in December the petition for a Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) student chapter was approved.  We are having an organizational meeting on January 29th.  As part of having a student chapter we are suppose to elect officers: President, Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer.  Being a SIAM officer is something that you can list on your cv.  George Lytle had mentioned that he would be willing to serve as president.  The job of the officers is simply to facilitate the spending of the 500 dollars that SIAM has allotted us as well as the 500 dollars that the department has agreed to give us.  The officers will hopefully  organize social activities as well as invite speakers.  Whether this means an activity each semester or an activity each month is up to you all.  



SIAM provides additional funds to send students to various SIAM meetings, see the following for a list of upcoming meetings http://www.siam.org/meetings/calendar.php.  

If you see one that you would like to attend come to the meeting.



David Murragura has suggested that we organize a trip to Oak Ridge National Lab(ORNL).  This is something we would try to get students from not just the math department to participate in.  Grad Students from the Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Engineering will hopefully  be invited to participate in SIAM activities.  If visiting ORNL is something that might interest you then come to the meeting.



If you have something in mind that you would like SIAM to do, definitely come to the meeting. 

We will discuss the Mathematical Modeling Contest~(MCM) that will take place February 5-February 9. Teams consist of at most three students. It would be nice if we could form at least two teams. Jacob Hempel and Yanxi Li who competed last year for UK will hopefully be attending the meeting. If you plan on competing please make arrangements with your professors for any assignments/exams that might be due during the contest. Graduate Students, George Lytle and Fouche Smith will also be present to help assist in the discussion. To get you in the right mind set for the competition please read Secrets of the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and for other articles about the MCM, check out the MCM Resource page.

Other things that we might discuss:

·  Spring Speakers. So far we have confirmation from Wesley Hough, Luis Sordo Viera, Rafael Gonzolez D'Leon. We have not heard from Katherine Thompson or Derek Eggers.

·  2015 Kentucky Section Annual Meeting, March 27-28 at Morehead State University

·  Hosting a cubing competition, March 7

·  Math problem of the month will be provided by Ryan Anglin



 

With new renovations completed over the 2014-15 winter break, the UK Mathskeller unveiled its new look at an open house on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - hosted by the Department of Mathematics and College of Arts and Sciences, in room 63 in the basement of the White Hall Classroom Building. 



Opened in 2001 with 20 computers and a large printing budget, the Mathskeller, a computing and mathematics learning center managed by the Department of Mathematics and the Mathematical Sciences Computing Facility, was established to implement a technology-assisted instructional model. Fourteen years later, the center is home to only four computers, printers aren't used nearly as much, and the facility looks nothing like a basement classroom.



Instead, the center resembles a modern, collective learning space. And while there may be fewer wires and less printing, technology still has a leading role at the center.



Today's students, at least UK students utilizing the revitalized Mathskeller, are also taking advantage of the multiple mobile workspaces, bright LED-lit atmosphere, comfortable seating, tutors and chalkboard-lined walls. The renovated Mathskeller still features a kitchenette and group study or meeting room, and has added more storage, new carpet, additional study tables by removing a closet, and even a new computerized sign-in method. 



>>View a photo album of the renovations