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The Department of Mathematics sponsors a student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The MAA is the world's largest professional society that focuses on undergraduate mathematics education. The purpose of the SBU Student Chapter of the MAA is to create and support opportunities for St. Bonaventure students to enjoy
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and explore the world of mathematics. Our Student Chapter sponsors talks, mathematically-themed movies & pizza, Integral Day, Pi Day, and other occasions of mathematical import. For a list of some of the events sponsored by our Student Chapter over the last few years, scroll to the bottom of this page.
The Department of Mathematics will pay for the membership of any student who wants to be a member of the MAA, during the years that he or she attends SBU. For further details, see Becoming a Member, below.
The faculty organizers of the SBU MAA Student Chapter are Dr. Chris Hill (chill@sbu.edu) and Dr. Chris Leary (chleary@sbu.edu).
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The SBU MAA Student Chapter is part of the Seaway Section of the MAA, which includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, and New York.
Coming Attractions
Recent Events
- On Thursday, October 18, 2012, Dr. Chris Hill gave a talk entitled, "Breakthrough: The abc Conjecture and Beyond".
- On Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011, the Department of Mathematics hosted the Fall 2011 MAA Seaway Section Meeting. Some 125 mathematics faculty, students and practitioners attended the conference.
Becoming a Member
The Department of Mathematics will pay for the membership of any student who wants to be a member of the MAA, during the years that he or she attends SBU. An SBU student may obtain a new or renewed membership in the MAA at our Student Chapter's annual organizational meeting, which is typically held around mid-September.
An undergraduate student's membership includes online subscriptions to the superb MAA journals Math Horizons, Mathematics Magazine, and The College Mathematics Journal, as well as an online subscription to the MAA Focus newsletter.
Questions about the MAA Student Chapter may be directed to its organizers, Dr. Chris Hill (chill@sbu.edu) and Dr. Chris Leary (chleary@sbu.edu).
Events Sponsored by the SBU MAA Student Chapter
- Annual Events
Fall Organizational Meeting: At this meeting, typically held in mid-September, students can sign up for a *free* new or renewed membership in the MAA.
Integral Day: On October 29 (or the nearest weekday), we celebrate Gottfried Leibniz's invention of the modern integral sign. Leibniz first wrote the symbol in an unpublished manuscript on October 29, 1675. The celebration includes cookies & cider, an integral graffiti display, and an integral contest.
Pre-finals Study Break: Just prior to the start of the fall semester finals week, the Department of Mathematics hosts a study break for students and profs. The event always features a fun, hands-on, math-related activity, like making dodecahedral calendars (fall 2008), making paper airplanes that really fly (fall 2009), and solving disentanglement puzzles (fall 2010). Refreshments, in the form of pizza and soda, are served.
Pi Day: On March 14 (or the nearest weekday), the Department of Mathematics celebrates the important and mysterious number pi. March is the 3rd month, so the date corresponds to 3.14, a famous approximation for pi. The entire campus is invited. Our celebration includes pie, pi-ounce bags of m&ms, finding visitors' birthdays in the digits of pi, a pi costume contest, and a display featuring 120821 digits of pi.
- Talks
- Student Senior Comprehensive talks: In the spring semester, each senior math major gives a presentation based on the paper that they've written under the guidance of a math faculty member. Each project relates to, but goes beyond the usual scope of, a 300- or 400-level math course.
- Special talks, such as Dr. Hill's talk on Mochizuki's possible proof of the abc Conjecture and Dan Winger's ('13) talk on the infinite sequence of infinities.
- Special Events