MathPath
Encyclopedia
History
MathPath was founded in 2002 by George Thomas, who had previously founded Mathcamp. His goal was to inspire and advance the most mathematically gifted middle school age students, through a summer camp.More information
Subjects
At MathPath, students learn about many math topics that are rarely taught in schools, such as Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, number theory, induction, spherical trigonometry, mathematical origami, and the mathematics of card shuffling. They also learn some history of math and work on mathematical writing. As well, students have the opportunity to prepare for contests such as MATHCOUNTSMathCounts
Mathcounts is a middle school mathematics competition held in the United States. Its founding sponsors include the CNA Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The competition is designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth...
, AMC, or AIME
American Invitational Mathematics Examination
The American Invitational Mathematics Examination is a 15-question 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics contest , and starting in 2010, those who rank in the top 2.5% on the AMC 10.The AIME is the second of two tests used to determine...
.
Although much of the day is spent learning mathematics, there is deliberately more free time than at high school math camps. Also, students regularly go on weekend day trips and visit the surrounding area's attractions.
Regular Staff
Regular staff are those who come almost every year. Usually they come for 2–4 weeks, but a few come for only one week. Most of the regular staff members have an in-camp nickname.- Silva Chang (Ms C), University of Colorado at Boulder. As director of the Colorado Math Circle, coach of the Colorado ARML Team, and five-time coach of the Colorado MATHCOUNTS Team, Ms. Chang has mentored and taught MOSP attendees, USAMO qualifiers, and state MATHCOUNTS champions. At MathPath Ms Chang has taught two very popular courses, mathematical origami and Mathematica.
- John Horton ConwayJohn Horton ConwayJohn Horton Conway is a prolific mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory...
(or Conway) is the inventor of Surreal numbers and Conway's Game of LifeConway's Game of LifeThe Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970....
, among other things. A profesor at Princeton, he comes to MathPath for one week each year. - Thomas Drucker (or Coach D) is a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin and the editor of Perspectives of the History of Mathematical Logic. He is an expert on the history of mathematics from the 17th century to modern times.
- Alan Q. Lippert (or Mr. L) is a retired mathematics teacher and MATHCOUNTSMathCountsMathcounts is a middle school mathematics competition held in the United States. Its founding sponsors include the CNA Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The competition is designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth...
coach. He was the Academic Director of MathPath in 2003–2005. He leads the MATHCOUNTS and AMC8 classes and does the Problem of the Day.
- Stephen B. Maurer (or Mr. M) is a Professor of Mathematics at Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, PA and the Academic Director of MathPath. He is former Chair of the AMC and an expert on mathematical writing. At MathPath he teaches courses on mathematical inductionMathematical inductionMathematical induction is a method of mathematical proof typically used to establish that a given statement is true of all natural numbers...
, combinatorics, "Linear Set Geometry", and sometimes AMCAmerican Mathematics CompetitionsThe American Mathematics Competitions are the first of a series of competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad . This team, consisting of six high school students, competes in the IMO and has traditionally performed well...
competitions. He also runs sessions where anonymous student solutions to the Qualifying Test are used to discuss mathematical writing.
- Jonathan Rogness, University of Minnesota, is well known for his beautiful mathematical visualizations, including an award-winning video, Möbius Transformations Revealed, which went viral online and has been viewed by nearly two million people. At MathPath he has taught cryptology and the Shape of Space.
- Francis Su (or Prof Su) is a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd CollegeHarvey Mudd CollegeHarvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, located in Claremont, California. It is one of the institutions of the contiguous Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds....
, Claremont, CA. He teaches about problems relating to probability, shuffling (card tricks!) and social sciences (such as fair division). He typically comes for the first or last week.
- Kip Sumner (or Kip) is the Camp Director and is in charge of student life and activities, as well as some years being camp champion in doubles pickleball and doubles pool.
- George Thomas (or Dr. T), Executive Director, is the founder of the camp, as well as of the high school math program, Mathcamp. He teaches courses in Analytic Geometry and Non-Euclidean Geometry.
- Sam VanderveldeSam VanderveldeSam Vandervelde is a mathematician who, along with Sandor Lehoczky and Richard Rusczyk, is most notable for creating the Mandelbrot Competition. and is listed first under "Thanks" in the mathematical textbook The Art of Problem Solving....
(or Dr. V) is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
, NY and Coordinator of the Mandelbrot CompetitionMandelbrot CompetitionNamed in honor of the Mandelbrot set, the Mandelbrot Competition is a mathematics competition founded by Sam Vandervelde, Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky that allows high school students to compete individually and in four-person teams.-Competition:...
. He teaches courses on various topics, usually different ones each year, such as number theoryNumber theoryNumber theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
, problem writing, and Ford circles. - Glen Van BrummelenGlen Van BrummelenGlen Van Brummelen is a Canadian historian of mathematics specializing in historical applications of mathematics to astronomy.Van Brummelen earned his PhD degree from Simon Fraser University in 1993, and served as a professor of mathematics at Bennington College from 1999 to 2006...
(or Glen) is an expert in the history of Greek and other early mathematics. In 2009 he published a book on the history of trigonometry, and he is working on the first book on spherical trigonometrySpherical trigonometrySpherical trigonometry is a branch of spherical geometry which deals with polygons on the sphere and the relationships between the sides and the angles...
in over 100 years.
Visiting Staff
Visiting staff are participants for one year or occasional years. Usually they attend for one week, or for a day or two to give a few lectures. Often they are faculty at the host institution or nearby institutions. A sampling of guest staff from recent years:- Gene Abrams is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of ColoradoUniversity of Colorado at Colorado SpringsThe University of Colorado Colorado Springs is a campus of the University of Colorado system, the state university system of Colorado....
, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His research interests include Leavitt path algebras and noncommutative rings. - Jennifer Beineke is an Associate Professor of Mathematics, Western New England CollegeWestern New England CollegeWestern New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy....
, MA is a specialist in analytic number theory.
- Owen Byer, Professor of Mathematics, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg VA, is an expert in discrete math and geometry, co-authoring the book Methods for Euclidean Geometry. At MathPath he has taught breakouts in Affine Geometry and Probability.
- Robin HartshorneRobin HartshorneRobin Cope Hartshorne is an American mathematician. Hartshorne is an algebraic geometer who studied with Zariski, Mumford, J.-P. Serre and Grothendieck....
is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at UC Berkeley and author of Projective Geometry (1967), Algebraic Geometry (1977), and Geometry: Euclid and Beyond (2000).
- Isil Nal, Harmony School of Excellence, Houston TX, and coach of the 2011 Texas State MATHCOUNTS team that placed 3rd at nationals. At the Harmony School Ms Nal has taught National MATHCOUNTS participants, USA(J)MO qualifiers and MOSP attendees. At MathPath she teachers AMC12, AIME and USAMO courses.
- Amelia Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, Colorado. She lectures on combinatorics, group theory, and the game Set
- John Watkins, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Colorado College. A graph theorist who has also worked on puzzles. He teachers courses at MathPath that use board puzzles, Sudoku and KenKen to teach mathematics, for instance, using material from his book Across the Board: The Mathematics of Chessboard Problems.
- Paul Zeitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of San FranciscoUniversity of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
. He is the author of The Art and Craft of Problem Solving. At MathPath he has taught such courses as problem solving, combinatorics, and solving the Rubik's Cube.
The MathPath Faculty Webpage for 2011
Typical weekday schedule
- 6:00am Optional activities for early risers: math, jogging, table tennis, etc.
- 7:30 Last wake-up call
- 8:00 Breakfast
- 8:45 Plenary Lecture: The History of Mathematics
- 9:45–11:00 Morning Breakout Session
- 11:00–12:00 Plenary Lecture: Guest Speaker
- 12:00 Announcements
- 12:30 Lunch
- 1:00–2:45 Free Time
- 3:00 Mini-Plenary Lecture: Mathematical Writing
- 3:30–5:00 Afternoon Breakout Session
- 5:00 Wrap-up, Announcements, Problem of the Day
- 6:00 Dinner
- 6:30 Evening Activities (digestion/soccer, basketball, etc)
- 8:30 Students back in the dorm; math conferencing time
- 9:15 Counselor Meetings
- 9:45 Quiet time, preparing for bed
- 10:15 Bedtime! Lights out!
On Saturday, the afternoon activities are a little different.
- 2:30 Show and tell and voting for plenaries
- 3:30 Fun math activity
On weekends, students usually go on a day trip to the surrounding attractions or participate in other activities, such as biking, white water rafting, rock climbing, or hiking. Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, ping pong, pool
Pool
-Pools of water:*Swimming pool, an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming*Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings:...
, Rubik's Cube and Magic: The Gathering tournaments are played and organized during the students' free time.
Locations
- 2002 – Black Hills State UniversityBlack Hills State UniversityBlack Hills State University, South Dakota's third largest comprehensive public university, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus is located in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 5,000 students attend classes at the Spearfish campus, at sites in Rapid City, Pierre, Yankton,...
, Spearfish, SD - 2003 – Black Hills State UniversityBlack Hills State UniversityBlack Hills State University, South Dakota's third largest comprehensive public university, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs. The campus is located in Spearfish, South Dakota. Close to 5,000 students attend classes at the Spearfish campus, at sites in Rapid City, Pierre, Yankton,...
, Spearfish, SD - 2004 – Roger Williams UniversityRoger Williams UniversityRoger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams...
, Bristol, RI - 2005 – Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, CO - 2006 – University of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaThe University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Santa Cruz, CA - 2007 – Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, CO - 2008 – The University of Vermont at BurlingtonBurlington, VermontBurlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
- 2009 – Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, CO - 2010 – Macalester CollegeMacalester CollegeMacalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
, St. Paul, MN - 2011 – Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, CO - 2012 – Mount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
, South Hadley, MA - 2013 – Macalester CollegeMacalester CollegeMacalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
, St. Paul, MN - 2014 – Colorado CollegeColorado CollegeThe Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, Colorado Springs, CO