Activities in the Department of Mathematics || Math v. Physics Softball || Ruhlman Conference || Math Tea || || Student Activities Committee || Department Colloquia || || Martha Davenport Heard Lecture || Putnam Competition || || Math Games || Math v. Physics Softball At the end of the spring semester, we celebrate the end of the school year at the annual Math vs. Physics softball game. Faculty and students from the two departments unite; no prior softball experience is required. Back to top

The Spring 2004 Math Department softball team

Ruhlman Conference Every spring, Wellesley has an annual campus-wide conference to celebrate Wellesley students' achievements. Wellesley's Mathematics students have given talks and presented posters on independent studies and on independent research. In some years, mathematics classes have put together Ruhlman exhibits: hands-on demonstrations to illustrate the beauty and the challenges of a wide range of mathematical topics, from Graph Theory to Knot Theory to the fourth dimension. In fact, these have proved to be popular Ruhlman attractions, not just an outlet for math students' creativity. For more detailed descriptions of past Ruhlman projects, please click here. Back to top

Students displaying their math projects at Ruhlman Conference.

Math Tea
Just show up and take advantage of this opportunity to socialize with mathematics faculty and students.  Math Tea is a welcome break from studies and a chance for an afternoon snack and conversation. It takes place in the Department Common Room, SCI 362. Everyone is welcome! Occasionally, Math Tea has a theme (e.g. a visiting alumna, a discussion of summer internship experiences, etc). If you have suggestions for a themed tea, contact Prof. Kerr, Prof. Bu, or Ms. Chamberlin.

For the Fall 2007 semester, Math Tea will be on Wednesdays at 3:30, beginning on September 26.
 
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Student Activities Committee
We need you!  Each year the Student Activities Committee plans extracurricular activities for mathematics students. The SAC consists of Melanie Chamberlin and one or two faculty members and two or three interested students. This committee puts on:

• Open house events at the beginning of each semester
• Pre-registration lunches (a preview of the next semester's course offerings)
• Math Colloquia
• Math movies
• Annual Math v. Physics Softball game (in late Spring)
• What would you like to see? We are open to your suggestions!

In '07-08, the faculty and staff members of the Student Activities Committee are Prof. Kerr, Prof. Bu and Ms. Chamberlin.

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Department Colloquia
In a typical year, four or more Colloquium talks are given on mathematical topics that are accessible, interesting and new to students. The speakers, usually visitors from other institutions, aim their talks at students. Attending these talks is a good way to broaden your knowledge and awareness of mathematics. Either before or after the talk, there will be an opportunity to chat with the speaker as well as with faculty members and other students and have some refreshments. We welcome your input about speakers and topics.

In '07-08, Prof. Volic is the contact person for Colloquia.

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Martha Davenport Heard Lecture
We will kick off the semester with the sixth annual Martha Davenport Heard Lecture on Monday, October 1, at 4:15. This year we are looking forward to hearing from Prof. Jill Pipher of Brown University. A title and abstract for her talk will be forthcoming soon, along with the location of the talk.

All math majors and minors are invited to join Math Department faculty at a banquet dinner with the speaker following the talk.

Our past Heard lecturers have been:

• '02-03: Robin Lock, St. Lawrence College (Random Behavior: An essential tool in the statistician’s toolbox)
• '03-04: Peter Winkler, Dartmouth College (Probability and Intuition)
• '04-05: Art Benjamin, Harvey Mudd College (Mathemagics)
• '05-06: Sir Randolph Bacon III, sponsored by his cousin-in-law, Colin Adams, Williams College (Blown Away: what Knot to Do When Sailing)
• '06-07: Jennifer Quinn, Executive Director of the Association for Women in Mathematics (Determinants via Determined Ants)

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Putnam Competition
Each year, in early December, the Mathematical Association of America sponsors a problem-solving competition for undergraduates known as the William Lowell Putnam Competition. Over 5000 students from 500 schools across the US and Canada take the Putnam exam, which consists of 12 extremely challenging problems.  A single completely correct solution is already a significant achievement, likely to result in a score well above the median. (The participants are self-selected from among the best in the continent.)  The cash prizes and fame that the top winners receive are enviable, but the real thrill of taking the Putnam exam---or attending the practice sessions---is the pleasure of tackling and solving interesting and unusual problems. The emphasis is on ingenuity: first-year students can do as well as seniors.

Wellesley students have done quite well on the Putnam in recent years. In 2003, Wellesley's Putnam team was ranked 60th in the country and our individual top scorer was awarded an honorable mention. In 2004, Wellesley's Putnam team was ranked 15^th in the country!

Practice problem sessions for the Putnam competition will be held throughout the Fall 2007 semester. All are invited to attend the practice sessions. It's a great opportunity to tangle with challenging problems and hone your problem solving skills.

A sample problem: Players 1, 2, 3, …, n are seated around a table and each has a single penny. Player 1 passes a penny to Player 2, who then passes two pennies to Player 3. Player 3 then passes one penny to Player 4, who passes two pennies to Player 5, and so on, players alternately passing one penny or two to the next player who still has some pennies. A player who runs out of pennies drops out of the game and leaves the table. Find an infinite set of numbers n for which some player ends up with all n pennies. 

In 2007, the faculty advisor for the Putnam exam is Prof. Bernstein.

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Math Games
This is Wellesley's in-house math competition, where each April, teams of students solve fun and challenging problems, in a quest for glory, chocolate, and cash prizes. 

Sample Question: How many different ways can you complete the square below so that each color appears exactly once in each row and in each column? (You don’t have to list all the different ways – just say how many there are.