Math Activity

DMC Spring Conference Trips

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Student Opportunities

The DePaul Math Club sent a small group of about 5 students on a back-to-back conference trip over Spring Break.  First they headed down to Joliet on Friday for the annual ISMAA meeting at the University of St. Francis. That night, they drove even further down to Terra Haute, Indiana, so that they could catch Rose-Hulman’s Undergraduate Research Conference the next day. Funnily enough, the troupe was mostly made up of graduate students. Even so, they all had a blast!

 

They saw all sorts of presentations, from urban topology to aquariums of elliptic curves. Although many talks were geared towards more of an undergraduate audience, there was plenty for our algebraist graduate students to enjoy, too. Going to two separate conferences in two days was a lot of driving. But it was also a lot of fascinating mathematics. Plus, the combination of bison spotting (that’s right, Kaelan and Graham were up close and personal with a herd of bison, please ask for pics! See the sample below!), followed by a sushi dinner at the end of the journey made it all worthwhile.

Bison Video!!!

     

Getting Involved with the DePaul Math Club

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Outreach, Student Opportunities

The DePaul Math Club (DMC)has had a busy and exciting school year! Throughout the year, DMC has hosted and participated in many wonderfully successful events.  Recently, this list has included the following:

  • The week before Winter Quarter finals, six DePaul math students road-tripped to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for the annual meeting of the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America. They reported that it was an absolute blast to carpool across Illinois, attend talks, participate in activities, and hang out at their Airbnbs.
  • On Friday, April 19, twenty-five students participated in the CSH First Annual Integration Bee, which proved to be a huge success for all.  In addition to the intense, but friendly competition (see results in above article), there were plenty of chances to mingle, munch on tasty treats, and participate in other fun activities. First place won $500, $200 went to second place, and third took home $100.
  • On Friday, April 26, a group of students ventured to Indiana for the Annual Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Math Conference, where they attended talks and networked with other attendees.  Expenses for transportation, housing, and food were generously covered by the DePaul Math Department.

If you are interested in getting more involved with this exciting and vibrant group next year, please complete this short form:

You can also reach out to the DMC leadership team directly by emailing dpumathclub@gmail.com.

DMC Trip to Rose-Hulman’s Undergraduate

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Math Talks, Student Opportunities

On Friday, April 26, a group of DePaul students ventured to Indiana for the Annual Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Math Conference.  The conference featured research conducted by undergraduate students, including DePaul’s own Owen Levens.  In addition to attending (and giving!) research talks, students were able to network with other attendees and explore Rose-Hulman’s campus. Many good times were had and lots of interesting mathematics was learned!  You can learn more about their adventures by visiting the DePaul Math Club Instagram.

Expenses for transportation, housing, and food were generously covered by the DePaul Department of Mathematical Sciences.


CSH Integration Bee on Friday, 4/19

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Outreach, Student Opportunities

Why are Integrals so awesome? They’re like puzzle pieces that unlock a world of possibilities! From finding areas and volumes to pinpointing central locations, they’re the superheroes of math, science, and beyond!

But wait, there’s more! Picture this: a showdown of epic proportions, where students go head-to-head, solving integrals in a race against time. Well that’s our Integration Bee—an electrifying math tournament where every answer unlocks the door to victory! Plus, it’s not just about the competition. There’ll be plenty of chances to mingle, munch on tasty treats, and dive into fun activities.

 

If that wasn’t exciting enough, the CSH Integration Bee is awarding $500 to the first place winner, $200 to second place, and $100 to third. The CSH Integration Bee will take place 12:00pm-3:00pm on Friday, April 19 in McGowan South 107. Sign up here by April 12th! If you don’t want to compete, no worries–come watch your peers beat each other to bloody pulps with calculus for money! Flyer and info sheet attached!

Math Conference Trips

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Math Talks, Student Opportunities

The week before Winter Quarter finals, six DePaul math students road tripped to Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for the annual meeting of the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Association of America. It was an absolute blast to carpool across Illinois, attend talks, participate in activities, and hang out at our Airbnbs. We’re looking forward to the next one, and can’t wait to see you there!

Speaking of the next conference, the DePaul Math Club will be venturing four hours by car into Indiana for the Annual Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Math Conference. We’re carpooling on the evening of Friday 4/26, staying the night in Indiana, and heading back the next day once the conference is concluded. It’s going to be a blast, and I would love to see you there. Expenses are being generously covered by the DePaul Math Department—so long as receipts are kept and expenses are reasonable and under transportation, housing, or food. Sign up here, and read more here. Registration is free until April 13 then it costs $10, so don’t delay!

DePaul Math Club

Prof. Bockting Events, Math Activity, Math Talks, Student Opportunities

The DePaul Math Club meets Fridays at 12:00 in Arts and Letters 410. It’s a great time filled with pizza, beverages, great people, a relaxed environment, and some fascinating mathematics—math that’s both niche and underdiscussed and the hottest topics leading the math world today. We are usually joined by student researchers, graduate students, or professors—some from DePaul and some from other institutions—to share the math they work with. No math background required. We’re excited to see you there!

Summer 2023 Undergraduate Research

Prof. Bockting Math Activity, Student Opportunities

In Summer 2023, nine local undergraduates will spent 8 weeks engaging in full-time mathematical research, thanks to funding from the Mathematical Association America’s (MAA) National Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (NREUP) and the DePaul University’s Undergraduate Summer Research Program (USRP). The 2023 Math REU at DePaul University was run by Department of Mathematical Sciences faulty Dr. Emily Barnard and Dr. Sarah Bockting-Conrad with support from graduate research assistant Reed Acton.

The following undergraduate students participated: Ugo Alozie (UIC), Daniel Chacon (Aurora University), Erik Dahlen, Daniel Gawel,  Blair Johnson, Joosung Lee, Jiahui Li, Dominic Morgan, Tosin Shokunbi (IIT).

Students’ research focused on the relatively new field of graph b-colorings. A b-coloring is a special kind of proper vertex coloring in which every color class must have at least one vertex which is adjacent to all other color classes. The largest number of colors that can be used in a b-coloring is called the b-chromatic number of the graph. Our students built on existing results about b-colorings and b-chromatic numbers and proved their own results on b-colorings of various graph families. At the end of the summer, students presented their findings at the 2023 DePaul Mathematics Summer Research Symposium.

More information about the research program, including a list of talks given by outside speakers, can be found here.

Are you interested in conducting mathematical research? (Great!) You can start by talking to the faculty members you know or by reaching out the the MAT department’s undergraduate research coordinator, Emily Barnard (e.barnard@depaul.edu).