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Registration

Registration is now closed! If you want to be on the mailing list for next year, please email us at mathfestival@math.umass.edu

Talks, activities and panels

Events will take place from 9:30AM to 2:30PM. Click on titles to see the description of events. Panels will be recorded and put on this website for those who choose to attend other events but would still like to watch them.

9:30-10am

 Opening ceremony with Nate Whitaker, the chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UMass

10:15-11:00am

 Talks:

Math, Statistics, and Social Networks to Combat the Opioid Crisis with Krista Gile

How do you help people who misuse opioids? First, you have to learn about them. Traditional methods like knocking on doors and randomly calling phone numbers is unlikely to find many people, so we need a creative new method. In this session, we will talk about social network sampling methods to learn about who is misusing opioids and how we can help.

Organize your wardrobe using algebraic topology with Martina Rovelli

How to find a systematic way to distinguish a T-shirt from a pair of pants and other types of clothes? Of course using homology groups and other algebraic topology invariants!
Activities

Modeling a pandemic with Owen Gwilliam

When the coronavirus pandemic began, newspapers were full of diagrams of how infections might rise and fall. We'll discuss where these diagrams came from and how you can make your own model. This is a tricky business, since a model ignores so much about the real world, and we'll discuss how the models can be used and abused.

One cut to cut them all with Annie Raymond

What shapes can you create if you fold a piece of paper and make a single straight cut? Could you cut out a square, a star or even your name? Please have a few sheets of paper and a pair of scissors with you for this activity!

11:15am-noon

 Talks

Visualizing the 4th dimension with Jonathan Simone

We live in a 3-dimensional world. But who's to say there isn't a fourth dimension that we simply cannot see? Afterall, a 2-dimensional creature living on a piece of paper might not be able to imagine the 3-dimensional room that the paper is in, but that doesn't mean there are only two dimensions. In this discussion, we will explore ways to understand four dimensional space and 4-dimensional shapes.

Applications of math in medicine with Leili Shahriyari

How could math have anything to do with drug discoveries or clinical trials? We will talk about some of cool applications of mathematics in discovering new biological phenomena and how it is used in drug development and recently in creating virtual versions of patients.

Geometry of voter gerrymandering with Mike Sullivan

Sometimes politicians in one party will draw voting districts to make sure the opposing party does not win its fair share of elections. This is called gerrymandering. But how does one decide what is fair? With math!
Activities

Pen and Paper Games with Topological Secrets with Andrew Havens

We will learn, play, and discuss some games that can be played at any age with just a surface and an implement to draw upon that surface, yet these games will be revealed to have mathematical depths related to an area of math called topology, which concerns flexible forms. No prior knowledge of topology is required.

Cloudy with a chance of bugs and python with Alejandro Morales

Can you use the cloud and a computer language like python to help you with your math homework? We will play with a math software based on python used to create new mathematics, produce stunning diagrams, create and fix software bugs, and yes do your homework. Please have a tab of your browser ready!

12:45-1:30pm

 Talks

When Lightning Strikes More Than Twice with Maryclare Griffin

How much does the atmosphere tell us about where lightning strikes occur during storms? In this session, we will talk about building a statistical model for lightening strikes that incorporates measurements of other aspects of the weather to try to understand how much we know about lightning strikes, versus how much remains a mystery!

How are droplets formed? with Siddhant Agrawal

How does water break up into droplets? In this talk with the aid of pictures and videos, I will go over the surprising amount of math which governs this common phenomenon.
Activity

Distinguishing Shapes in Low Dimensions with Yasin Karacan

We will see what Euler Characteristic is and how it guides us in understanding graphs and surfaces.
Panel

Panel with current and past students

Panel with current and past students about college and jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Bring any questions you might have!

1:45-2:30pm

 Talks

Hilbert’s Hotel and Banach-Tarski Paradox with Bartu Bingol

Could we find a room for an additional guest even though all of the rooms of an hotel are occupied? Could we find a sophisticated way to separate a ball into different parts such that when brought back, we end up with 2 balls of the same size? How? It's not magic, it's mathematics!

Pictures at an Exhibition (of Surfaces) with Jennifer Li

I will show, using many pictures, how to construct new surfaces from familiar ones. Grab your imaginary glue stick and (safety) scissors, and join us in a promenade through a mathematical gallery of surfaces!
Activity

How to crack secret codes with Benjamin Levine

We will investigate some historical developments in cryptanalysis (the fancy word for codebreaking), and crack some secret codes along the way using an assortment of mathematical techniques. Please bring paper and something to write with for this activity!
Panel

Panel about how to apply to UMass and financial aid

Panel on how to apply to UMass (and to college in general!) as well as financial aid. Bring any questions you have!

Resources...

...to do math:

-Two-week long UMass summer course on Foundations of Data Science (scholarships applications are due in mid-April)
-Deerfield Math Competition
-The AMC Math Competitions

...to learn math:

-Online events at the National Museum of Mathematics in New York
-Numberphile on youtube

...to discover inspiring mathematicians

-For All
-Black and mathematically gifted
-Lathisms
-Indigenous mathematicians

...to come to UMass


-Applying to UMass
-Financial aid at UMass
-The College of Natural Sciences at UMass

If you have any questions, please email us at mathfestival@math.umass.edu