Welcome to the 2013 Mackinac Gazette. We hope that you enjoy these stories about our students, alumni, and faculty. Please note that past newsletters are available through the links at the left. If you have a suggestion for a story for a future newsletter, we would love to hear from you; please feel free to contact any of the editors.

In this issue

	Meet Kate Coveney, this year's Outstanding Graduate Growing up on an Indiana lake, Kate Coveney grew to love the outdoors at an early age. That love led her to Grand Valley, where she has studied mathematics and its applications to climate science. Read more
	Two math students spend a semester in Budapest Grand Valley math majors Hannah Anderson and Alexis Johnson spent last fall studying mathematics in the Budapest Semester in Mathematics program. Read more
	Capstone class visits New York's Museum of Math Char Beckmann and five MTH 496 students rode a tricycle with square wheels and sat in a hyperboloid chair at the newly opened Museum of Math. Read more
	Ed Aboufadel moving on to new challenges after six years as unit head After two terms as unit head, Ed Aboufadel reflects on the changes that he has overseen while looking ahead to new challenges. Read more
	Students honored for their outstanding achievements The mathematics department gathered on April 12 to celebrate the many accomplishments of its students. Read more
	Math department welcomes two new faculty members Hope Gerson and Jon Hasenbank arrived in the math department this fall bringing years of experience and a passion for teaching. Read more
	Several new textbooks written by math faculty Grand Valley mathematics faculty have a long history of writing textbooks. In the past five years, there have been several notable additions. Read more
	Largest known prime number recently discovered After an intensive computation, mathematicians have declared that 257885161 - 1 is the largest known prime number. Read more