Mathday

The fifteenth annual Mathday will be held on the campus of the University of Washington on March 21, 2005. On that day 1,200 high school students and teachers from around the state will attend lectures and panel discussions, participate in hands-on activities, and go on field trips to labs on the campus. Students come from all over the state of Washington, and in recent years we have always had representatives from the state of Idaho. The first Mathday was held in 1991. This year the plenary speaker will be our own Sándor Kovács, and he will speak on "The Mathematics of Internet Security." Guest lecturers will include Zelda Zabinsky (Industrial Engineering); Millie Johnson (Mathematics, WWU); Cliff Mass (Astronomy, UW); Carl Bergstrom (Biology, UW); Peter Hoff (Statistics, UW); Sara Billey, Matt Kahle, and Zack Treisman (Mathematics, UW); and others not yet confirmed. In 2004 there were more than twenty activities and field trips. There is a website which will be updated with current information. Undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, and faculty contribute to the success of this exciting, educational day in which students learn about the uses of mathematics in academic research and industrial research and development. Mathday is partially supported by donations from two anonymous donors and Wells Fargo. The Wells Fargo donation supports students from underrepresented public schools in the Seattle and Tacoma area.

Jim Morrow