MAA  Mathematical Association of America

Seaway Section

Location:

1. Time:

   1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

   Title:

   Activities in a Statistics Course

   Speaker:

   Marlo Brown (Niagara University)

   Abstract

   In this talk, I will go through various activities that can be done in an elementary statistics course.

2. Time:

   1:30 pm – 1:50 pm

   Title:

   Reading AP Calculus Exams

   Speaker:

   Judith Covington (Northwestern State University of Louisiana)

   Abstract

   In this short talk, I’ll share my experience reading AP Calculus exams. It is a very intense and rewarding experience. I will share what I learned and talk about what reading for AP involves.

3. Time:

   2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

   Title:

   What "Math Cats" Taught Me About Explaining Math to Humans

   Speaker:

   Daniel M. Look (St. Lawrence University)

   Abstract

   "Math Cats," published in October 2025, is my attempt to use wordplay and adorable cat illustrations to explain mathematical concepts. The project ultimately became less about mathematics itself and more about translation—between mathematician and artist, author and editor, and ultimately, expert and reader. In this talk, I’ll share what I learned about communicating mathematical ideas through collaboration, including how illustrations can clarify—or completely reshape—an explanation. I’ll also discuss some of the mathematical ideas that didn’t make it into the book, and why. Interestingly, what gets cut isn’t always what's most mathematically difficult, but what’s hardest to communicate, frame, or market. This raises a broader question: do mathematicians have a good intuition for what makes an idea accessible?

4. Time:

   2:30 pm – 2:50 pm

   Title:

   Many Cubes make a Sponge: Fun with Origami

   Speakers:

   Leah Bridgers (SUNY Oneonta), Lynne Talbot (SUNY Oneonta)

   Abstract

   Experience the magic of an origami creation using six business cards to create a cube held together by the power of the fold. We'll also discuss some extensions of the activity that include joining the cubes together to create a Menger Sponge. This is a great activity to bring back to share with your Math Club!

Location:

1. Time:

   1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

   Title:

   Interesting Aspects of Parabolic Projectile Motion

   Speaker:

   Peter Mercer (Buffalo State)

   Abstract

   We use first-semester calculus to make various neat observations about parabolic projectile motion.

2. Time:

   1:30 pm – 1:50 pm

   Title:

   Visualizing the Relationship Between Velocity and Acceleration Vectors (and more) using CalcPlot3D

   Speaker:

   Paul Seeburger (Monroe Community College)

   Abstract

   Velocity is tangent to the path of motion. But is acceleration always orthogonal to the path of motion? Come learn about a built-in exploration in CalcPlot3D that explores the relationship between velocity and acceleration (and how it affects the corresponding speed of motion) using a sequence of parameterized curve examples.

3. Time:

   2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

   Title:

   Identifying the Tangent Multiplicity for Convex Functions

   Speaker:

   Anthony Cappello (Niagara University)

   Abstract

   In this talk we answer the question: for a differentiable convex function $f:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}$ and a point $(a,b)$, how many tangent lines of $f$ pass through the point $(a,b)$? This talk will only use material taught in a standard calculus 1 class making it accessible to a general mathematical audience.

4. Time:

   2:30 pm – 2:50 pm

   Title:

   In High Demand: the Math Behind Demand Curves

   Speaker:

   Gordon Craig (Université Laval)

   Abstract

   Demand curves often show up in math courses as nice sources of examples. But other than the somewhat trivial observation that as prices rise, the quantity demanded of a good decreases, how do economists determine the actual relation? In this talk, I'll show that demand curves come from solving a constrained optimization problem. I'll then explain why the consumer surplus (an example that is often used in integral calculus) is a good measure of the gains from trade for consumers. I'll conclude by touching on the difficulties of mathematical modelling in economics, considering an argument that the entire talk might have been a waste of your time.

Location:

1. Time:

   1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

   Title:

   Some Problems in Algebra from the 1300s

   Speaker:

   Gary Towsley (SUNY Geneseo)

   Abstract

   I will present a couple of problems from an algebra text of the 1300s that we have recently translated. The problems will show how far algebra has come since then and how it has stayed the same.

2. Time:

   1:30 pm – 1:50 pm

   Title:

   Mathematics, History, and Gaudi

   Speaker:

   Olympia Nicodemi (SUNY Geneseo)

   Abstract

   Antoni Gaudi was the architect of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, the stunning landmark of Barcelona. Inspired by the MAA Press publication, The Genius of Gaudi: Geometry and Architecture, by Alsina and Nelsen, we will deliver a short book report. Then we will investigate some of the mathematics (and its history) that informs the structures of Gaudi’s works.

3. Time:

   2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

   Title:

   Another Look at the Sums of Euler

   Speaker:

   James Marengo (RIT)

   Abstract

   The eminent mathematician Leonard Euler was able to find the exact sums for the reciprocals of the even integral powers of the positive integers for exponents as big as twenty-six. To accomplish this feat, he reasoned informally and treated power series as if they were polynomials with infinite degree. In this talk we will review his approach and provide a rigorous derivation of his result for the case when the exponent is two. The talk should be accessible to any student who has studied infinite series.

4. Time:

   2:30 pm – 2:50 pm

   Title:

   On the Divisibility Relations Between Character Degrees and Codegrees

   Speaker:

   Karam Aldahleh (University of Rochester)

   Abstract

   Given a finite group $G$ and its corresponding irreducible characters $\mathrm{Irr}(G)$, we define the degree and codegree of $\chi\in\mathrm{Irr}(G)$ to be $\chi(1)$ and \[ \mathrm{cod}(\chi)=\frac{|G:\ker\chi|}{\chi(1)} \] respectively. We discuss various open problems concerning the divisibility relationships between a character’s degree and codegree. We first present a solution to an open problem posed by Guohua Qian, classifying the nonsolvable component of groups satisfying the property that $\gcd(\chi(1),\mathrm{cod}(\chi))$ is square-free for every irreducible character $\chi$. We then solve another problem by finding structural restrictions on the solvable component, namely a fitting height bound and classification of nilpotent groups satisfying the hypothesis. Finally, we consider another open problem which attempts to generalize the classic Gagola-Lewis theorem, which states that $\chi(1)$ divides $\mathrm{cod}(\chi)$ for every irreducible character $\chi\in\mathrm{Irr}(G)$ if and only if $G$ is nilpotent. In particular, we study groups satisfying the property that $\pi(\chi(1))\subseteq\pi(\mathrm{cod}(\chi))$ for every irreducible character $\chi$. Here, $\pi(n)$ denotes the set of prime factors of $n\in\mathbb{Z}^+$. We make some progress on this last problem, proving that the nonabelian chief factors of a group must be of a certain type.

Location:

1. Time:

   1:00 pm – 1:20 pm

   Title:

   How to Multiply Matrices and Why

   Speaker:

   Gabriel Prajitura (SUNY Brockport)

   Abstract

   We will discuss several ways of multiplying matrices and the motivation behind them.

2. Time:

   1:30 pm – 1:50 pm

   Title:

   The Evolution of a Graph: An Adjacency Condition and its Consequences

   Speaker:

   Robert Sulman (SUNY Oneonta)

   Abstract

   We describe how a given finite graph changes according to the following rule: (1) If two vertices have the same degree and are adjacent, then the edge between them is removed. (2) If they are not adjacent, then an edge between them is created. No other changes are made. This progression rule, which we will call $\mu$, produces a sequence of graphs from its repeated application on an initial graph $G$. We explore such sequences and also "decompose" $\mu$ into two separate functions, $\mu^{+}$ (growth) and $\mu^{-}$ (decay), which lead to sequences that "stabilize". Additional natural definitions follow from this, and we will examine these ideas.

3. Time:

   2:00 pm – 2:20 pm

   Title:

   Pairwise Ranking Problem: Improving Rankings Through Iterative Reweighting

   Speaker:

   Shandeepa Wickramasinghe (Utica University)

   Abstract

   Ranking problems occur in many areas such as recommendation systems like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon, sports competitions, voting systems, and search engines like Google and Yahoo. These systems influence our daily decisions, so they need accurate and reliable rankings. However, direct global rankings are rarely available. Instead, we often see many local and sometimes conflicting preferences, especially when human opinions are involved. Rank aggregation aims to combine these pairwise preferences into one consistent and trustworthy global ranking. Recovering a reliable global ranking from sparse, incomplete, and imbalanced pairwise comparisons remains a major challenge. Classical methods such as weighted least squares often perform poorly when the comparison graph is uneven or weakly connected, even when outcomes are deterministic. This problem mainly stems from insufficient and uneven sampling, which increases the number of comparisons needed for accurate recovery. This work presents the Iterative Reweighting Weighted Least Squares (IRWLS) algorithm. The method updates weights during optimization to stabilize the comparison graph and reduce imbalance. As a result, it improves ranking recovery under sparse and incomplete data and lowers the number of comparisons required.

4. Time:

   2:30 pm – 2:50 pm

   Title:

   Analysis and Adjoint-Free Reconstruction for Parabolic Inverse Source Problems

   Speaker:

   Sedar Ngoma (SUNY Geneseo)

   Abstract

   We study an inverse source problem for a non-autonomous parabolic equation, where an unknown time-dependent source is recovered from an integral observation of the solution. We first establish existence and uniqueness of the Tikhonov-regularized solution and derive a first-order optimality condition. We then show that the associated forward operator has a Volterra structure, which explains the severe ill-posedness of the problem and yields a weak-norm stability estimate. Under an a priori smoothness assumption, we also obtain a conditional Hölder stability result. On the numerical side, we introduce an adjoint-free integral feedback method for source reconstruction. The method uses only forward solves and is stabilized by temporal regularization and automatic parameter selection. Numerical results for both smooth and piecewise constant sources demonstrate accurate and robust reconstructions under noisy data.