Invited address speakers are experts in the mathematical sciences who are invited and selected by the committee to present at MAA MathFest. Each presenter will share their stories and expertise for 50 minutes with attendees.

MAA Earle Raymond Hedrick Lecture Series

On Greed: A Tale of Spanning Tree

Spanning trees are an example of a mathematical structure called a matroid, where "greed is good" -- building greedily can never stick you in a dead end that forces you to backtrack. My collaborators and I got curious about how greedy trees are different from just a uniform sample. I'll tell you what we learned, and give some surprising applications.

The Science of Democracy

The study of how we vote presents opportunities to try out tools from across the mathematical toolkit. I'll review some mathematical interventions that help us measure fair voting and pursue ideals of healthy representative democracy. In particular, gradated metrics rather than yes/no conditions can give a lot of insight into how voting rules work, and how they shape our representation.

Biography
Moon Duchin is a geometric group theorist by training who has taken on a range of new interests in mid-career, pulling from computer science, economics, geography, and political theory to build a research program in interdisciplinary data science. She's become convinced that skilled mathematical communication is essential for quantitative ideas to make a lasting impact in law and public policy. Recently she's been trying her hand at that with judges and policymakers around the country, especially in a string of court cases about political redistricting.

MAA Invited Address

Discovering Mathematics through Experiments in the Computational Universe

Biography
Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language; the author of A New Kind of Science; and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research.

MAA Invited Address

Explorations of Collective Behavior: Swimming Cups and Self-avoidant Droplets

At the microscale, individual cells comprising a choanoflagellate colony wave their flagella, causing the colony to move through the fluid. Droplets in an aqueous solution can spontaneously ``swim” as they secrete oil, by causing local surfactant gradients. In each case, their collective behavior is mediated by their environment, such as the surrounding incompressible fluid or chemical field. A mathematical description of these systems should capture the interaction of the Lagrangian objects (e.g. microorganisms, droplets) with an underlying Eulerian description of the environment. Here we discuss the immersed boundary framework used in the context of these two models.
First, we examine the dynamics of droplets that move in response to a self-produced chemical gradient using a reaction-diffusion system. The particles have an unlimited supply of a chemical, secrete it at a given rate, but are anti-chemotactic and move in the direction of its maximal decrease.

In both one-and two-dimensional periodic domains, we find intriguing long-time behavior of collections of particles. Our second example is a model of a multicellular microbial choanoflagellate colony, Choanoeca flexa. Individual cells form cup-like colonies that can turn inside-out so flagella line the cup’s interior or cover its outside surface. We present a reduced model that examines the hydrodynamic implications on swimming and feeding for these different states.

Biography
Lisa Fauci received her PhD from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, and directly after that joined the Department of Mathematics at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she is currently the Pendergraft Nola Lee Haynes Professor. Her research focuses on biological fluid dynamics, with an emphasis on using modeling and simulation to study the basic biophysics of organismal locomotion and reproductive mechanics. Lisa served as president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) in 2019-2020. She is a fellow of the SIAM, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Mathematical Society, and the Association for Women in Mathematics. In 2023, she was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.

MAA Invited Address

The Mathematics of Beautiful Graphics

Photorealistic computer-generated images are everywhere—from blockbuster films to video games to architectural visualization. Modern software tends to hide the mathematics behind them, but it's beautiful stuff: differential geometry, measure theory, and statistics all play essential roles. In this talk, we'll see how simple questions about light and color naturally lead to an infinite-dimensional problem with a curious recursive structure—to compute anything, you seemingly need to have already computed everything. The way out is to recast the problem as integration over a space of light paths. Different visual phenomena—mirrors, glass, fog - correspond to different measures on this space.

Understanding this structure puts realistic rendering within reach of anyone willing to do the analysis. It also offers mathematicians a source of compelling high-dimensional problems and a new way of seeing the world—from the translucence of a jade sculpture to the glow of a sunset, the geometry of path space is all around us.

Biography
Steve Trettel studied mathematics at Minnesota, earned his PhD at UC Santa Barbara, and found his calling at ICERM's "Illustrating Mathematics" program. After a Szegő Assistant Professorship at Stanford, he joined the University of San Francisco, where he works at the intersection of differential geometry and mathematical visualization. His approach grew out of a habit from undergrad—keeping a "mathematical sketchbook" of careful drawings to accompany his lecture notes—and eventually teaching himself to code when sketching wasn't enough. Today he creates mathematical illustrations by writing his own rendering software, translating mathematical ideas directly into images. His work has appeared on the covers of the Notices of the AMS and Math Horizons, and been exhibited at venues from juried gallery shows to the National Museum of Mathematics.

AMS-MAA Joint Invited Lecture

Hidden & Broken Symmetries

Many systems look complicated until we ask what stays the same - at both micro and macro scales. During the talk, we will explore the transition from the symmetric structure of geometric moduli (decorated bundles) to models of pattern formation and social dynamics. At the micro level, exchangeable interactions and local conservation laws simplify PDEs and networks; at the macro level, these invariances organize families of solutions and predict emergent behavior. Then we’ll break symmetry on purpose to see what drives reality. Symmetry and its selective breaking offer a way to reduce complexity, illuminate mechanisms, and connect fine-scale rules with large-scale patterns across geometry and the applied sciences.

Biography
Laura P. Schaposnik is an Argentinian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Her research sits at the intersection of geometry, topology, and mathematical physics, with a focus on moduli spaces of decorated bundles, and also leads applied projects in network science and mathematical modeling. Prof. Schaposnik received the 2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), as well as an NSF CAREER award, a Simons Fellowship, and a
Humboldt Fellowship. She is actively involved in mentoring and outreach, including the development of bilingual STEM books for young readers.

Martin Gardner Lecture

The Magic of Math: Three-dimensional X-ray Vision

In the 1970’s, a new X-ray based innovation was introduced. Tomography, or slice imaging, revealed the inner structure of a patient point by point as a three-dimensional map of tissues. This opened up a new world for doctors as they could do precise diagnosing based on these "CAT-scans.” Tomography is based on recording X-ray images of the patient along many directions, and then using mathematics in a clever way for combining the information into a 3D image. This talk explains that process in simple terms. An important research topic in modern mathematics is to look for a way to do tomographic imaging with the least possible amount of radiation dose to the patient. Or sometimes to compensate for incomplete measurements caused by restrictions in the imaging arrangement. This is based on a process called regularisation, also illustrated in the talk in an easy-to-understand way. Also: there is a fun quiz revealing natural tomographers among the audience.

Biography
Samuli Siltanen works as professor of industrial mathematics at University of Helsinki, Finland. His research work in computational mathematics focuses on creating algorithms for medical imaging and other applications. Siltanen has a passion for communicating science to general audiences via various channels, including books, YouTube videos, theatre and games.

MAA James R.C. Leitzel Lecture

Mathematical Confidence: Not a Byproduct of Success, but the Pathway to It

Imagine a mathematics classroom where learners are unafraid to take risks and approach every problem with curiosity, regardless of its difficulty. Too often, students instead look for familiar problem types on homework and exams to feel certain of “success.” This session will explore the role of confidence in shaping mathematical learning—how it influences persistence, participation, and growth. Participants will consider practical strategies for fostering confidence, normalizing “not knowing yet,” and inviting students to take risks that lead to deeper engagement and joy in mathematics.

Biography
Dr. Angie Hodge-Zickerman is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Northern Arizona University and the Chair of Educational Specialties in the College of Education. She teaches courses ranging from undergraduate calculus to graduate mathematics education and teacher preparation. She earned her master’s degree in mathematics and Ph.D. in mathematics education from Purdue University. A 2007 National Project NExT Fellow, she embraced Joe Gallian’s advice to “just say yes” and has since taken on leadership roles across the profession. She currently serves as Chair of the MAA Southwestern Section and is active in supporting early-career faculty and mathematics educators. Her research interests include active learning, mentoring strategies for pre-service and in-service teachers, expanding access to STEMathematics, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in mathematics teaching and learning. Outside of work, she enjoys long-distance running, coffee, and traveling anywhere and everywhere.

AWM-MAA Etta Zuber Falconer Lecture

Bridging the Gap with Mathematical Modeling

Mathematical Modeling opens a world of possibilities when it comes to exploring interdisciplinary problems. We can use models to gain insight into transmission pathways, consider human behaviors, or plan for management options. We can bridge the gap between subjects and the disconnect between the modeling outcome and real-world implications. Also, we “mind the gap” when it comes to these mathematical problems, considering the implications of our assumptions and outcomes. In this talk, we will explore a variety of mathematical modeling problems and discuss the gaps we need to consider along with potential bridges in topics, collaborations, and more.

Christine Darden Lecture

Advancing Vision Science Through Mathematics: Predicting, Controlling, and Preventing Blindness

Mathematics has become a critical tool in addressing one of the most challenging medical frontiers: retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). My research integrates nonlinear dynamical systems, bifurcation theory, optimal control, and sensitivity analysis to model and analyze the complex processes underlying retinal degeneration, particularly in diseases like RP and AMD. These models have revealed the metabolic interdependence between rods and cones, identified key pathways in aerobic glycolysis and oxidative stress, and uncovered bistable regimes corresponding to healthy and pathological states. They have also optimized treatment strategies that minimize photoreceptor loss while balancing dosage and side effects. My work predicted the existence of the Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor (RdCVF), a discovery later confirmed experimentally, and demonstrated how mathematical analysis and models can guide biological research. By integrating in silico experiments with experimental data, this research has provided a novel framework for understanding disease progression and designing targeted, multi-faceted interventions to slow or prevent blindness. This research exemplifies how mathematics cannot only explain biological complexities but also redirect scientific investigations, creating a new paradigm for tackling retina degeneration and for interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at mitigating blindness.

Biography
Dr. Erika Tatiana Camacho is the Berriozábal Endowed Chair and Professor at UTSA, where she holds join appointments in Mathematics and Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology. A pioneer of mathematical ophthalmology, she has created transformative models that reveal metabolic and stress-response mechanisms underlying retinal degeneration and guide therapeutic strategies to prevent blindness. Her interdisciplinary research integrates mathematical modeling and experimental laboratory research to uncover pathways for vision preservation. A former Fulbright Research Scholar at the Institut de la Vision-Sorbonne Université and NSF Program Director, she has advanced equity and shaped national STEM initiatives through her leadership. Camacho’s leadership and scholarship have earned her multiple recognitions include the White House PAESMEM Award, the AAAS Mentor Award, the NSF Director’s Award, and recognition as a Fellow of AWM and AMS.

Chan Stanek Ross Lecture for Students

Unequal: The Math of When Things Do and Don't Add Up

Math is famous for its equations, and much of the time it can seem like that’s all mathematics is: following steps to show that what’s on one side of an equation is the same as what’s on the other. In this talk Dr Cheng will show that this is only part of the story, and the boring part to boot. Mathematics isn’t only about showing how numbers and symbols are the same. It isn’t even just about numbers and symbols at all, but a world of shapes, symmetries, logical ideas, and more. And in that world, the boundary between things being equal and unequal is a gray area, or perhaps a rainbow of beautiful, vibrant, subtly nuanced color. She will show that almost everything can be considered similar and different at the same time, whether it’s numbers, graphs, shapes, words, music, or people. It all depends on what features we choose to care about, and it’s up to us what we do about it. Mathematics isn’t a series of rules, facts, or answers: it’s an invitation to a more powerful way of thinking, about anything and everything.

Biography
Eugenia Cheng is a mathematician, educator, author, public speaker, concert pianist, artist and composer. She is Scientist in Residence at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, won tenure in Pure Mathematics at the University in Sheffield, and holds a PhD in pure mathematics from the University of Cambridge. She was an early pioneer of math on YouTube and has written nine popular math books including "Beyond Infinity" which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize, "Is Math Real?" which won the 2024 LA Times Book Prize for Science and Technology. and two children's books. She has given talks and interviews around the world including for the BBC, NPR, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She wrote the Everyday Math column for the Wall Street Journal for seven years, and has completed several art commissions and song commissions, including one for a GRAMMY nominated album. Her most recent book is "Unequal: The math of when things do and don't add up".