Regional mathematics symposium held at Simpson

Simpson College hosted the sixteenth annual Midwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium (MUMS) on Saturday, April 13. The 2019 symposium included talks and poster presentations from undergraduate students and featured keynote speaker Raegan Higgins Siwatu from Texas Tech University.

In all, 70 people took part in MUMS. Participants came from six different colleges and universities around the country, including Simpson.

“It is exciting to see students network with each other and with faculty,” associate mathematics professor Heidi Berger said. “For many students, this is the first time that they’ve seen this many people excited about mathematics in the same room. That’s exhilarating!”

The purpose of MUMS is to promote student research in the math department and give students an opportunity to share and celebrate the work that they’ve completed.

“This year, I particularly enjoyed Lydia Magalhaes’s presentation,”  said Katherine Vance, assistant professor of mathematics. “She had the audience laughing as she was telling us about using crochet to teach high school students how to write geometry proofs.”

The symposium also helps to inform students about job opportunities, graduate schools, and study abroad trips that may interest them.

“The career panel this year was awesome,” Vance continued, “We had five panelists, including two Simpson alumni. Students and panelists had a lively conversation that touched on the importance of identifying your particular strengths, finding an employer with positive workplace culture, and dealing with impostor syndrome and sexism in the workplace.”

Simpson first hosted MUMS in 2003 and has been the symposium’s home for the last 16 years.

Click here to learn more about the many opportunities—in and out of the classroom—studying mathematics at Simpson has to offer.