Thanks to each of you for all you have done to ensure a safe semester, on November 18, 2021, the UConn AMS Student Chapter will be able to host the fifth annual integration bee in Monteith 313.

The registration is open to any undergraduate student who has taken or is currently taking calculus II or considers themselves an integral expert. The final three contenders will receive prizes that are sure to bee amazing.

Snacks and drinks to take home will be provided at the event for all the bees in the hive. If you plan to attend the event, please register by emailing ams_math@uconn.edu, but walk-ins are also welcome. Also, please continue to follow campus guidelines to keep ourselves and each other safe!

Click here for the flyer

In March 2021, the UConn graduate student chapter of the AMS held its Fourth Annual Integration Bee–the first virtual bee in order to comply with COVID-19 safety procedures. Undergraduates of varying levels of the mathematical background came together to test their knowledge of math. Chapter members created a packet of problems ranging in difficulty level, from word problems requiring only basic algebra to multivariable integrals and topology, algebra, and analysis proofs. Students were given two weeks to complete as many problems as possible and submit their work. Chapter officers graded the packets and awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place based on the accuracy of answers. Ties were broken by the time at which the participants submitted the packet.

Junior Benjamin Amar won second place and junior Joseph Axiak won first place. The top finishers were awarded Amazon gift cards.

The third annual Mathematics Continued Conference for undergraduate students will take place on October 23rd. The conference will be in person hosted by the University of Connecticut, but the event will be held virtually. The main goal of the conference is to give undergraduate students interested in math an idea of what graduate school may be like and to showcase some current research done by grad students and faculty members. The talks at the conference will be given at the level of junior or senior undergraduates, but we hope that students of all levels will be inspired to continue their studies after seeing the wide range of research opportunities available in math. During the activities led by graduate students, we will give the opportunity for undergraduate students to immerse themselves into different facets of mathematics: research, computations, education, and community building. We will also have a poster session to provide undergraduates with an opportunity to present their own work.

For more information, please visit: https://mcc.math.uconn.edu/

On behalf of the AMS Graduate Student Chapter, we want to thank everyone who joined our work retreat on Saturday, March 7^th. It was nice to work in a synergistic environment with your fellows’ grad students to prepare for the rest of the spring semester or take a break on a busy day to have some tea/coffee with a snack and chat a bit. We hope you managed to be productive, and more importantly to stay safe and healthy during this pandemic period.

Stay tuned to our emails next semester – we would definitely host it again.

On October 24th, 2019, the UConn graduate student chapter of the AMS held its Third Annual Integration Bee. Undergraduates of varying levels of mathematical background came together to test their knowledge of integrals. For the first round, all students were given the same three integrals to work out on a sheet of paper. To advance to the second round, they needed to solve two out of the three integrals within five minutes. In the succeeding rounds, students took turns in groups of four to six, going to the blackboard to compute a randomly chosen integral in under four minutes. In each round, if the student did not finish in the given time, or finished but provided an incorrect solution, they received a strike. After a student received two strikes, they were eliminated from the competition.

After an hour and a half, every student had received at least one strike except for Brian Behrens, who had correctly solved all other integrals up to that point. When all students received an additional strike for a very challenging integral, Brian was crowned the winner and was able to watch as the rest battled for second and third place.

With five students remaining, the competition continued until we got down to the final two contestants for second and third place: Keegan Yao and Nick Juricic. They battled back and forth for over 10 additional rounds, both always getting the correct answers. In the final round, they were asked to evaluate a challenging integral in the usual four-minute time frame. Nicks’s solution had one minor mistake while Keegan Yao successfully solved the integral and earned second place in the competition.

Contestants who scored in the top three won prizes that were generously donated from our sponsors: 1^st place received a visa gift card provided by Cengage, 2^nd place received a gift card to Lizzie’s Curbside Catering, and Gansett wraps, and 3^rd place received a gift card to Dog Lane Cafe.

Although there were only three winners who officially won prizes, all students who attended the Integration Bee received a nice meal, compliments of the AMS, as well as the joy of solving math problems.

On October 24, 2019, the UConn AMS Student Chapter will be hosting the third annual integration bee in Monteith 313. Due to the proximity of this event to the spookiest day of the year, anyone who wears a bee costume will automatically be advanced to the second round.

The registration is open to any undergraduate student who has taken or is currently taking calculus II or considers themselves an integral expert. The final three contenders will receive prizes that are sure to bee amazing.

Food and drink will be provided at the event for all the bees in the hive. If you plan to attend the event, please register by emailing ams_math@uconn.edu, but walk-ins are also welcome.

Click here for the flyer

May 3rd, 2019. Sunny morning. A group of 8 members of our chapter met at the entrance of Monteith and headed to the parking lot. We all were excited and ready to go. On our way we’ve met our chapter’s advisor, Dr. Damir Dzhafarov, and the chair of our department, Dr. Ambar Sengupta, who warmly greeted us. We took two cars (thanks go to Waseet Kazmi and Sean Eustace for volunteering to drive us) and started our eventful trip. The weather was great, the company even better, so one-and-a-half-hour drive seemed very short (at least for passengers).

Once we reached the first destination, the AMS office in Providence, we were welcomed by the membership director, Megan E. Turcotte. She started by letting us sign in and giving us the visitor badges, it felt very official. In the foyer there we immediately saw a part of art exhibit “Concinnitas”, that for us was not just art, some of us recognized mathematical problems represented by some of the pictures. After we all signed in, the tour started, and let me tell you, we were treated like V.I.P. In every department we were greeted and told about all the work that they were responsible for, moreover, how this could help us in particular. We were encouraged to apply for grants and scholarships that the AMS is offering, advise to look at AMS Notice and blogs for advice about career development and even choosing the right career pass for us, we were introduced to different programs that AMS is running like meetings, math research communities, Mathemati-con, “Who wants to be a mathematician”, fundraising, etc. At every stop we were given some small gifts that represented the departments.

Our next stop was the print shop in Pawtucket, RI. Even though the printing was supposed to be stopped in the afternoon, our host, Don Proulx, showed us the whole process of making books and how machines are operated. Staff in the print shop was very glad to meet us and happy to see that their work is appreciated. They noticed that showing us shelves full of books is like letting “kids into a candy store”.

It started raining as our journey was close to its end, as if Providence was sad that we were about to leave it behind. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner in the Providence Downtown area, walked a bit around the campus of Brown University, then down the hill to the river to stop by ICERM, which we decided to visit next time. Tired and content, we started heading back to Storrs.

We want to thank the AMS staff for this incredible opportunity. We learnt a lot about the structure and work done by the association. We’ll make sure to spread a good word about this cause.

On behalf of the AMS Graduate Student Chapter, we want to thank everyone who participated in this semester’s Writing/Research/Work Retreat last Saturday. It was nice to work in a synergistic environment with your fellows grad students or take a break on a busy day to have some tea/coffee with a snack and chat a bit. Hope you managed to be productive and we were able to help you get some work done.

Stay tuned to our emails next semester – we would definitely organize it again.