Math Students Take the Stage at Conference

SSU mathematics professors Brigitte Lahme, Izabela Kanaana and and Jerry Morris have organized the department's second annual Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference set for Saturday, April 8.

Undergraduate mathematics students from universities and colleges in Northern California and Southern Oregon have registered to give 28 talks on a wide variety of mathematics topics. This includes students from Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, Chico and Humboldt State and, of course, from SSU. The conference gives students an opportunity to practice talking about their work in mathematics in front of a friendly, peer audience. While sharing the results of work with peers is an essential part of an academic career, most national and local mathematics conferences usually only include poster sessions for undergraduates but no oral presentations, says Lahme.

The first Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference held at SSU last year was a great success. More than 100 students and faculty spent a great day learning about a variety of mathematical topics and meeting people from other campuses during a pizza lunch on the lawn of the alumni amphitheater.

This year’s conference is supported by the Associated Students Inc., the provost’s office, and a grant from the National Science Foundation administered through the Mathematical Association of America. Registration is free. Morning refreshments and lunch will be provided for all conference participants.

For further information contact Lahme at 4-2238 or e-mail nocalumc@sonoma.edu. The conference Web site is located at www.sonoma.edu/math/nocalumc.