2025 MAA Missouri Section Meeting

To register, please fill out the registration form below. At the end of the form, you will receive a payment link directing you to the SLU Marketplace, where you may add a ticket for the banquet when completing registration payment.

Students who are part of a registered MCMC team do not need to pay a separate registration fee or purchase a ticket for the banquet.  These costs are included in the team registration fee.

Registration Fees

Before March 15

• Student: $10
• Faculty (MAA member): $20
• Faculty (Non-member): $25

After March 15

• Student: $15
• Faculty (MAA member): $25
• Faculty (Non-member): $30

Banquet Fee

The banquet fee is $20 per person, and it will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, April 4, in the Sinquefield Stateroom.

Register

We invite both faculty and students to present at the spring meeting. Presentations should be 15 minutes long and focus on mathematics or mathematics education. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, current mathematics research, new courses that have been developed and successful teaching techniques. Talks can be either research-oriented or expository.

Many undergraduate and graduate students attend this meeting, and you are welcome to design your presentation for these students. Also, if you advise a student doing research, please encourage the student to present and assist the student in preparing the presentation.

Presenters must also register for the conference. The deadline for submissions is March 28, 2025.

Submit Your Abstract

View Abstracts View Schedule

Friday, April 4, 2025

• 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Meeting registration, DuBourg Hall Sinquefield Room
• 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Opening remarks, DuBourg Hall Sinquefield Room

  Keynote speaker: Steve Butler, Ph.D.
  Title: Juggling Counts
  Abstract: Mathematics is a language that can help us describe and explore patterns. One source of patterns that mathematicians have been exploring comes from juggling (the tossing of objects, usually balls or clubs). In this talk, we will look at multiple ways to describe juggling patterns that allow us to find new juggling patterns, and to count how many possible patterns exist. We can compare answers to various problems to give a combinatorial proof of Worpitzky's identity. We will also look at a few juggling-based problems that mathematics has not yet succeeded in answering.

• 1:30 - 5 p.m. Ritter Hall 236 
  Meeting registration and hospitality room (coffee, water, and snacks available)
• 2 - 4:40 p.m. Contributed Talks, Ritter Hall 216, 314, and 323
  

  	Ritter Hall 216	Ritter Hall 314	Ritter Hall 323
  2 p.m.	Erin Martin	Hugo Panzo Sylvester’s problem for random walks	Benjamin Hutz Using a Genetic Algorithm to Discover Extreme Examples in Arithmetic Dynamics
  2:25	Vinay Kanth Rao Kodipelly AI-Powered Teaching: Practical Hacks for Streamlining Math Instruction	Taylor Cobb Conformal Skorokhod embeddings of the arcsine and related distributions	Jehan Alarfaj Leavitt Path Algebra over Kronecker Square
  2:50	Ann Podleski & Brent Wessel Standards Based Grading at Harris-Stowe State University: Our Journey so Far	Elodie Pozzi Carleson Measures and their Applications in Analysis	Stella Gulledge Straightening Identities within the Universal Enveloping Algebra of the Witt Algebra
  3:25	Mary Silverglate Mathematics Tutoring Done Right	Sam Liu No Potential Left Behind: Generalizing Green Functions for Nontrivial Quantum Potentials	Ellie Miller Straightening Identities within the Universal Enveloping Algebra of the Witt Algebra
  3:50	Yunge Wang Math Mindsets: Helping Students See Themselves as Capable	Jordan Austin & Stephanie Raycella Analysis of Positive Solutions to Superlinear Boundary Value Problems	Matthew Russell A refinement of, and a companion to, MacMahon’s sequence-avoiding partition identity
  4:15	Mason Doyle Harnessing AI to Gamify Math Instruction	Bryant Bugna Bifurcation curves for a weak Allee growth model with density-dependent and density-independent emigration on the boundary	Dorsa Ghoreishi Frame theory and the study of vector recovery using phase retrieval and saturation recovery

  
  
  
• 5 - 5:45 p.m. Graduate Student Reception, DuBourg Hall Pere Marquette
• 6 - 8 p.m. Banquet, DuBourg Hall Sinquefield Room
  
  Keynote speaker: Jenna Carpenter, Ph.D.
  Title: Weaving Students In Versus Weeding Them Out: Evidence-based Strategies that Support Equity and Success in the Math Classroom
  Abstract: An instructor's focus on equity is important to student success in the math classroom. Because students bring with them different levels of social capital, as well as different mental frameworks of success and smartness, what mathematics is, and what it takes to succeed in college, traditional instructional approaches can introduce aspects to the classroom that actually exacerbate inequity. Fortunately, there are a number of research-based strategies that instructors can implement to increase the sense of belonging and level the playing field in math classes.
• 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Executive committee meeting, Ritter Hall 323
• 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Math Trivia Night organized by the Saint Louis University Math Club and AWM Student Chapter, DuBourg Hall, Pere Marquette Gallery

Saturday, April 5, 2025

• 8:30 - noon Ritter Hall 236 
  Meeting registration and hospitality room (coffee, water and snacks available)
• 9 - 10:45 a.m. Contributed talks, Ritter Hall 229, 231, 242, and 323
  

  	Ritter Hall 229	Ritter Hall 231	Ritter Hall 242	Ritter Hall 323
  9 a.m.	Lianwen Wang Cracking the BaselProblem: Euler’s Brilliant Breakthrough	Tahmineh Azizi Nature’s Hidden Code: Fractal Geometry and Modeling	Kayode Ayinde Statistical Innovations in Robust and Efficient Averages: A Bootstrapping Study with Applications	Nalin Fonseka An ecological model influenced by negative density-dependent emigration on the boundary
  9:25	Joseph Mathis On the Three-Part Formulas of Euclid, Generating Pythagorean Triples	Sepideh Azizi Unraveling Drought Complexity: A Mathematical Exploration of Fractal Structures in Arid Climates	Alina Abdurakhimova Metropolis Hastings Method and Bayesian Statistics	Brody Johnson A Greedy Version of the Frame Algorithm
  10 a.m.	Dix Pettey The Myth of the “Collapsible Compass"	Joan Jimenez The History and Evolution of the Lorentz	Phil Huling Doing Things the Statypus Way	Kieran Favazza Chicken Nuggets and Homological Algebra
  10:25	Matt Wright Descartes’ Rule of Parity	Ozlem Ugurlu The Geometry and Combinatorics of Some Hessenberg Varieties	Haohao Wang Using technology, projects, and games in math classes	Cody Gilbert Total stability and Auslander-Reiten theory for Dynkin quivers

• 11 a.m. - noon Panel discussions, Ritter Hall 242 and 323
   
  

  Ritter Hall 242	Dustin Belt, Paul Plummer, Trish White How Institutions Implement Math Pathways (CORE42) in Missouri
  Ritter Hall 323	Anneke Bart, Kim Druschel, Mike May Flavored Courses

• 1 p.m. MO MAA business meeting, Ritter Hall 323

Thursday, April 3, 2025

• 7 - 8 p.m. MO NExT Reception, Tegeler Hall Lobby
  MO NExT Members and invited guests, join us for an hour of mathematical camaraderie!
  
  

Friday, April 4, 2025

• 8:30 - 9:30 a.m., Tegeler Hall, Room 103
  
  Speaker: Steve Butler, Ph.D., Morrill Professor, Mathematics, Iowa State University
  Title: Every Game I’m Shufflin’, Shufflin’
  Abstract: Shuffling is a well-known aspect of gameplay to help make the decks "sufficiently random" to make the game interesting. Shuffling is also a source of mathematical exploration where shuffles are thought of as permutations of the cards. In this talk, we will take some tools of mathematics, modular arithmetic, and binary numbers, and show how we can apply these to shuffling, and in particular, some simple-to-learn mathematically-based card tricks, which will be performed live. Along the way, we will also learn why we should never work with jokers.
• 10 - 11 a.m., Tegeler Hall, Room 103
  
  Speaker: Matthias Wood, Instructor, Mathematics, Lindenwood University
  Title: Streamlining Online Mathematics Homework: A Practical Guide to MyOpenMath.com and LMS Integration
  Abstract: Implementing Open Education Resources (OER) presents an exciting opportunity to enhance student learning by reducing cost. This presentation addresses the challenge of effective implementation of OER-based homework systems, especially within the Learning Management System (LMS) of Canvas, by providing a practical demonstration and tutorial of MyOpenMath.com - a free online platform designed to create and deliver dynamic questions and assignments. Specifically, this session will showcase how MyOpenMath.com facilitates the development of algorithmically generated questions, dynamic feedback, and innovative video-queued assignments, all of which contribute to a more interactive and supportive learning environment. I will highlight the student experience, demonstrate seamless integration with Canvas or standalone deployment, and then guide participants through the process of creating video-queued and traditional homework/exam assignments. This presentation aims to equip attendees with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively utilize MyOpenMath.com in their own courses. Attendees are encouraged to request a free instructor account at MyOpenMath.com and bring a laptop to participate in the hands-on tutorial.

The 30th Missouri Collegiate Mathematics Competition will be held on the campus of Saint Louis University.

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Missouri Collegiate Mathematics Competition (Session 1)
7:30 - 10 p.m.
Multipurpose room on the third floor of the Allied Health Professional Building, on the South Campus near the Hickory East Parking Garage.

Friday, April 4, 2025

Missouri Collegiate Mathematics Competition (Session 2)
8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Rooms 171-173 in Busch Student Center, on the North Campus near the Laclede Parking Garage.

Registration deadline: Friday, March 28, 2025. Late registrations will be accepted if space is available.

Registration

Register through the conference registration; registration fee is $120 per team. You can add the registration fee(s) to your cart through SLU Marketplace in the payment step while registering.

Faculty mentors may list the names of their team members in the registration form. Alternatively, team roster(s) can be submitted by email at a later time. Please email Brody Johnson at brody.johnson@slu.edu. 

List of the hotels in the area and contact information:

• Angad Arts Hotel - 3550 Samuel Shepard Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63103
  Email: info@angadartshotel.com
  Phone: 314-561-0033 
  Cost: $135 a night 
  Parking is $10 a day, breakfast not included.
  Within walking distance to SLU. 
• Element St. Louis Midtown - 3763 Forest Park Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63108
  Phone: 314-639-0060
  Cost: $159 a night for a double queen, $149 a night for a king
  Parking is $28 a day, breakfast is included.
  Within walking distance to SLU. 
  Book your group rate for Missouri Section of the Math Association of America

• Residence Inn St. Louis Downtown - 525 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63103
  Phone: 314-289-7500
  Cost: $139 a night for a double queen
  Free parking and breakfast, will need to drive to SLU or take public transportation. 
  Book your group rate for Missouri Section of the Math Association of America

• Grand Center Inn - 3716 Grandel Square, St. Louis, MO, 63108
  Phone: 314-533-0771
  Small boutique hotel within walking distance to SLU, no special rates offered 

Conference events will take place primarily* on the North Campus of Saint Louis University. Campus visitors have two parking options:

• Park in metered spaces and pay the meters ($2.25/hr). The closest street parking (metered) is on Lindell Boulevard, east of Grand Boulevard. 
• Visitor parking on campus ($2/hour or $6/day). If using visitor parking on campus, the nearest locations are the Laclede garage or the Olive-Compton garage.

SLU Maps, Directions and Parking Information

*Note that the Thursday evening session of the MCMC will be held in the Allied Health Professional Building, which is near the Hickory East Parking Garage on the South Campus of Saint Louis University

SLU Campus Map