Welcome to the fifteenth annual Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference at James Madison University! This year all of our events will be virtual.

Use the links below to watch the keynote address, student presentations, and poster session.

Be sure to check out the SUMS 2020 Program of Abstracts to see which student talks you would be most interested in seeing throughout the conference. Thank you to all of our 2020 student presenters!

Keynote Address

Our keynote speaker is Jayadev Athreya from the University of Washington, who has delivered a special asynchronous virtual address titled The Yellow Brick Road. The video is now live! Make sure to watch it sometime before the 2pm Q&A session with Dr. Athreya on Saturday, December 5: 

The Yellow Brick Road

Abstract:  
The amazing thing about mathematics research is that you never know when you'll find something new about something very old. With my friends David Aulicino and Pat Hooper, we discovered a series of paths on the regular dodecahedron with some very surprising properties. We'll use this as an opportunity to talk about platonic solids, flat surfaces, unfoldings, and symmetries. Lots and lots of pictures!

Bio: 
Jayadev Athreya is a Professor of Mathematics and the Comparative History of Ideas at the University of Washington, and the founder of the Washington Experimental Mathematics Lab. He  is originally from Ames, Iowa, and grew up in Ames and Bangalore. He graduated from Iowa State University, did his PhD at the University of Chicago, postdoctoral fellowships at Yale and Princeton, and was previously at the University of Illinois. He has held visiting positions in the UK, France, and in India. He is interested in the creative processes of mathematics, and in particular comparisons to the creation of art.

Morning Session

Starting at 11:00am you can watch our morning session talks, join an REU panel session, and/or chat with the morning student speakers in the social room on Zoom. 

11:00-12:00am Student Contributed Talks

Links to Morning Session Talks on YouTube

Pick two or three student-contributed talks to watch during this morning hour, using the link above. Each talk is about 15 minutes long, and there are thirteen excellent talks to choose from! You can read about each talk in the SUMS 2020 Program of Abstracts. If you're a beginner or a high school student you can find entry-level talks in our Curated for High School playlist. 

A particularly unique feature of one of the morning talks is a GAME that you can play, called Knotris! Knotris is a creation of student Kelemua Tesfae, under the direction of Dr. Allison Henrich.

11:00-11:30am REU Panel

Zoom link for REU Panel

Want to learn more about Research Experience for Undergraduates programs and other summer opportunities in mathematics? Come ask your questions to this panel of students and faculty. 

Panelists:

• REU mentor Nicholas Luke, North Carolina A&T State College
• REU mentor Hala Nelson, James Madison University
• REU participant Ayman Abdullah-Smoot, Texas Southern University
• REU participant Abigail Eget, James Madison University

11:00am-12:00pm Meet & Greet on Zoom

Zoom link for Morning Meet & Greet

Drop into the ZOOM room chat to ask questions of this morning's student speakers and to talk with old or new colleagues.

Lunchtime Session

For the lunchtime session you can check out student posters, join the Career Panel session, and/or chat with the student poster presenters in the social room on Zoom. 

12:00-1:00pm Student Poster Session

Link to the posters

Check out this year's SUMS Poster session at the link above!  

12:00-12:30pm Career Panel on Zoom

Zoom link for Career Panel

Want to learn more about different types of career paths for mathematics majors? Come ask your questions to this panel of industry professionals and and faculty. 

Panelists:

• Rebecca Wasyk, Federal Reserve Board
• Brian Leventhal, Pyschology James Madison University
• Lindsay Scott,Career Advisor James Madison University
• Reginald Ford, IDEMIA

12:00-1:00pm Meet & Greet on Zoom

Zoom link for Lunchtime Meet & Greet

Drop into the ZOOM room chat to ask questions of the student poster presenters and to talk with old or new colleagues. Maybe you will also eat a sandwich. :)

Afternoon Session

For the afternoon session at 1:00pm you can watch our afternoon session talks, join a panel session about graduate school, and/or chat with the afternoon student speakers in the social room on Zoom. 

1:00-2:00pm Student Contributed Talks

Link to Afternoon Session Talks on YouTube

Pick two or three student-contributed talks to watch during this morning hour, using the link above. Each talk is about 15 minutes long, and there are thirteen excellent talks to choose from! You can read about each talk in the SUMS 2020 Program of Abstracts. If you're a beginner or a high school student you can find entry-level talks in our Curated for High School playlist. 

1:00-1:30pm Graduate School Panel on Zoom

Zoom link for Graduate School Panel

What is graduate school really like? How do you apply? What schools should you consider? How important is the GRE Subject Test? Find out from this panel of faculty and grad students!

Panelists:

• Brian Leventhal, Graduate Faculty, James Madison University
• Harley Meade, Colorado State University
• Tim Coleman, University of Pittsburgh

1:00am-2:00pm Meet & Greet on Zoom

Zoom link for Afternoon Meet & Greet

Drop into the ZOOM room chat to ask questions of this afternoon's student speakers and to talk with old or new colleagues. 

Keynote and Closing Session

Zoom link to Closing Session

2:00pm-2:30pm Final Session on Zoom

Join our invited speaker Jayadev Athreya for questions and answers about his keynote address The Yellow Brick Road, and to say goodbye to everyone at SUMS 2020. Have a great weekend and thank you for attending our virtual conference today!