MAA MathFest 2025 Videos
MAA MathFest 2025 Videos Are Available!
Experience the highlights of MAA MathFest through our exclusive video library. Members can watch select sessions, lectures, and presentations at their convenience by logging in to their member account.
If you are not yet a member and would like access, please visit the MAA Membership page for more information.
Image: Terence Tao Presenting at MAA MathFest 2025
100 Years of Inspiration: Elbert Frank Cox and the Future of Mathematics
Talitha Washington, Howard University
NAM David Harold Blackwell Lecture
Abstract: In 1925, Elbert Frank Cox became the first Black person in the world to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, paving the way for future generations. His journey was defined by resilience and an unwavering commitment to knowledge despite the barriers of segregation. This talk honors his legacy and explores how his impact continues to inspire the mathematical community a century later.
A Better Way to Buy Lottery Scratch-off Tickets
Skip Garibaldi, IDA Center for Communications Research, La Jolla
Chan Stanek Ross Lecture for Students
Abstract: You may have seen news stories about people who seem to be strategically and systematically buying up lottery scratch-off tickets. What might they have been up to? This talk is about the answer proposed by a reporter, which defies the intuition we learn in school. With a little calculus, we can analyze the idea and see how it might play out in reality.
Alder Award Session
MAA President Jenna Carpenter, Campbell University
Abstract: The MAA established the Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member to honor beginning college or university faculty members whose teaching has been extraordinarily successful and whose effectiveness in teaching undergraduate mathematics is shown to have influence beyond their own classrooms. Each year, at most three college or university teachers are honored with this national award. The awardees are invited to make a presentation in this session. The session is moderated by MAA President Jenna Carpenter, Campbell University.
Calculating with No Numbers, No Formulas
Tadashi Tokieda, Stanford University
MAA Invited Address
Abstract: People tend to assume, because of the schooling they received as children or of the practical life they lead as adults, that ‘calculation’ means manipulating numbers or formulas — and often that this is what mathematicians do day in, day out. With a magic routine that you can share later with friends and family, I shall show that there is a world beyond this.
Combinatorial Approaches to Matrix Functions
Naiomi Cameron, Spelman College
AMS-MAA Joint Invited Address
Abstract: For a wide variety of problems in both pure and applied mathematics, the interplay between linear algebra and combinatorics can be key to finding solutions to interesting problems, and moreover, may present opportunities for unexpected discovery and insight. This talk will explore some of my favorite examples of this interplay, where combinatorial approaches to matrix functions, identities, and/or groups are invoked to help illuminate problems varying from lattice path enumeration to finding optimal strategies for integer choice games.
Intersection Theory and Combinatorics: Variations on a Theme
Federico Ardila-Mantilla, San Francisco State University
MAA Invited Address
Abstract: My talk will discuss some beautiful objects at the intersection of combinatorics, geometry, and algebra called “Chow rings of toric varieties”. I will discuss three ways of thinking about them: they can be approached using algebra, polyhedral geometry, or numerical analysis. I will then explain how combinatorialists have recently used these rings to prove several conjectures from the 1970s and 80s about the colorings of a map.
My talk will not assume that you know anything about these objects. I will talk about the work of many people, including my joint work with Carly Klivans, Graham Denham, and June Huh.
In Service, For Service, … To Serve
Hortensia Soto, Colorado State University
MAA President Retiring Address
Abstract: A common phrase used in Spanish is de qué sirve. It literally translates to, “Of what does it serve?” The phrase is also used to ask or question such as: what is the point, what is the use, what difference does it make, what is it used for, how does it help, etc. Without knowing, this phrase has been ingrained in my professional life with teaching, conducting research, and engaging in service. In this presentation, I want to discuss de qué sirve to be a member of the MAA. As part of this (hopefully engaging) conversation, I will share how the MAA nos sirve in various ways.
Machine Assisted Proofs
Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles
MAA Earle Raymond Hedrick Lecture Series
Abstract: For centuries, mathematicians have relied on computers to perform calculations, to suggest conjectures, and as components of mathematical proofs. In the light of more modern tools such as interactive theorem provers, machine learning algorithms, and generative AI, we are beginning to see machines used in more creative and substantive ways in our work. In this talk we survey some historical and recent developments, and speculate on the future roles of machine assistance in mathematics.
Modeling Malaria at Multiple Scales: Implications for Parasite Diversity
Olivia Prosper Feldman, University of Tennessee
AWM-MAA Etta Zuber Falconer Lecture
Abstract: Malaria remains a major global health challenge, driven by the complex interactions between parasites, their human and mosquito hosts, and the environments they inhabit. Since the pioneering work of Sir Ronald Ross and George Macdonald in the early to mid-20th century, mathematical modeling has provided invaluable insights into malaria transmission, from within-host parasite dynamics to population-level epidemiology. More recently, research has focused on how these scales interact, shaping transmission patterns and informing control strategies.
In this talk, I will introduce an individual-based model that integrates within-mosquito and within-human parasite dynamics with population-level transmission. This model also tracks the genetic signatures of parasites, offering insights into how genetic diversity emerges, spreads, and interacts with human immunity and antimalarial treatment. By bridging multiple scales, this approach aims to deepen our understanding of malaria transmission and inform more effective intervention strategies.
Pay It Forward: Practice and Progress in Post-Secondary Mathematics Education
Tara Holm, Cornell University
MAA James R.C. Leitzel Lecture
Abstract: I will share vignettes from my time as a student, a nascent instructor, a practiced professor, and a community leader. A key theme running through these is providing all students with mathematical experiences that help them achieve their aspirations. To accomplish this, we must make a coordinated effort across the broad mathematics community. This process begins by assessing our current curriculum and pedagogy. We identify innovative practices and pathways for students. These must then be adapted and scaled to suit local needs. I hope this will be the beginning of a conversation about how we can advance our community of practice, for the sake of our students’ futures.
PEIRE – A Model for the Transfer of Information and Decision Making
Dawn Lott, Delaware State University
Christine Darden Lecture
Abstract: Investigating transfer of information between entities can play an instrumental role in understanding the decision-making process. The decision-making process can be assisted greatly when humans employ computational models that can leverage new information systems. We seek to leverage models of biological processes in an ongoing work on transfer of information system. In this work, we introduce the PEIRE model for the transfer of information. Here, information refers to heterogeneous message types and processing informative messages is treated like the spread of a virus. This model is an adaptation of the SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed) mathematical algorithm. The model treats compartments as various stages of the processing of information. This approach allows us to determine how the breakdown of information might affect the decision-making process and how the decision-making process might then affect the transformation of information in a system. We also discuss the applicability of the model in artificial reasoning related to decision-making.
Squaring the Quilting Circle
Beth Malmskog, Colorado College
MAA Invited Address
Abstract: A few years ago, I received an email from a friend’s mom with a question about a problem she was having with her quilting circle: is it possible to find a way to pass quilts among five people so that each person works on each quilt, and no person passes to the same person twice? The pursuit of an answer led to row-complete Latin squares. Latin squares are combinatorial objects with a thousand-year history and modern applications in experimental design, error correcting codes, and entertainment, in the form of Sudoku. The journey doesn’t stop there, though; this talk will describe how one simple problem connects quilting, taste testing, combinatorics, group theory, graph theory, number theory, music, Tom and Jerry, and the power/limits of modern computing. We will begin with a quilt and conclude with some music and a number of related open problems.
The Magic of Charles Sanders Peirce
Persi Diaconis, Stanford University
Martin Gardner Lecture
Abstract: Charles Peirce was probably Martin Gardner’s favorite philosopher. The father of Pragmatism and co-inventor of symbolic logic, he worked as a mathematician, statistician, geologist, and guru, making substantial contributions. He also invented startlingly original (pretty bad) card tricks. BUT, hidden in his inventions were completely new principles which can be made into terrific tricks. I will explain (and illustrate) the best of these, including some hidden mathematics ‘in English’. I’ll also tell you how you can find out more, by reading Martin Gardner.
Translational Tilings of Euclidean Space
Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles
MAA Earle Raymond Hedrick Lecture Series
Abstract: Translational tilings of Euclidean space are a partition of Euclidean space (up to null sets) by translates of one or more tiles. For instance, the famous Penrose tilings are a translational tiling by a finite number of triangles which can only tile the plane non-periodically. One of the outstanding problems in this field is the “periodic tiling conjecture” – if a tile can tile space by translations, must there exist a way to tile space periodically with this tile? Recently, Rachel Greenfeld and I were able to disprove this conjecture in high dimensions, by encoding a certain “Sudoku puzzle” as a tiling problem. We survey this result and other recent progress in this talk.