Three students present at national mathematics conference

Three Ripon College students presented talks at Mathfest, a national mathematics conference held in Chicago in July. Mathfest is the annual conference of the Mathematical Association of America.

Ngan Tran ’17 of Pleiku City, Vietnam, presented “An Analysis of Quantitative Methods to Detect Gerrymandering” in one of the Pi Mu Epsilon Math Honors Society sessions. She won an award for giving an outstanding talk. Her work was done with McKenzie Lamb, associate professor of mathematical sciences; Bill Retert, adjunct scholar for mathematical sciences; and Briana Bartz ’20 of Brandon, Wisconsin, this summer.

Mitra Kermani ’20 of Louisville, Colorado, and Antony Gradillas ’19 of Anthem, Arizona, presented “Population Dynamics of Common Carp in Big Green Lake” in one of the MAA student sessions. Their work was done earlier this summer with Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Andrea Young, in collaboration with the Green Lake Association and Green Lake Sanitary District, and will be ongoing during the school year.

The students also participated in the rest of the conference, which included many talks by faculty and students.

Young was a judge and moderator for some of the Pi Mu Epsilon sessions. “Our students really stood out as being poised and well-prepared to give talks that were appropriate for the audience,” she said.