Nebraska Alpha University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Nebraska Alpha University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chapter Report

PFC:

Officers:

President – Adam Azzam Treasurer:

Vice President – Evan Nash

Secretary – Alexander Estes

Treasurer – Ryan Gunderson

Chapter URL: http://www.math.unl.edu/~math-club/pme/

Number of New Members Inducted: 8

Number of Continuing Members: 6

Describe the two most interesting or unusual chapter activities this year:

1. The annual Pi Mu Epsilon lecture “Extreme Calculus” was presented on Sep. 23 by Paul Zorn – a professor of mathematics at Saint Olaf College and the President of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The address was public and drew over 60 attendees with over 35 being undergraduate students. The event was held in conjunction with the Pi Mu Epsilon induction for the Nebraska Alpha Chapter of PME. 2. The 1st Missouri River Valley Undergraduate Mathematics Conference was organized in collaboration with the Pi Mu Epsilon Chapters and Math Clubs at the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) and Creighton University. The meeting took place on April 21st at the UNO campus. The conference attracted almost 40 student participants, featured 8 undergraduate research talks and a guest faculty presentation by an MAA Polya Lecturer Professor Judy Walker. Information about the meeting can be found at https://sites.google.com/a/unomaha.edu/mathconference ===================== Besides the above events our annual program featured public talks by senior undergraduate students about the research they had conducted at REU sites in summer: Alexander Azzam: “Embroidering in Hilbert space” Charles Larrieu: “A friendly discussion of light, space, the universe, and everything… and groups!”

Do any of your chapter members plan to attend or present a paper at the 2012 PME national meeting at MathFest in Madison, Wisconsin?

Do you have any news about current students or recent graduates, for example, scholarships or other awards, acceptances to graduate school, paper presentations at conferences?

Alexander Azzam received the University of Nebraska “Chair’s Prize” (presented to an outstanding undergraduate math major who has excelled in course work, research, and service), and has been accepted to graduate mathematics program at UCLA.

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

The attendees of the 1st Missouri River Valley Undergraduate Conference have been awarded a $200 travel grant from the Pi Mu Epsilon. (a description of the conference can be found in the chapter activities section above) The bulk of the travel fell on the participants going from Lincoln NE and its neighborhoods to Omaha NE. Our chapter organized a carpool and the total reimbursements amounted to tear and wear for slightly over 110 miles for three personal vehicles according to the IRS 2012 mileage rate (55 cents/ mile)