Converse Attends Mathematics Meeting in San Francisco
Dr. Amanda Mangum, Sydney Wilson ’24 and Ryleigh Henderson ’24 (Nisbet Honors) attended the world’s most extensive mathematics gathering, the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Francisco. More than 5100 people attended from across the globe. Attendees learned, played, networked, recruited, exhibited, and celebrated mathematics.
This meeting is sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America, the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts. This annual conference unites faculty, industry professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, high school teachers, and more.
Sydney Wilson ’24 and Ryleigh Henderson ’24 presented their research, networked and learned about the current states of research and teaching practices in various fields of mathematics. They also connected with Converse alumni Chloe Griffin ’22 (Nisbet Scholar) and Chiara Mattamira ’20 (Nisbet Scholar).
Sydney’s talk, “Predicting the Number of Times Aid is Requested from a Non-Profit,” focused on work that began in her Spring 2022 Quantitative Consulting course. Sydney extended this work through the following summer and her senior seminar project.
Sydney said her time at this conference was extremely fulfilling. “I got to experience a new city with one of my friends and present research to professors, peers, and grad school recruits,” Sydney said.
Ryleigh’s talk, “Using SIR Models to Simulate the Black Death” explored how to apply disease modeling techniques to data for the bubonic and pneumonic plagues. She is working on this research with Dr. Jessica Sorrells and Dr. John Theilmann for her Honors in Field Thesis.
Ryleigh appreciates Converse’s Mathematics department for always providing students with opportunities to grow personally and professionally. She said, “During the conference, I was able to connect with Converse alumni who share similar interests as me, build my network in the mathematics community, expand my knowledge on mathematical concepts, present my honors in field research in a professional manner, and travel to a new area in the United States!”
Dr. Mangum was joined by Nisbet Scholar Chloe Griffin ’22 to present a recently published joint paper, “Fitting a COVID-19 Model Incorporating Senses of Safety and Caution to Local Data from Spartanburg County, South Carolina,” largely drawn from Chloe’s Honors in Field Thesis work.
“We are thankful that Converse supports and encourages students to conduct research and present their results at such impressive conferences.”
Dr. Amanda Mangum
Dr. Mangum also presented “Modern Pen Pals in ODEs” during a special session. The talk demonstrated the pedagogical structure and implementation of a joint project with a colleague from Francis Marion University. The project was designed to foster learning and communication skills in the context of applications to differential equations.
Dr. Mangum also presented research that highlighted her data-focused student projects conducted at Converse and offered resources for quality data on a wide range of topics.
Dr. Mangum said the Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) are a unique opportunity for students to present their work at a conference serving thousands of mathematicians and math educators.
“JMM is an excellent place to get a glimpse of just how broad the fields of mathematics and mathematical pedagogy are, and it provides valuable networking opportunities within this global community,” Dr. Mangum said. “We are thankful that Converse supports and encourages students to conduct research and present their results at such impressive conferences.”