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Workshop

Mathematical Circles and Olympiads December 16, 2004 - December 18, 2004
Registration Deadline: December 18, 2004 almost 20 years ago
To apply for Funding you must register by: September 16, 2004 about 20 years ago
Parent Program: --
Organizers Hugo Rossi, Tatiana Shubin, Zvezdelina Stankova, Paul Zeitz
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Description
The purpose of Mathematical Circles is to identify and cultivate mathematical talent at an early age, by working through challenging problems under the direction of academic research mathematicians Historically, Math circles led eventually to the start of many national and international math contests, culminating in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), initiated in Romania in 1959. This conference will bring together organizers of Math Circles, Competitions and Camps throughout the country in order to exchange ideas, present their activities to people interested in starting a circle and to establish a communications network providing resources and materials for Circles and Competitions. The organizers of several existing Math Circles will attend as well as people involved in competitions, academics in mathematics education as well as mathematical educators will be invited to add their perspectives on the effect of circles on the larger educational enterprise. The program will include workshops on math circles and training and prep camps, exposition of available materials, special sessions of the Berkeley and Boston Math Circles and a session on classroom adaptation directed toward teachers. Among those invited to this conference are Mira Bernstein, Tom Davis, Mary Fay-Zenk, Zuming Feng, Dmitri Fomin, John Howe, Ellen Kaplan, Robert Kaplan, Harvey Keynes, Tom Leighton, Bob Megginson, Steve Olson, Tom Rike, Richard Rusczyk, Alexander Soifer, Jim Tanton, Abigail Thompson, Ravi Vakil, Josh Zucker. We also have invited many recent olympiad competitors, their coaches and teachers. Interested teachers are especially urged to apply to attend this conference. If you would like to submit a poster for the Poster Session, please so inform workshops@msri.org. SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS Thursday, December 16 at MSRI, 2850 Telegraph Avenue 8:30-9:00 Morning Tea (Sixth Floor) 9:00-10:00 Session 1, Chair: Hugo Rossi MATH CIRCLES AND OLYMPIADS; HISTORICAL, CONCEPTUAL AND STRUCTURAL Dmitri Fomin, Bob Megginson , Steve Olson, Mark Saul, Alexander Soifer 10:15-11:00 Session 2, Chair: Zvezdelina Stankova DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL TALENT, PART I Wade Ellis, Bob Megginson, Tim Sanders 11:10-12:00 Session 3, Chair: Bob Megginson STUDY OF EXCEPTIONAL TALENT Carol Blackburn, Steve Olson, Jim Tanton 12:00-1:00 Lunch 1:00- 2:30 Session 4A, Chair: Tatiana Shubin THE BOSTON MATH CIRCLE Ellen Kaplan, Bob Kaplan 2:45- 3:45 Session 5, Chair: Paul Zeitz DISCUSSION OF VARIOUS APPROACHES AND POSSIBLE ADAPTATIONS Harvey Keynes, Joe Gallian, Walter Mientka 3:45-4:00 Afternoon Tea (Sixth Floor) 4:00- 5:30 Session 4B, Chair: Tatiana Shubin THE BERKELEY MATH CIRCLE Zvezdelina Stankova Friday, December 17 at MSRI, 2850 Telegraph Avenue 8:30-9:00 Morning Tea (Sixth Floor) 9:00- 10:30 Session 6, Chair: Steve Olson EXPERIENCES AS A MATH OLYMPIC COMPETITOR Igor Ganichev, Fu Liu, Maksim Maydanskiy, Melanie Wood, Inna Zakharevich 10:45-11:45 Session 7, Chair: Hugo Rossi DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL TALENT, PART 2 Helmer Aslaksen, George Berzsenyi, John Howe, David Scott, Sam Vandervelde 11:45-1:15 Lunch 1:15- 2:45 Session 8, Chair: Tatiana Shubin MATH CIRCLE MATERIALS AND PREPARATION: (1) Salt Lake City MC, Peter Trapa (2) San Diego MC, Richard Rusczyk (3) San Jose MC and BAMA, Tom Davis (4) South Alabama MC, Natalya Prokhorova 2:45-3:15 Afternoon Tea (Sixth Floor) 3:15-4:45 Session 9, Chair: Zvezdelina Stankova PANEL DISCUSSION OF MATH COMPETITIONS: PROBLEMS, GOOD AND BAD Kiran Kedlaya, Richard Rusczyk, Alexander Soifer, Ravi Vakil, Paul Zeitz, Josh Zucker 5:00-7:00 Poster Session Saturday, December 18 at MSRI, 2850 Telegraph Avenue 8:30-9:00 Morning Tea (Sixth Floor) 9:00 – 11:30 Session 10, Chair: Titu Andreescu OLYMPIAD TRAINING AND MATH CAMPS (1) COSMOS, Abigail Thompson (2) Canada/USA Mathcamp, Mira Bernstein (3) SUMaC, Rick Sommer (4) Ross Mathematics Program and ProMYS, Tom Roby (5) MOSP, Zuming Feng 11:30-1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:30 Session 11, Chair: John Howe PANEL DISCUSSION OF THE IMPACT OF MATH CIRCLES AND CAMPS ON CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION Mary Fay-Zenk, Tom Rike, Jim Tanton, Josh Zucker 2:30-3:00 Afternoon Tea (Sixth Floor) 3:00 – 4:00 Session 12, Chair: Bob Megginson DISCUSSION OF THE NETWORK OF MATH CIRCLES (INCLUDING A PARENTS’ ADVISORY GROUP)
Keywords and Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC)
Primary Mathematics Subject Classification No Primary AMS MSC
Secondary Mathematics Subject Classification No Secondary AMS MSC
Funding & Logistics Show All Collapse

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To apply for funding, you must register by the funding application deadline displayed above.

Students, recent PhDs, women, and members of underrepresented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply. Funding awards are typically made 6 weeks before the workshop begins. Requests received after the funding deadline are considered only if additional funds become available.

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For information about recommended hotels for visits of under 30 days, visit Short-Term Housing. Questions? Contact coord@slmath.org.

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Schedule, Notes/Handouts & Videos
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Dec 16, 2004
Thursday
09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
  Math Circles and Olympiads; Historical, Conceptual and Structural
Dmitri Fomin, Robert Megginson (University of Michigan), Steve Olson, Alexander Soifer
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM
  Discovering and Developing Mathematical Talent, Part 1
Wade Ellis (West Valley College), Robert Megginson (University of Michigan), Timothy Sanders
11:10 AM - 12:00 PM
  Study of Exceptional Talent
Carol Blackburn, Steve Olson, James Tanton
01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  The Boston Math Circle
Robert Kaplan, Ellen Kaplan
02:45 PM - 03:45 PM
  Discussion of Various Approaches and Possible Adaptions
Joe Gillian, Harvey Keynes, Walter Mientka
03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
  The Berkeley Math Circle
Zvezdelina Stankova (Mills College)
Dec 17, 2004
Friday
09:00 AM - 10:30 AM
  Experiences as a Math Olympic Competitor
Igor Ganichev, Maksim Maydanskiy (Uppsala University), Melanie Wood (Harvard University; University of California, Berkeley), Inna Zakharevich (Cornell University)
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
  Discovering and Developing Mathematical Talent, Part 2
Helmer Aslaksen, George Berzsenyi, John Howe, David Scott (University of Puget Sound), Samuel Vandervelde (St. Lawrence University)
01:15 PM - 02:45 PM
  Math Circle Materials and Preparation
Thomas Davis, Richard Rusczyk, Peter Trapa (University of Utah)
03:15 PM - 04:45 PM
  Panel Discussion of Math Competitions: Problems, Good and Bad
Kiran Kedlaya (University of California, San Diego), Richard Rusczyk, Alexander Soifer, Zvezdelina Stankova (Mills College), Ravi Vakil (Stanford University), Paul Zeitz (University of San Francisco)
Dec 18, 2004
Saturday
09:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  Olympiad Training and Math Camps
Mira Bernstein, Zuming Feng, Tom Roby (University of Connecticut), Rick Sommer, Abigail Thompson (University of California, Davis)
01:00 PM - 02:30 PM
  Panel Discussion of the Impact of Math Circles and Camps on Classroom Instruction
Mary Fay-Zenk, Thomas Rike (Oakland High School), James Tanton
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
  Discussion of the Network of Math Circles (Including Parents' Advisory Group)
Robert Megginson (University of Michigan)