Undergraduate Program in Mathematics
News and Notes
Graduating Senior Majors: Congratulations to you all !
On Friday, May 18, a total of 67 students will graduate as majors in mathematics. Five other majors graduated in August/December 2012, for a total of 72 in this academic year. Something about these students:
they were born in 5 different countries
those born within the U.S. represent Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and 21 different states
a large proportion of them (about 3/4) also completed a major in another area
almost 1/3 of them are going on next fall to advanced study in some field; another third (at the time of senior exit interviews in early April) had specific job plans
women make up 37.5 % of these majors--a higher proportion than average at comparable universities
Graduating majors and their guests are invited to a Department Open House as part of the Commencement activities. The Open House, which includes a light lunch buffet, will be on Thursday, May 17, immediately following the ArtSci Recognition Ceremony Thursday morning (the ArtSci ceremony usually ends around 12:15).) Please send your RSVP, along with the approximate number attending, to Professor Ron Freiwald (if you haven't done so already).
Annual Department Awards Ceremony
At the ceremony on Thursday April 26 we distributed honors cords to recognize graduating mathematics majors recommended to receive Latin Honors, Distinction, or one of the Departmental Prizes. In addition Professor Renato Feres was presented with the Guido Weiss Award for Teaching and Service, and TA Brady Rocks received the Robert H. McDowell Award for Teaching. See photos.
Math Competition Results: 2011-2012
See the article from the W.U. Record
Missouri Collegiate Mathematics Competition Congratulations to the two Washington University teams that participated in this annual competition sponsored by the Missouri Section of the Mathematical Association of America. Now in its 17th year, the contest was hosted April 12-13, 2012 on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The competition consists of two sessions, each 2.5 hours long and containing five problems. One W.U. team (Tom Morrell, Alan Talmage, and Ari Tenzer) captured first place. A second W.U. team (Matt Halpern, Josh Levin and Jason Zhang) tied with St. Louis University for third place. Both teams scored in the 90's on the exam. A total of 41 teams from colleges and universities across Missouri took part.
Next year's competition will be held on Thursday, April 18 and Friday April 19, 2013, on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, MO. Read more about the annual competition, including an archive of past problems, solutions and the official competition official competition photos.
Left to right: Matt Halpern, Ari Tenzer, Jason Zhang, Tom Morrell,
Alan Talmage, Josh Levin, and Professor Russ Woodroofe
William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition Sixteen Washington University mathematics students participated in the 72nd William Lowell Putnam Mathematics Competition on Saturday, December 3, 2011. A total of 4440 students from 572 colleges/universities in US/Canada. Senior Alex Anderson received Honorable Mention status with a national ranking of 26. Two additional W.U. students tanked in the top 200 and one more in the top 250.
Three students are also designated in advance as the W.U. Putnam team (the team score is the sum of their individual scores). The W.U. team was ranked 28 out of about 460 teams this year. The team members were senior Alex Anderson and juniors Tom Morrell and Ari Tenzer.
The Putnam Competition is sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and consists of twelve problems, divided between two 3-hour sessions. Students work individually, but three students are designated in advance as a school team; the team score is the sum of their three individual scores.
In addition, individual performances are ranked: congratulations to Alex Anderson whose individual ranking was 26, placing him in the "Honorable Mention" category among about 4000 competitors nationwide. Two other W.U. students ranked individually among the top 200: Matthew Halpern and Patrick Lopatto.
Here's how the MAA describes the mathematics background involved in the Competition. You can view past contest problems and solutions at the Putnam Competition Directory. There's also a useful Putnam web page maintained at Santa Clara University. Here is a partial history of the Putnam Competition.
The next Putnam Competition will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2012. In fall 2012, there will be practice problem sessions for students who are interested. Anyone is welcome to participate in the practice sessions (even if you don't think you want to participate in the competition in December).
Feel free to contact Professor Victor Wickerhauser with any questions.
Getting Involved with Other Students and Faculty in the Department
Math Club: Next meeting in fall 2012
- Check the Math Club website
- We're also on The Link
- If you're interested in hearing about a specific topic at Math Club, or would like to give a talk yourself, feel free to email us.
For more information or to get involved, come to a meeting, contact Rachel Blake. or Math Club advisor, Professor Quo-Shin Chi.
For other talks, see the department's Events Calendar. Talks before Department Colloquia are usually preceded by refreshments: majors are always welcome at the "tea" whether or not they want to attend the talk itself.
Washington University Actuarial Club (WUAC): Next meeting in fall 2012
If you would like to be added/removed from the WUAC emailing list, contact Trevor Hu or Shannon Hanko, WUAC co-presidents for 2012-2013
William Chauvenet: from the Washington Magazine
Mathematician William Chauvenet was the second Chancellor of Washington University. The Department's Chauvenet Postdoctoral Lecturer positions are named after him. Our current Chauvenet Lecturers are Professors Tejas Kalelkar, Russ Woodroofe, and Ivan Horozov. A new Chauvenet Lecturer arriving in fall 2012 will be Peter Luthy.
Jerome T. Loeb Undergraduate Lecture in Mathematics
The annual Jerome T. Loeb Undergraduate Lecture in Mathematics is made possible by a generous gift from Jerome and Carol Loeb. Jerry Loeb was an alumnus of our Department. Carol, an enthusiastic math teacher and educator, has long been a friend of the Department. Thanks to Professor Alice Silverberg, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at University of California-Irvine for her April 4, 2012 lecture on Cryptography and Elliptic Curves
Student Life Article: Getting to Know Professor Guido Weiss
Math in the News
Why Math Works (Scientific American)
Interested in Math Enrichment for Motivated Middle School Students? Get Involved with Math Circles
Summer REU Programs
Undergraduate majors, especially those interested in graduate work in mathematics, should consider applying to one of the many summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Students most often participate after the junior year but, depending on your preparation, after the sophomore year might also work. Applications for the coming summer are usually due by about mid February. Explore our web page Undergraduate Study/Internship Opportunities and talk with Professor Ron Freiwald if you might be interested.
Annual Undergraduate Conference for Women in Mathematics
The 14th annual conference was held on January 27-29, 2012 at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln). It was attended by 269 undergraduate women from 99 different schools in 38 states. One major from W.U. attended (and a couple of others might have gone if registration hadn't filled up). The conference is a chance to meet with other women interested in mathematics, to learn about life in mathematics graduate school from current female graduate students, hear about summer research opportunities and careers in math, and listen to some of the undergraduate participants talk about their research. There are also some good invited guest lecturers. Read more about the conference and its history on its web page.
You can read comments from some of the W.U. majors who have attended these conferences in past years, and the Department can usually pay for (or help with) transportation costs for a few students; most other expenses are covered by the conference organizers.
Information about the 15th Annual Conference (January 2013) will be posted here as soon as it becomes available. Registration for the meeting will probably open in October 2012, and when it opens, the registration list usually fills up fast.
Feedback
The Department always welcomes feedback or questions from students. You can contact
- Professor Ron Freiwald (Director of Undergraduate Studies)
- Professor Blake Thornton (Coordinator of Lower Division Teaching: Calculus/Differential Equations questions and issues)
- Professor David Wright, Department Chair
- If you prefer, you can also send an anonymous email to the Department Chair, Professor David Wright.