSL), Joe Flowers (TSU), Leon Hall (UMR), and Alvin Tinsley (CMSU). Some partial credit may be earned for substantially correct work toward a solution to the problem. There will be a registration fee of $25 per team. A complimentary continental breakfast will precede the Friday morning competition. Each team member is also invited to be a guest at the MAA Missouri Section Banquet on Friday night. At that time, the results of the competition will be announced. A traveling trophy will be awarded to the first place team. In addition, the winning school will receive a plaque. Certificates will also be given to the members of the first place team. Any questions about the competition can be sent to Curtis Cooper, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, MO 64093-5045, (816) 543-8851 email: ccooper@cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu Congratulations to Dr. T. Christine Stevens Dr. Stevens received the 1996 Missouri Section Award for Distinguished University Teaching of Mathematics. She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard University and specializes in topological groups and Lie groups. As a coordinator of Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching), she has helped many new Ph.D.'s get a better start on their teaching career. She is Department Chair at St. Louis University. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 1997 MISSOURI SECTION AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS Nominations for the sixth (1997) Missouri Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics are now being accepted. The Missouri Section Selection Committee will choose one of the nominees for the Section Award. The awardee will be honored at the Spring 1997 meeting of the Section and will be widely recognized and acknowledged within the Section. The awardee will also be the official Section candidate for the pool of Section awardees from which the national recipients of the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics will be selected except that one of the national winners may be selected from another source. There will be at most three national awardees, each of whom will be honored at the national MAA meeting in January 1998 and receive a $1,000 check and a certificate. Anyone is entitled to make a nomination, but nominations from chairs or MAA representatives in departments of mathematical sciences are specially solicited. For this reason, this call for nominations is sent to both department chairs and MAA representatives so that the responsibility for nominations can be shared between them. We urge you to submit a nomination if you have someone eligible and qualified in your department in order that your candidate has an opportunity to be considered for the Section Award and, if so selected, also for the national award. Even if not selected this year, it is an honor for someone to have been nominated, your department will receive recognition for its commitment to excellence in teaching, and the work done in preparing a nomination folder for your candidate is not wasted since your candidate can be nominated again in a future year. Self- nomination is not permitted. In addition to discussing this memo with your colleagues, preferably at a department meeting, please post it in a prominent place in your department. Eligibility College or university teachers assigned at least half-time during the academic year to teaching a mathematical science in a public or private college or university (from two-year college teaching through teaching at the Ph.D. level) in the United States or Canada. Those on approved leave (sabbatical or other) during the academic year in which they are nominated qualify if they fulfilled the requirements in the previous year. At least five years teaching experience in a mathematical science. Membership in the Mathematical Association of America. Guidelines for Nomination The nominees should be widely recognized as extraordinarily successful in their teaching* have teaching effectiveness that can be documented have had influence in their teaching beyond their own institutions** foster curiosity and generate excitement about mathematics in their students. *"teaching" is to be interpreted in its broadest sense, not necessarily limited to classroom teaching (it may include activities such as preparing students for mathematical competitions at the college level, for example, the Putnam Prize Competition or the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, or attracting students to become majors in a mathematical science or to become Ph.D. candidates). **"influence beyond their own institution" can take many forms, including demonstrated lasting impact on alumni, influence on the profession through curricular revisions in college mathematics teaching with national impact, influential innovative books on the teaching of college mathematics, etc. Nominations must be submitted on the "Nomination Form" found at the center of this Newsletter. Please follow the instructions on that form precisely to assure uniformity in the selection process both at the Section and national levels. If a file on a Section awardee significantly exceeds the prescribed limits (as stated on the back of the Nomination Form), it will not be considered for a national award and will be returned to the Section. Please send four copies of each nomination packet to Curtis Cooper Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Central Missouri State University Warrensburg, MO 64093-5045 (816) 543-8851 email: ccooper@cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu so as to be received no later than January 1, 1997. The Section Selection Committee will select the Section awardee during January and communicate its selection to the national selection committee no later than February 1 so that the national Committee can then make its selections. We look forward to your participation in this exciting MAA venture of taking substantive action to honor extraordinarily successful teaching. We want to see such teaching recognized at all post-secondary school levels. We depend on you to help us identify those who merit such recognition. Minutes of MAA Missouri Section Business Meeting Yungchen Cheng, SMSU The business meeting of the MAA Missouri Section was held in Johnson Hall 200 on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University April 13, 1996. The meeting was called to order by Chair Bob Sheets at 11:00 am. 1. To recognize those students who had made presentations, Bob Sheets presented a certificate and offered a one-year MAA student membership to Travis Austin, David Clements, Dean Hoff, Thomas Kent, and Maxim Sinitsyn. 2. The minutes of the 1995 business meeting, as published in Fall 1995 Newsletter, were approved. 3. Lanny Morley, Section Governor, highlighted his reports that appeared in fall and spring newsletters. 4. James Donaldson, former MAA Vice President, addressed the Section. He invited members to visit the MAA headquarters. 5. Yungchen Cheng, Secretary-Treasurer, distributed the treasurer's report. The current balance was $3,259.10. Student presenters may still request reimbursements (up to $50 each) for portions of their related expenses that have not been supported by other funds. 6. Vic Gummersheimer, Newsletter Editor, encouraged all institutions to publicize their campus activities in the fall newsletter. He informed members that our newsletters were currently accessible through the Section's Web page. We will continue to solicit departmental representatives' assistance in distributing the newsletter electronically to cut costs. 7. Dennis Malm, Student Chapter Coordinator, reported there are 11 chapters currently in the Section. 8. Robert Kennedy, Visiting Lecturer Coordinator, noted there were 19 lecturers available. He had received 21 requests by high schools in 1995-96. 9. Al Tinsley, Regional AHSME coordinator, distributed a preliminary financial report and the information on schools ranking in the top decile. He noted that the participation was up, but the scores were down. His request to spend $275 for cash prizes was approved. 10. Jack Mosley presented the Nominating Committee's slate to the Section: Jim Downing of Southwest Missouri State University for Vice- Chair and Vic Gummersheimer of Southeast Missouri State University for Newsletter Editor. Bob Sheets asked for further nominations from the floor. There were none. The Committee's nominations were accepted. 11. Bob Sheets extended our Section's appreciation to Curtis Cooper for setting up our Web page and his willingness to serve as our first Web Page Administrator. 12. David John, Vice-Chair, announced next year's meeting will be held on April 11-12, 1997 at Missouri Western State College together with MOMATYC. 13. Harold Hager presented prizes to participants in the 5K run/walk Saturday morning. Jim Downing was the winner of the drawing for a free book up to $15. 14. Bob Sheets informed the Section that our last year's recommendation on the mathematics core requirement (referred to in the Transfer Guidelines) had been jointly submitted by us and MOMATYC to the CBHE. 15. Curtis Cooper reported that there were 16 teams of 42 students from 12 schools participating in our inaugural College Mathematics Competition. 16. University of Missouri at Rolla will host our annual meeting in 2001. 17. Yungchen Cheng was instructed to extend the Section's appreciation to SEMO for using their facilities. The meeting was adjourned at 12:05 pm. Respectfully submitted, Yungchen Cheng Secretary-Treasurer From the Secretary-Treasurer Yungchen Cheng, SMSU Our current balance as of September 30, 1996 is $3,499.63.We will elect our Section Governor of the Association for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1997. Chair David John is appointing a nominating committee to present at least two nominations to the national MAA office by November 15. Ballots will be sent to all members afterwards. Nominations for the sixth Missouri Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics are now being accepted. See page 3 and page 4 of this Newsletter for complete details. Please send your nomination to Curtis Cooper at CMSU. From the Governor Lanny Morley, TSU The Board of Governors met on August 9 in Seattle, Washington, in conjunction with the 1996 Mathfest. President Ken Ross presided over the meeting which was well attended by governors and several special guests and interested visitors. As usual much of the business of the day was routine, consisting of oral and written reports of various committees and officers. However, there were a number of important action items as well. The governors approved a recommendation to hold the 1999 January meeting in San Antonio. The dates for that meeting are January 13-16. Also, the 1997 summer meeting, in which the AMS is not participating, will be held August 2-4 in Atlanta. The governors hope that holding the meeting in a location that is easily accessible and in a region with a relatively high density of MAA members will encourage attendance. Financial reports were presented by Gerald Porter, Treasurer, and Barbara Faires, Chair of the Audit and Budget Committees. Unfortunately, the restructuring of the Washington office and associated personnel changes made it impossible to provide the preliminary budget for 1997. This will be supplied to the governors later for an email discussion and for action at the January meeting. The final report on 1995 showed a substantial deficit in operations, but the picture was complicated both by some costs associated with the restructuring and some different accounting procedures required by the new auditors. The report indicated that "expenditures" exceeded total income by approximately $199,000, but almost half of this could be attributed to the manner in which certain charges were taken. The Treasurer pointed out that the picture for 1995 is a matter for concern but not panic and reminded us that during the period 1990 through 1994, the MAA accumulated an operating surplus of $218,000 and that in early 1998 our buildings will be paid off. The governors will be carefully monitoring the financial picture of the Association during the coming months. The August issue of FOCUS contains a more thorough report on the financial situation. Marcia Sward, Executive Director, introduced three new staff members: Caroline Fuchs, Director of Marketing; Carol Shaw, Director of Development; Dan Kalman, Director of Member Services and Programs. Each of these persons is now at work in the Washington headquarters office. It is expected that they will contribute greatly to the growth of the Association and to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of services to its members. Since 1990 the MAA has had the very successful program SUMMA to encourage the increased participation of minorities in the study of mathematics. During the last several months there have been discussions among the MAA, AMS and the NCTM concerning ways to work together in this area. It is expected that the funding picture for programs such as SUMMA is changing and we will need to modify our approach to keep them viable. A cooperative venture seemed to have advantages to achieving the goals in this area. The governors approved a proposal to supply funding in the amount of $80,000 per year for two years for an Office of Minority Participation. Approval of support by the other organizations was still pending at the time of the Board meeting. Several awards were determined and will be announced at the January meeting. Walter Mientka reported on the very successful US team which competed in the International Mathematical Olympiad in India, and the governors voted approval to accept the invitation to serve as the host of the 2001 International Mathematical Olympiad. Serving as host country is a major undertaking and will require the creation of a nonprofit corporation to handle the fiscal affairs of the project. Fernando Gouvea is the new editor of MAA Online and is responsible for the MAA home page. It was suggested that a template might be made available for section home pages for those sections which do not yet have them. Fernando will also be looking into the transfer of information from the MAA gopher to the home page since the gopher is no longer being updated. A resolution expressing concern about initiatives such as California's Proposition 187, which denies the opportunity for certain services including public education for dependents of illegal aliens, passed by a very narrow margin. Another resolution expressing support for affirmative action efforts to encourage talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds to participate in the development of mathematics, science, and technology at all levels was remanded to a committee for further editing. The governors were privileged to have Christine Stevens and several participants of Project NExT join the meeting for a few minutes. Three of the NExT fellows shared their views on their experiences in the program. This seems to be a very successful program in involving new members of our profession in a variety of professional development activities and enabling them to develop a network of contacts with each other and with those of us who have been around for a while. It seems apparent that many of them are already becoming involved in both their section and the national organization. This will pay great dividends for the future leadership of the MAA. It was a privilege and a pleasure as always to represent the Missouri Section at the meeting. The agenda for Board of Governors meetings is always massive and it is only possible in this report to touch on a few of the highlights. From the Campuses Central Missouri State University (Warrensburg) Granted tenure - Dr. David E. Ewing and Dr. Yue-Chan Phoebe Ho Promoted to Associate Professor - Dr. Jinhua Tao. (Submitted by Ed Davenport) Culver-Stockton College (Canton) Dr. Gary G. Cochell, Professor and Head, spent three weeks this past summer at the Institute in the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching sponsored by the MAA and the NSF. As a result of this institute he has prepared an article on the early history of the Cornell University Mathematics Department that has been submitted to Historia Mathematica. Dr. Atul Roy, Associate Professor, returned to Culver-Stockton after a year on sabbatical at Cornell University. He continues to be very active in statistics education. Dr. Fred Helsabeck, Associate Professor, received tenure in May. (Submitted by Gary G. Cochell) Drury College (Springfield) New Faculty: We are pleased to welcome two new faculty members this year. Dr. Alan Letarte joins us after completing a two year appointment as a Postdoctoral Teaching Scholar at the University of Kentucky. He was involved with projects in calculus reform, collaborative learning, and the use of technology in the classroom. His Ph.D. in Mathematics is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Pamela Reich has also joined our faculty. She is completing her Ph.D. at Iowa State University. She plans to defend her dissertation entitled Complex Algebras of Semigroups this November. In addition to her graduate coursework and her teaching assistantship, she has served as the Graduate Student Teacher Coordinator at Iowa State for the past two years. Dr. Don Moss has left Drury to pursue a graduate degree in computer science at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also teaching this fall at Austin College. Students: Our student organizations have been very active. During the spring semester of 1996, the math club initiated several new members into Kappa Mu Epsilon. The highlight of the spring activities was a trip to the National Convention of Kappa Mu Epsilon held at Washburn University in Kansas. The purpose of the convention is for the presentations of student papers and Drury's chapter was proud to have one of its students, Mark Garton, present a paper on his readings in operations research at the convention. This fall we again have an impressive group of students in our math club. The club is running a tutoring service for the math students at Drury. The club is also holding several social events at the homes of the faculty members, including a bonfire and Christmas party. Our faculty sponsor is Dr. Charles Allen. This coming spring, the National Convention of Kappa Mu Epsilon will be held in Springfield, hosted jointly by Evangel College, SMSU, and Drury College. Our student math club will be sponsoring the mixer on Thursday, April 3, 1997. New Courses: We have begun offering classes for our new Computer Science minor. We are looking into the possibility of expanding this program into a major. We have also begun offering a new math course which is part of a 12 hour general education math and science sequence for all Drury students. The math course covers a variety of topics with a focus on problem solving and on group writings and presentations. The science course which follows integrates concepts from biology, chemistry, and physics, and prepares the students for the capstone course in undergraduate research in science. (Submitted by Carol Collins) Jefferson College (Hillsboro) Mr. Kenneth Beckmann retired in May 1996 after 29 years of teaching mathematics at Jefferson College. He will continue to serve as treasurer of MOMATYC and to teach one class per semester. He has indicated that most of his time, however, will be doing research on small spheres after they have been struck by a specially shaped wooden or metal stick. New Faculty: Ms. Constance Kuchar, M.A., St. Louis University, Instructor. (Submitted by Richard Vaughn) Missouri Southern State College (Joplin) Ms. Mary Elick and Dr. Juan L. Vazquez were promoted to Associate Professor. Mr. Jack Jolly, who for many years served as the MAA representative, retired after 28 years of service. Ms. Mary Elick continues serving as National Historian for KME. The Math Club and KME Chapter continue to be very active. Richard Williamson presented the paper " An investigation into the analytic and algebraic structures of triangle transformations" at the Missouri Academy of Science Annual Meeting in Springfield, MO. He also presented the paper "Unusual Methods of representing triangles" at the KME Regional Convention in Topeka,KS. Angela Long presented the paper "Braids" at the local meeting of the Mo-Kan Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Several social and academic activities have been planned for this fall and spring. Ms. Mary Elick and Dr. Charles (Chip) Curtis continue serving as faculty sponsors for the organizations. Dr. Tran Van Thuong presented two papers at the First "ATCM" conference in Singapore. Dr. Juan L. Vazquez presented "Explorations with the Geoboard" at the Interface Conference for K-6 Teachers. (Submitted by Juan L. Vazquez) Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville) New Faculty: Betty Jean Harmsen, Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics Dr. Russ Euler is the new editor of the Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. Dr. Jawad Sadek is the new sponsor of the student group, the "AfterMath Club". Dr. Cheryl Gregerson was involved in three Eisenhower grants for the Missouri Math Mentoring Project. Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau) On Leave: Sharon Yan will be on leave for two years to Harvard University. New Faculty: Glenn Chappell, Ph.D. from the University of Illinois with a specialization in combinatorics; Douglas Kennedy, ABD at Auburn University in algebra. Retirement: Jack Gosnell will retire in August 1997 after 31 years at Southeast. After serving as Acting Chair for one year, Vic Gummersheimer has been named Department Chair. The term appointment of Shari Harris will expire in May 1997. The Department is seeking two Assistant Professors for Fall 1997: Math Education and Statistics. Supplemental Instruction for College Algebra has been instituted through Funding For Results. Mathematics Education Majors attend assigned College Algebra sections and then conduct help sessions for the students from those sections. Math Field Day for area mathematics high school students will be on April 22, 1997. Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar) Dr. Kevin W. Hopkins co-directed an Eisenhower project with Mr. Tim Chappell (formerly from North Central, currently at Penn Valley Community College) at North Central Missouri College for Math and Science Teachers on the Use of the Internet. They received 275 applications for the workshops which were held in July, 1996. Forty nine teachers attended and spent a good week learning about the internet. Web pages have been set up to disseminate information presented during the workshop and to disseminate results from the workshop. It is at http://www.ncmc.cc.mo.us/eisen/index.htm. Dr. Hopkins will be speaking on this topic Oct. 5 at Southwest Baptist University's Education Day, Oct. 11 at the NCTM regional in Kansas City, and February 28 at Interface 'B at Tan-Tar-A. Mr. Chappell will be speaking on this topic Oct. 5 at the KC Regional Technology Expo at the MCTM meeting Dec. 6-7 in Columbia. (Submitted by Kevin W. Hopkins) Southwest Missouri State University (Springfield) Promotion: Xiang Ming Yu (to Professor); Larry Campbell, Wenxiong Chen, Cameron Wickham, and Liang-Cheng Zhang (to Associate Professor) Tenure: Wenxiong Chen, Cameron Wickham, and Liang-Cheng Zhang Award: Kishor Shah and Xingping Sun (1995-96 SMSU Foundation Excellence in Research); Clay Sherman (1995-96 CNAS Excellence in Research); Sally Vestal and Liang-Cheng Zhang (1995-96 CNAS Excellence in Teaching); Shirley Huffman (1996 Outstanding Contributor in Insurance Education); Grant Lathrom (1995-96 CNAS Senior Student Award) Sabbatical: Kanghui Guo, Paula Kemp, and Xingping Sun (1996 Fall) External Grant: Kurt Killion & Lynda Plymate (NSF-ILI; Eisenhower) Internal Grant: Larry Campbell (University Grant); Liang-Cheng Zhang (Summer Faculty Fellowship) Special Event: The Mathematics Department hosted an international conference on dynamical systems and differential equations on May 29- June 1. Over two hundred mathematicians from twenty-six countries attended this conference organized by Shouchuan Hu. New Mac Lab: Lynda Plymate, Kurt Killion, and Clyde Paul were awarded another NSF grant which provides us with an additional teacher training Mac lab. (Submitted by Yungchen Cheng) St. Louis Community College-Meramec (St. Louis) New faculty: Karen Gaines Promotions: Carol Barnett and Barbara Kurt now are Assistant Professors Math Support Group is a student organization that does everything from sponsoring workshops on Math Study Skills and Math Anxiety coping strategies to bringing in outside speakers for Math Awareness Week. It recently won an award as the outstanding student organization on the Meramec campus. Basic Math is now taught exclusively in a computer lab setting. Calculus Labs: Mathematica notebooks are now used in lab time for all calculus courses and above, including Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. Some are available commercially, and some were written here by Ron Goetz. (Submitted by Lillian Seese) Three Rivers Community College (Poplar Bluff) Russell C. LeBar retired May 1995 after 10 years at TRCC. He and his family moved to Bainbridge, NY soon after his retirement. All members of the Department belong to the AMATYC. Dr. Nahed Okasha and Stan Cunningham plan to attend the AMATYC conference in Long Beach, CA November 13 to 17, 1996. (Submitted by Mairead Ryan-Anderson) Truman State University (Kirksville) In response to core curriculum changes proposed by the university councils, the division is developing a calculus course for liberal arts students. Dr. Mark Schlatter, with funding from an internal summer grant, has been the primary developer of the course which emphasizes concepts and models drawn from the liberal arts and social sciences. Dr. Schlatter is currently teaching an experimental section of this course. By the year 2000, all students at Truman may be required to take a course in calculus. Dr. Todd Hammond and Dr. Joe Hemmeter are leading an effort to incorporate Mathematica into the curriculum of the mathematics major. Funded by internal summer grants, they have developed a Mathematica lab that they are now teaching as part of our third semester of calculus. Dr. Wije Wijesiri (Ph.D. from the University of Idaho) has joined the faculty as a Visiting Assistant Professor to replace Dr. Ethan Port who is taking a one-year leave-of-absence to pursue opportunities in computer technology development. Daniel Smith (M.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia) has joined the faculty as a temporary instructor. Annela Kelly (soon to receive her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri- Columbia) is teaching part-time at Truman this semester. Dr. Kevin Easley is on sabbatical this year. Dr. Lanny Morley continues to serve as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dr. Eric Howard continues to serve as Acting Head of the Division of Mathematics and Computer Science. A search for a new Vice President is underway. (Submitted by Eric Howard) University of Missouri-Rolla (Rolla) We have three new Faculty Members at UMR: 1. Vy Le, Ph.D. from the University of Utah, 1995. His specialties are nonlinear differential equations, bifurcation theory and the calculus of variations. 2. Tom Kirchoff, Ph.D. from Iowa State University, 1996. His specialties are nonparametric regression, longitudinal data and mixed models. 3. Mitch Watnik, Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis, 1996. His specialties are model selection, econometrics and statistical computing. Professor Selden Trimble took an early retirement after 25 years on the faculty at UMR. Dean John D. Fulton accepted the position as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech. Glen Haddock has (as he put it) "flunked retirement" and is serving as Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences is presently conducting a search for a new dean. Two faculty members, Dr. Albert Goodman and Dr. Michael Hilgers, received NSF grants this fall. (Submitted by Tom Ingram) Washington University (St. Louis) New Faculty Member: Nik Weaver, Ph. D., functional analysis Promotion: Ronald Freiwald promoted to Professor Our Putnam team (Mathew Crawford, Dan Schepler, Jade Vinson) placed 7th nationally in 1995-6. Washington University teams placed 1st (Christopher Green, Dan Schepler, Erik Vee) and 2nd (Mathew Crawford, Tim Sanders, Jade Vinson ) in the first Missouri MAA Collegiate Mathematics Competition, receiving scores of 92 and 90 out of a possible 100. (Submitted by Edward Wilson) William Jewell College (Liberty) The department is in the process of class testing a new, general education mathematics course required of all students not enrolled in calculus. The course consists of two parts: Mathematical Model Building and Statistics. The common characteristic throughout both 7-week portions is that students deal with real data as the starting point. In the model building portion the data represent quantifiable relationships for which students will observe and generalize patterns. In the statistics portion, the data is that of a random sample from which inferences are to be made regarding the population represented by the sample. Common, required, upper level general education classes are to provide opportunities for students to use these mathematical/statistical tools thus, hopefully, encourage mathematical patterns of thought to become part of the student's intellectual tools. (Submitted by Darrel Thoman) Mathematics Awareness Week 1997 Mathematics Awareness Week 1997 will be celebrated April 20-26. The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics has selected "Mathematics and the Internet" as the 1997 MAW theme. This theme includes such subjects as computer security and encryption, data mining, network analysis, information theory, and the availability of mathematical information on the World Wide Web and other technologies. To find out more about current and past MAW activities, check out the www site: http://forum.swarthmore.edu/maw/. Isolated Statisticians Statisticians who have limited contact with other statisticians have formed an informal group, and refer to themselves as isolated statisticians. Most isolated statisticians are employed in a mathematics department or a department which makes use of applied statisticians. A regional meeting of these isolated statisticians will be held in Ames, Iowa on April 11-12, 1997. If you, or a colleague, identify yourself as an isolated statistician and would like more information about this meeting, please contact Terry King at Northwest Missouri State University (TLKING@ACACD.NWMISSOURI.EDU) The Ohio State University College Short Course Program The Ohio State University College Short Course Program -- affiliated with the Teachers Teaching With Technology Program -- will be funding many 3 or 5-day short courses throughout the United States in 1996 - 97. We are now taking applications for host site colleges. Courses include appropriate content material for the developmental level (DEV using the TI-83), for the college algebra-trigonometry level (ALGT using the TI-83), for the precalculus and calculus level (PCALC-CALC using the TI-83 or TI-85), and for the calculus level (CAS-CALC using the TI-92). Participants will learn how to use Texas Instruments hand-held technology to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics. Each course will contain some use of the CBL to collect "real" data for the purpose of mathematical analysis. The DEV, ALGT, and PCALC-CALC courses will also include an introduction to the TI-92 and the latest graphing calculators from Texas Instruments. Pedagogical, testing, and implementation issues are addressed in all courses. Some AMATYC Standards recommendations will be implemented in appropriate courses. Three-day courses may be held during the academic year, and 3 or 5- day courses may be offered during the summer of 1997. Mini-grant application forms are available at: or . Hard copies of the application form can be obtained from Bert Waits and Frank Demana through Ed Laughbaum at The Ohio State University, 231 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, or via e-mail at . MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS Nomination Form (Please Type) Name of Nominee (Last name first)_______________________________________ Name of College or University___________________________________________ College or University Address___________________________________________ College Telephone (___)______________Home Telephone (___)_______________ Number of years of teaching experience in a mathematical science _______ Has the nominee taught at least half time in a mathematical science for the past three years (not counting a sabbatical period)?________ Activities related to teaching__________________________________________ Publications related to teaching if any (List no more than five)________ ________________________________________________________________________ Membership and significant activities in relevant professional organizations ________________________________________________________________________ Previous awards for teaching, if any____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Additional relevant information_________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Name of Nominator (last name first)_____________________________________ Address of Nominator____________________________________________________ Signature of Nominator__________________________________________________ Evidence of Success in Teaching Please describe the nominee's success in teaching by providing a narrative of the nominee's background, experience, teaching style, special contributions, and other related information not already included in the Nomination Form. Limit this portion to no more than four pages, which must be typewritten and double-spaced on one side only of an 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Type size, whether word processor or typewriter, should be no smaller than 12 point (pica) in size. You are also required to submit no more than 3 pages of evidence to document the nominee's extraordinary teaching success. Appropriate documentation may vary greatly from institution to institution but may include summaries of peer or student evaluations and comments on teaching and other information specific to the nominee's accomplishments, such as increases in numbers of mathematics majors or Ph.D. candidates (with clear evidence of the substantial responsibility of the candidate for these increases); or if a strength of the candidate is preparing students for competitions, then student success in these competitions should be cited. In addition, you may include a maximum of five letters of recommendation (limited to one page each) with at least two from the nominee's present or former students and at least two from colleagues (one of whom could be the department chair). Curricula vitae should not be submitted since the information from them relevant to teaching success should be included in the Nomination Form and other documents mentioned above. Please send four copies of each nomination packet to Curtis Cooper Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Central Missouri State University Warrensburg, MO 64093-5045 (816) 543-8851 email: ccooper@cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu so as to be received no later than January 1, 1997. MISSOURI MAA COLLEGIATE MATHEMATICS COMPETITION REGISTRATION FORM Name of College ___________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Phone Number _______________________ E-mail ______________________ Team A Team B __________________________ _________________________ __________________________ _________________________ __________________________ _________________________ __________________________ _________________________ Sponsor's Name ___________________________________________________ Registration Fee(s) __________________________________ ($25/team) Payment Enclosed ____________ Pay at Contest ____________________ Make checks payable to MAA Missouri Section Return to: Curtis Cooper Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Central Missouri State University Warrensburg, MO 64093-5045 (816) 543-8851 Email: ccooper@cmsuvmb.cmsu.edu MISSOURI SECTION of THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION of AMERICA ABSTRACT FOR CONTRIBUTED PAPERS SPEAKER Name: _________________________________________________ Institution: ____________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Phone: Office (____)__________Home (____)______________ Email: ____________________________________________ PAPER TITLE: ____________________________________ BRIEF ABSTRACT OR DESCRIPTION OF PAPER: __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ AMS SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION (see reverse side) _____________________ SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS NEEDED (Overhead projector, computer, etc.): __________________________________________________________ Is the speaker a student? ____ Is the Paper directed toward a student audience?____ PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM BY FEBRUARY 3, 1997, TO: David John Department of CS/M/P Missouri Western State College 4525 Downs Drive St. Joseph, MO 64507 Mathematics Subject Classification 00General 51Geometry 01History and biography 52Convex and discrete 03Mathematical logic and foundations geometry 04Set theory 53Differential geometry 05Combinatorics 54General topology 06Order, lattices, ordered 55Algebraic topology algebraic structures 57Manifolds and 08General algebraic systems complexes 11Number theory 58Global analysis, analysis 12Field theory and polynomials on manifolds 13Commutative rings and algebras 60Probability theory and 14Algebraic geometry stochastic processes 15Linear and multilinear 62Statistics algebra; matrix theory 65Numerical analysis 16Associative rings and algebra 68Computer science 17Nonassociative rings 70Mechanics of particles and algebras and systems 18Category theory, 73Mechanics of solids homological algebra 76Fluid mechanics 19K-theory 78Optics, electromagnetic 20Group theory and generalization theory 22Topological groups, Lie groups 80Classical thermodynamics, 26Real functions structure of matter 28Measure and integration 81Quantum theory 30Functions of a complex variable 82Statistical mechanics, 31Potential theory structure of matter 32Several complex variables 83Relativity and and analytic spaces gravitational theory 33Special functions 85Astronomy and astrophysics 34Ordinary differential equations 86Geophysics 35Partial differential equations 90Economics, operations 39Finite differences and research,programming,games functional equations 92Biology and other natural 40Sequences, series, summability sciences,behavioral sciences 41Approximations and expansions 93Systems theory; control 42Fourier analysis 94Information and 43Abstract harmonic analysis communication, circuits 44Integral transforms, 96Mathematical education, operational calculus elementary 45Integral equations 97Mathematical education, 46Functional Analysis secondary 47Operator theory 98Mathematical education, 49Calculus of variations and collegiate optimal control; optimization 99Unclassified or late __