Institution: University of South Carolina
Reporting Year: 2022-2023
Advisor: Ronda Sanders
Advisor's Email Address: Sanders@math.sc.edu
Has There Been a Change in Chapter Advisor During the Past Year?: No
Permanent Faculty Correspondent:
Permanent Faculty Correspondent's Email Address:
Officers: President: Travis Pence
Chapter Website: http://people.math.sc.edu/pme/
Number of New Members: 4
Number of Continuing Members: 15
Activities: We were honored to welcome both Dr. Ken Ono and Paul Dreyer. Our chapter did not personally host these speakers, but our members enjoyed both events. Dr. Ono is an associate producer of the film The Man Who Knew Infinity starring Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons about Srinivasa Ramanujan, a self-trained two-time college dropout who left behind three notebooks filled with equations that mathematicians are still trying to figure out today. Ramanujan claimed that his ideas came to him as visions from an Indian goddess. This lecture was about why Ramanujan matters. The answers to this question extend far beyond the world of equations and formulas, offering food for thought about the rigidity of higher education today and the need for international collaboration and cooperation in STEM fields. Many game shows have a rich mathematical foundation, drawing on topics in probability, game theory, and decision theory. Paul Dreyer, a mathematician who has consulted on over 30 game shows, guided students in an exploration of the mathematics behind a number of shows on which he worked, including The Wall, Million Second Quiz, and Spin the Wheel.
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.
No.
If you were awarded a PME Lectureship, Conference, or Prize Grant within the past year, please briefly describe the results.