Massachusetts Theta Chapter Report

Institution: Simmons University

Reporting Year: 2018-2019

Advisor: Donna Beers

Advisor's Email Address: donna.beers@simmons.edu

Has There Been a Change in Chapter Advisor During the Past Year?: No

Permanent Faculty Correspondent: Anthony Scotina

Permanent Faculty Correspondent's Email Address: anthony.scotina@simmons.edu

Officers: 

Chapter Website: http://

Number of New Members: 3

Number of Continuing Members: 0

Activities: This year marked the tenth anniversary of the Massachusetts Theta Chapter. The new inductees were Simmons students Peizhu Qian, Giulia Pintea, and Gemma Lein-McDonough, and our newest colleague in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Assistant Professor Anthony Scotina. In celebration of our tenth anniversary, we juxtaposed our induction ceremony on November 29, 2018 with two special events: a panel of seven math alums (six panelists are members of Pi Mu Epsilon), "A conversation about math and careers in math," preceding the induction, and a poster session featuring research by this year's student inductees, which followed the induction program. The posters and presenters were as follows: "How long does it take to meet everyone on earth? A natural simulation of the small world," by Peizhu Qian; "Evaluating the Perception of Roma in Europe through Social Network Analysis," by Giulia Pintea; and "Exploring Provisions of Instrumental Support in Online Health Communities," by Gemma Lein-McDonough.

Do any of your chapter members plan to attend or present at the PME National Meeting this year? No.

Do you have any news about current students or recent graduations? For example, scholarships or other awards, acceptances to graduate school, paper presentations at conferences, etc.
In fall 2019, Peizhu Qian enters the Ph.D. program in Computer Science at Rice University and Giulia Pintea begins her doctoral studies in Cognitive Science at Tufts University.

If you were awarded a PME Lectureship, Conference, or Prize Grant within the past year, please briefly describe the results.