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SARS and mathematics – how do they go together? That question and others will be examined at a conference beginning today at York. Two prominent York faculty members will speak at the conference, along with John Mighton, founder of an innovative math-tutoring system now being used in 12 inner city schools in Toronto.
From today to June 1, undergraduates from across the country will converge on York’s Keele campus for the 10th Annual Canadian Undergraduate Mathematics Conference (CUMC).
Here are the key speakers:
Jianhong Wu (right), York’s Canada Research Chair in Applied Mathematics and professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Pure & Applied Science. Wu will talk about his work on the epidemiology of SARS and the role of interdisciplinary mathematical work, in “SARS, SAS and Math: From Public Health to Data Analysis to Mathematical Simulation”.
Nantel Bergeron (left), York’s Canada Research Chair in Algebraic Combinatoric Structures and professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Pure & Applied Science. Bergeron will talk about families of discrete structures (graphs, binary trees, ordered sets) which affect various problems in the sciences, discussing algebraic operations on these structures, in “Algbre de Hopf Combinatoire”.
John Mighton (right), mathematician with the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences and the founder of JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies), an educational charity providing free tutoring to elementary-level students. Mighton is also an award-winning playwright, a poet, a passionate believer that every child can master math, and author of The Myth of Ability: Nurturing Mathematical Talent in Every Child. He will relate his experience with the JUMP program.
In addition, the conference will include 50 presentations in English and in French by students representing a wide cross-section of Canada’s universities. There will also be participant competitions.
CUMC is an opportunity for undergraduate math enthusiasts to share their interests, build community across languages, and get a glimpse of life as a mathematics professional. It is supported by the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Pure & Applied Science, and sponsored by the Canadian Mathematics Society, Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, Canadian Institute of Actuaries, Canadian Applied & Industrial Mathematics Society and Zometool, Inc.
For more information about the conference, visit http://www.cumc.math.ca/.
