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2008 Annual Meeting
Abstracts for plenary addresses |
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Phone: 616-331-2040 Department of Mathematics 2307 Mackinac Hall Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI 49401 |
Abstract: The preparation of mathematics teachers is a critical element in ensuring that high quality mathematics is being taught in our schools. What mathematical understandings should beginning teachers have? What is the relation between the mathematics they will teach and the mathematics they have learned? What mathematical habits of mind should they bring to their classrooms? By thinking hard about these questions, mathematics departments have the opportunity to make a real difference in preparing teachers who have a fundamental understanding of what math is about and why it is important.
Abstract: One of the themes in modern signal and image processing is that most natural signals and images are well-represented by a small amount of inherent information. This theme suggests that we should look for common atomic building blocks or features to represent our signals. In addition, we should develop algorithms or procedures for extracting these signal features. I will discuss the mathematical aspects of both of these problems.
Abstract: In 1900 David Hilbert presented a famous list of 23 problems at the International Mathematical Congress in Paris. This talk is about the 18th of these problems, which was motivated by problems in materials science. The 18th problem concerns crystallographic groups, tilings of space by identical polyhedra, and packing of space by identical convex bodies, such as spheres (Kepler problem). This talk describes the history and results found on this problem, including some recent results found in 2006 and 2007.
Abstract: Can the integers be expressed as the union of finitely many residue classes to different large moduli? This deceptively simple question was raised by Paul Erdos over 50 years ago and it is still unsolved. Erdos wrote of this as his "favorite problem," which is saying something given the enormous number of great problems due to him. In this talk I will discuss the origins of the problem and its connections to some other famous unsolved problems, as well as some very recent numerical and theoretical progress.
Abstract: The Ashland University student chapter of the MAA holds biweekly meetings. During the Fall 2007 semester, I informed students that I would perform a new mathematical card trick at each meeting. While performing one of these card tricks, an unlikely event occurred that made the trick quite dull. In this talk, we will find the probability that this unlikely event occurs after discussing the more general problem of counting permutations with restricted positions.
Abstract: What does it take to turn a learner into a discoverer? Or to turn a teacher into a coadventurer? I will describe a handful of experiences, from teaching a middle-school math class to doing research with undergraduates, that have changed the way that I would answer these |
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| Last Modified Date: March 31, 2008 | |||||||||||||||
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