Troy University’s Department of Mathematics will present the 19th annual TROY MathFest, a free conference that enables undergraduate students to share their research, on April 10-11 at the Troy Campus.
As the only undergraduate student math conference in Alabama, MathFest is a great way for students to experience interacting and networking with a group of their immediate peers over a shared area of study, said Dr. Ken Roblee, Associate Dean of Administration and Academics in the College of Science and Engineering and Professor of Mathematics.
“Through MathFest, undergraduate students are able to connect with a group of their peers, learn new mathematics and perhaps give a presentation, share their posters or participate in our contests,” he said. “Even though we are the only undergraduate student math conference in Alabama, graduate students and faculty are always welcome.”
Highlights of the conference include presentations by students and faculty, a poster session by students, a calculus competition, a Kahoot trivia competition and a graduate school information session with graduate schools from across the southeast.
“Last year, we had over 100 participants from 20 different colleges and universities across seven different states,” Roblee said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to not only share their own knowledge, but to learn more about different areas of study within the math field.”
This year, MathFest will feature two keynote speakers: Dr. Lara Pudwell of Valparaiso University and Dr. Janet Osaye of Troy University.
Pudwell, Full Professor and Dixon W. and Herta E. Benz Professor, is a nationally-known speaker who has mentored many undergraduate students in the Valparaiso Experience in Research by Undergraduate Mathematicians (VERUM) program, coauthored a book on mentoring undergraduates in research and has worked on a summer math camp for middle school students, among others.
Osaye, Associate Professor, earned her Ph.D. at the University of Johannesburg and focuses her research in the areas of Graph Theory, discrete mathematics, network modeling and data science. Previously serving as Assistant Professor at Alabama State University and as Visiting Assistant Professor at Auburn University, she is also the founder of Girlsmatics Foundation, a STEM non-governmental organization for girls in Nigeria which was motivated by her involvement with AIMS Ghana’s outreach programs for high school students in Biriwa, Ghana. She is also the co-founder of Pieurl Consulting Services, an analytics and management firm based in Lagos, Nigeria.
The conference is free to all participants with refreshments and lunch provided. To register, visit www.troy.edu/mathfest. For questions or more information, contact Roblee at kroblee@troy.edu
Funding for the conference is provided by the National Science Foundation grant “NSF Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences.”
