MAA has scheduled a wide variety of activities that are organized by constituent Special Interest Groups of the MAA (SIGMAAs). Those sessions at MAA MathFest 2026 are as follows:

SIGMAA on Mathematical and Computational Biology (SIGMAA BIO) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

This event will be the annual reception and business meeting, followed by our Guest Lecture. This year’s Guest Lecturer will be given by Dr. Christine Sample, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Emmanuel College who will deliver a lecture entitled, Across Scales and Systems: My Journey in Mathematical Biology from Development to Migration.

Organizers:
Erin Bodine, Rhodes College
Anne Yust, University of Pittsburgh

Guest Lecture
My Journey in Mathematical Biology from Development to Migration

Christine Sample, Emmanuel College

Mathematical biology provides a unifying framework for understanding complex living systems across scales, from intracellular processes to large-scale ecological dynamics. In this talk, I will present a research trajectory that spans diverse biological systems, from embryonic development to migratory giants, while emphasizing the common role of mathematical modeling.  I will begin with developmental biology, focusing on morphogen gradients in fruit fly embryos. I will then transition to evolutionary dynamics, investigating how the spatial structure of a population affects the rate of evolution and the role of random chance.  Turning to ecological and migratory systems, I will discuss frameworks for quantifying the relative importance of habitats within migratory networks and for modeling the spread of mutations in migratory species. These approaches are applied across a range of systems, including insects, birds, and mammals.  I will conclude with recent work on modeling the movement patterns of humpback whales. Together, these examples illustrate how mathematical models can bridge scales and systems, providing insight into fundamental biological processes while opening new directions for interdisciplinary research.

SIGMAA on Environmental Mathematics (SIGMAA EM) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

Join us for the SIGMAA on Environmental Mathematics business meeting and Guest Lecture.

Organizers:
Russ deForest, Penn State University
Amanda Beecher, Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP)

SIGMAA on the History of Mathematics (SIGMAA HOM) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

Please join other members of SIGMAA HOM for our business meeting, reception, and invited lecture. The meeting will include presentations by members of the executive committee with a focus on recent and upcoming events in the SIGMAA, recognition of members for various honors and awards, and a financial report. The reception will feature hors d'oeuvres and beverages. The guest lecture (approximately 60 minutes including discussion) will be delivered by a historian of mathematics on a topic intended for all those interested in the history of mathematics.

Organizers:
Abe Edwards, Michigan State University
Ximena Catepillan, Millersville University

SIGMAA on Inquiry-Based Learning (SIGMAA IBL) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

Join us at the IBL SIGMAA Business Meeting at MathFest! Whether you're a veteran IBL practitioner or just curious about inquiry-based learning, this is your chance to connect with fellow IBL practitioners and meet our leadership team. We'll share about our current programming, invite suggestions for new offerings and chat about ways to ensure that our IBL community continues to thrive. We will also have Dr. Brian Katz lead the following brief session on inquiry, and inquiry-based learning as it applies to the teaching and learning of mathematics.

This will be an informal, collaborative atmosphere, with free exchange of ideas welcomed and encouraged. All MathFest attendees are welcome – we look forward to meeting you!

Organizers:
Vikram Kamat, Villanova University
Rebekah Jones, University of Colorado Boulder
Ana Wright, Davidson College
Anup Lamichhane, Ohio Northern University

Guest Lecture
What Is The Essence of Inquiry?

Brian Katz, Emmanuel College

In this brief session, I'd like to discuss the history of attempts to define inquiry, weigh in with my own framing, and suggest some implications of these definitions for the larger movement of improving tertiary mathematics teaching and learning.

SIGMAA on Math Circles for Students and Teachers (SIGMAA-MCST) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

Organizers:
Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, California State University, Sacramento
Lauren rose, Bard College
Peter Petto, JRMF Community Math Circle

SIGMAA on the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (SIGMAA MKT) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

SIGMAA-MKT is a community for all who are involved in the preparation or professional learning of K-12 mathematics teachers. Our members teach courses and conduct research that includes examining, designing, developing, piloting, and revising tasks and curricula focused on Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) across grades K-12. We invite you to join us for a guest lecture by Bowen Kerins, formerly of the Education Development Center and a co-developer of the Park City Mathematics Institute Teacher Leadership Program. Bowen will share insights from his work engaging teachers in mathematical exploration, sense making, and discovery. The guest lecture will be followed immediately by the SIGMAA-MKT Business Meeting. Together, these sessions offer MathFest attendees the opportunity to engage in a scholarly presentation, connect with colleagues who share an interest in mathematics teacher preparation, hear updates from SIGMAA-MKT leadership, and contribute ideas that shape our work. All are welcome; whether you are a long-time member, new to SIGMAA-MKT, or interested in joining, we encourage you to stop by and learn more!

Organizers:
Liz Arnold, Montana State University
Laurie Cavey, Boise State University
Younhee Lee, Southern Connecticut State University
Cody Patterson, Texas State University

Guest Lecture

Bowen Kerins, Park City Mathematics Institute

SIGMAA on the Philosophy of Mathematics (SIGMAA POM) Business Meeting, Reception and Guest Lecture.

After a brief business meeting updating POMSIGMAA members on our activities, there will be a reception and guest lecture by a speaker who has given excellent contributed talks in the past, Juliet Floyd.

Organizers:
Bonnie Gold, Monmouth University (Emerita)
Thomas Drucker, University of Wisconsin Whitewater (Emeritus)
Junalyn Navarra Madsen, Texas Woman's University
Steven Deckelman, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Guest Lecture
Autonomy in Mathematics

Juliet Floyd, Boston University

In this talk I will gloss a number of different ways in which the philosophical concept of “autonomy” is important for philosophy of mathematics. We have traditional philosophical notions of autonomy – spontaneity of individual choice and interest (Descartes, Hume); self determination according to (self-given) laws (Leibniz and Kant); rational self-determination within a civil state or set of institutions that is ordered, historically stable, and allows for self recognition (Hegel); a listing of specific freedoms (Rawls, first amendment issues). Each of these notions receives an interesting inflection today, when the heretofore protected autonomy of universities and the choices of researchers and educators within them have come under threat from a variety of forces, political, economic, and research-driven (AI). Groups of mathematicians are concerned about the human aspects of mathematics – pure and applied -- in the face of AI and machine learning, and are attempting to draw up research declarations to avoid the distortion and suppression of certain forms of research and teaching by corporate interests.

G.H. Hardy argued for the purity of mathematics, its independence from demands of e.g. military and empirical research; Wittgenstein questioned the ability of mathematicians to divorce their research interests from wider problems of history, meaning and culture, while doubting that either metaphysical or social-constructivist views of mathematical truth would prove viable. Franks stressed the ideal of “autonomy” in connection with Hilbert’s program, i.e., its freedom from metaphysical and philosophical demands, as have certain constructivists and intuitionists, though there remain philosophical questions about the role of “intuition” in mathematics in a world where research is driven by AI (Friedman and Kish). Arana has explored both the idea of "purity of proof” and its relation to wider social and cultural structures (such as the phenomenon of “linguistic hygiene” in Newton and Descartes as they inserted mathematics into the wider issue of the social construction of bourgeois subjects). Others (e.g. Juliette Kennedy) have argued that finding mathematically invariant structures allows for the avoidance of metaphysical speculation and the lure of a return to everyday language alongside future research in the most abstract areas of set theory.

We will explore some of the philosophical aspects of autonomy in mathematics and suggest future paths of research.

SIGMAA on Recreational Mathematics (SIGMAA REC) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

Organizers:
Lauren Rose, Bard College
Denise Rangel Tracy, Francis Marion College
Kariane Calta, Vassar College
Timothy Goldberg, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, Sacramento State University
Robert Vallin, Lamar University

SIGMAA on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (SIGMAA RUME) Business Meeting

Organizers:
Samuel Cook, Boston University

SIGMAA on Statistics and Data Science Education (SIGMAA SDS-Ed) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

This session combines the SIGMAA on Statistics and Data Science Education (SDS-Ed) business meeting with a short invited presentation by Dennis Sun (Stanford University). The session will open with brief updates on SIGMAA SDS-Ed activities, leadership initiatives, and opportunities for participation within the mathematics and data science education community.

The invited talk will provide an accessible overview of recent work and current thinking in data science and statistics education, with an emphasis on instructional innovation and future challenges. The presentation is intentionally informal and designed to foster conversation rather than deliver a traditional research talk.

The session will conclude with open discussion and audience questions, creating space for shared reflection and dialogue among educators interested in data science education.

Organizers:
Helen Burn, Highline College
Immanuel Williams, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Guest Lecture
Current Directions in Data Science Education

Dennis Sun, Stanford University

SIGMAA on Mathematics and Sports (SIGMAA Sports) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

The Mathematics and Sports SIGMAA hosts its annual business meeting followed by an invited talk given by [guest speaker TBD]. The Sports SIGMAA supports and promotes MAA members’ interests in the connections between mathematics and sports, particularly in sports analytics. It encourages undergraduate involvement in sports-related research projects, develops instructional and assessment tools for learning mathematics and statistics, and promotes quantitative problem-solving within the context of sports.  All are welcome to attend.

Organizers:
Michael Schuckers, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Paul von Dohlen, William Paterson University
Nicholas Gorgievski, Bentley University
Filippo Posta, Phoenix College
Kitty Yang, University of North Carolina, Asheville
Michael Weselcouch, Roanoke College

SIGMAA on Teaching Advanced High School Mathematics (SIGMAA TAHSM): Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

The Teaching Advanced High School Mathematics SIGMAA hosts its annual business meeting followed by a Guest Lecture. This year, the Guest Lecture will be given by Ben Galluzzo, Executive Director of the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) on incorporating mathematical modeling into classrooms.

Organizers:
Ashley Tharp, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Ted Alper, Stanford Math Circle/Stanford Online High School/Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies
David Stephens, The Bryn Mawr School (Retired)
George Mason University (Emeritus)

Guest Lecture

Ben Galluzzo, Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP)

SIGMAA on Mathematics Instruction Using the Web (SIGMAA WEB) Business Meeting and Guest Lecture

This is the annual business meeting and reception of WEBSIGMAA followed by a guest speaker to be named. Come meet with us and learn more about teaching mathematics with generative AI.

Organizers:
Bernd Sing, University of the West Indies (Cave Hill campus, Barbados)
D Brian Walton, James Madison University
Shanda Hood, University of Arkansas
Joshua Girshner, University of Arkansas
Joe Fields, Southern Connecticut State University