Navigating a Math REU

By Sara Costa During my sophomore year in college, my linear algebra professor told me about a research experience for undergraduates (REU). At the time, I did not know what an REU was and had no idea what to expect. That semester, I met Rachel Bailey, who was giving a talk at my university --...

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There and Back Again: Of Tails and Tubes

By Lew Ludwig Recently, I was pleased to run into two former students collaborating at a whiteboard table in our library. They were deep in thought—or perhaps confusion (are these really so different?)—over something written on the table. After our initial pleasantries, I asked what they were working on: sequences. They were puzzling over the...

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How Low Can the Popular Vote Go?

Editor's Note: This post is a reprint from 2020 that is highly relevant to the current moment. Math Values is actively seeking submissions related to the 2024 election - submit ideas or drafts to blogs@maa.org.  By: Tim Chartier, Patrick Danielson, Jonad Pulaj, and Ben Yokoyama Internet ads, emails, phone calls, yard signs and TV analysts...

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The Shifting Sands of Algebra

By Keith Devlin @KeithDevlin@fediscience.org, @profkeithdevlin.bsky.social My August post about the growth (and changing nature) of algebra generated some feedback. For the most part, those who objected to one or more statements seemed to be motivated by an assumption of what the word “algebra” means (or should be taken to mean). That certainly seems to be...

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The Personal Price of Professional Success

By Dave Kung [LinkedIn] Around the time my daughter Ellie turned 10, she and her friends started dipping their toes into the enticing water that is cursing. A discussion over dinner led to our house rule: It’s fine to swear – as long as you know when not to. The same word or phrase can...

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Tricks & Tips for Writing a Successful NSF DUE Grant

By Suzanne Dorée, Doug Ensley, April Strom At the MAA MathFest2024 in Indianapolis, a panel of seasoned grant proposal writers and NSF program officers offered advice on planning and preparing proposals for grants from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), particularly for the program called “Improving Undergraduate STEM Education,” or IUSE,...

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How to Learn Mathematics

By David Bressoud @dbressoud As of 2024, new Launchings columns appear on the third Tuesday of the month. This is a review of David Bessis’s Mathematica: A secret world of intuition and curiosity, translated from the French by Kevin Frey and published this year by Yale University Press. It was originally written for MAA Reviews,...

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WEBSIGMAA: A Revitalization Effort

  By Shanda Hood, Joe Fields, Bernd Sing, and Brian Walton What values do MAA members hold in common? If we were to ask “what are our most important values?” the set of answers would likely be in one-to-one correspondence with the set of members. The intersection of our set of values, though, is hopefully...

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The Temperature of the Room

By Lew Ludwig So, have you had that conversation with your students yet? You know, the one where you discuss your AI policy and explain the reasons behind it? It's a chat more and more educators are having. Gone are the days when banning AI outright seemed feasible; crafting "AI-proof" assignments now feels like a...

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Finding my people: One mathematician’s reflection on MAA MathFest 2024

By Anastasiia Minenkova Most of my graduate years were during the Covid-19 pandemic. I felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. The isolation and lack of social interaction took a toll on my mental health. I missed the simple joys of meeting other people, sharing ideas, and being a part of a community. Once everything went...

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