The Free Software Club of Kirksville will meet at 6:30pm in VH 1200 on Thursday February 9th.   Dr. Beck will present how he uses computer science for maize research.  He will also discuss bio-informatics in general and the growing need for computer science in the field.  Snacks will be provided.

If you like Java, you might be interested in the (fledgling) Kirksville Java Users Group.

http://www.kirksvillejavausersgroup.com/

Next meeting, Wednesday February 8th, 7:00pm in the Nerdery (VH2001).  Recruiters from St. Louis will be in attendance.

The application date for mathematics students to apply to the mathbio program has been extended to Friday, January 13, 2012. For more information on available projects, go to mathbio.truman.edu (click on research) or see Pam Ryan in VH2152, or email pjryan@truman.edu.

Congratulations to the winners in the MAA Texes Hold ‘Em tournament last Friday night.  Patrick Gross (left) was the overall winner and Scott Abbey (right) took second place.

Ever wondered about how smart computers can be?

If you are curious about how to make computers smarter and want to stimulate your own brain during the spring break, we have an exciting opportunity for you.

Monte Carlo algorithms are randomized search algorithms that are creating big advances in Artificial Intelligence. They have produced the first master-level play in Go, and they also give excellent performance in Solitaire and other games. Monte Carlo methods are also being applied to many more practical problems such as robot planning and scheduling and also to environmental problems such as species conservation and sustainability. Monte Carlo methods are naturally parallel, simple to implement, and appear to perform better or comparably to other more complex approaches. There are many open research problems including some fundamental ones such as why and when they work well.

The National Science Foundation and Oregon State University are sponsoring an allexpenses paid short course on Monte Carlo algorithms for undergraduates from US colleges and universities. Students are expected to have some prior experience in programming, but do not need any previous experience in Artificial Intelligence. Students from groups historically under-represented in computer science (women, minorities, first generation to attend college) are particularly encouraged to apply. The
course runs from March 19-23 in the beautiful town of Corvallis. We will provide accommodation, airfare, computer access, high quality interactions, and technical presentations.

If you are interested or have questions, please visit http://www.eecs.orst.edu/mcai.  Applications are due by December 20, 2011.

The Math Association of America is sponsoring a poker night for math and cs majors, minors, and friends. 5pm Friday Dec 2 in the VH commons.

Our last Math Colloquium of the semester will be on Tuesday, December 6, at 3:30 p.m. in VH1224.  Mike Munn from the University of Missouri at Columbia will be here to speak on as well as answer questions about graduate study at Mizzou.  As usual, refreshments will be provided!

ABSTRACT

Informally speaking, Topology is the mathematical study of the idea of “shape”.  One of the basic problems of Topology is to do determine when two objects have essentially the same shape in the sense that one object can be continuously deformed into the other without tearing or puncturing it.  One of the oldest conjectures in Topology is the Poincare conjecture.  According to Wolfram MathWorld, the conjecture roughly says that “the three-sphere is the only type of bounded three-dimensional space possible that contains no holes.”

The Poincare conjecture was one of the Clay Mathematics Institute’s $ 1 million dollar prize problems, and was eventually solved by Perelman in 2003.  In this Colloquium  Professor Munn will give an introductory talk describing the Poincare Conjecure, the idea of the Ricci flow, and Perelman’s proof aimed at undergraduates.  He will also be available to answer questions about graduate study in mathematics at the University of Missouri at Collumbia.

MAA will be meeting this Tuesday, November 8 in our usual room VH 1200. We will be discussing final touches to the music video and begin planning the poker tournament. As always, all majors are welcome!

The mathbio website has been updated with information on the 2012 mathbio research projects, and we are now accepting applications from students. Please go to mathbio.truman.edu and click on the research tab for more information on the projects or to download the application form. Applications are due on Wednesday, Nov. 30 by 5 p.m. Email applications or questions to Pam Ryan (pjryan@truman.edu).

The November MASSE meeting is Sunday, November 13 at 6:00pm in VH 1212. We are bringing a panel of teachers who completed Truman’s MAE program. They are able to understand where you are now and give you insight as to what is coming for graduate school and beginning teaching. Bring a friend and any questions you may have about Truman’s MAE or what it’s like as a beginning teacher.