2016 Section Meeting

Invited talks

Scott Chapman, Sam Houston State University

Pi Through the Eyes of the American Mathematical Monthly

Abstract: For over 115 years, the American Mathematical Monthly has served as mathematics' most widely read journal for general audience papers. The Monthly holds a unique niche amongst journals in the sciences, as its articles are intended to inform, stimulate, challenge, enlighten, and even entertain; Monthly articles are meant to be read, enjoyed, and discussed, rather than just archived. The long history of the Monthly does not just include papers which had significant impact on both the research and teaching communities, but its articles can be used as a mirror which reflects the trends and attitudes of not only mathematicians, but academics in general. In this talk, I will briefly cover the history and accomplishments of the Monthly. I shall then use the contents of my recent Notices of the American Mathematical Society (Feb. 2016) paper on dealing with a mathematics journal editor as a springboard to review the highlights and lowlights of my 5 years as editor of the Monthly.

Gary Gordon and Liz McMahon, Lafayette College

The Joy of SET®

Abstract: The card game SET® is played with a special deck of 81 cards. There is quite a lot of mathematics that can be explored using the game. We'll look at questions in combinatorics, probability, linear algebra, and especially geometry. The deck is an excellent model for the finite affine geometry AG(4,3) and provides an entry to surprisingly beautiful structure theorems for that geometry. If you'd like some practice before the talk, go to www.setgame.com for the rules and a Daily Puzzle.

Suzanne Dorée, Augsburg College

Writing Numbers as the Sum of Factorials

Abstract: In standard decimal notation, we write each integer as the linear combination of powers of 10. In binary, we use powers of 2. What if we used factorials instead of exponentials? How can we express each integer as the sum of factorials in a minimal way? This talk will explore the factorial representation of integers, including historical connections to permutations, a fast algorithm for conversion, and the secret of the "third proof by mathematical induction." Next we'll extend this representation to rational and then real numbers, ending with some remaining open questions.