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MAA Distinguished Lecture Series presents Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel - Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 8PM

by Bernd Sing -

Data in a(n Ever-Evolving) Box

Computation is foundational to all steps of the modern data analysis pipeline, from importing to tidying to transforming, visualizing, and modeling, to communicating data. However, this fact is generally not reflected in our traditional statistics curricula, which too often assume computing is something students can pick up on their own and courses should primarily cover the instruction of theory and applications. On the other hand, data science curricula put computation front and center. The rise of data science has given us an opportunity to re-examine our traditional curricula through a new, computational lens. In this talk, I will highlight how computation can support and enhance the teaching and learning of fundamental statistical concepts such as uncertainty quantification, and prediction. The talk will place these ideas within the context of a curriculum for an introductory data science and statistical thinking course that emphasizes explicit instruction in computing. Additionally, the talk will contextualize the course and its learning objectives in the larger context of an undergraduate statistics program.


Watch live on YouTube

Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel

About the Speaker

Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel is a Professor of the Practice and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department of Statistical Science and an affiliated faculty in the Computational Media, Arts, and Cultures program at Duke University. Mine’s work focuses on innovation in statistics and data science pedagogy, with an emphasis on computing, reproducible research, student-centered learning, and open-source education. In addition to her academic position, Mine also works with Posit, where she focused primarily on education for open-source R packages as well as building resources and tools for educators teaching statistics and data science with R.

MAA Distinguished Lecture Series presents Carla Cotwright-Williams - Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023 at 7PM

by Bernd Sing -

Mathematics and Policy

How is data/math used to inform policy?  This presentation will discuss current topics of interest in Science/Public Policy, how math is used, and how the outcomes are related to our everyday lives.

Watch live on YouTube

Carla Cotwright-Williams

About the Speaker

Carla Denise Cotwright-Williams is an American mathematician who works as a Technical Director and Data Scientist for the United States Department of Defense. She was the second African-American woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics at the University of Mississippi.

Cotwright-Williams continues to hold an adjunct professorial lecturer position in mathematics and statistics at American University. She serves as an at-large member of the executive committee of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).

Her career advice includes the following quote: "Get out and talk to people and learn new things!"

MAA Distinguished Lecture Series presents Federico Ardila-Mantilla - Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 at 7PM

by Bernd Sing -

Hidden Patterns: The Shape of Multiplication

You probably had to memorize the multiplication table at some point in your life, but you may not have noticed that there are some beautiful shapes hiding within.  We will discuss these hidden polyhedra and some other unexpected places where they appear.

Watch live on YouTube

Federico Ardila-Mantilla

About the Speaker

Federico Ardila-Mantilla is a Colombian-American mathematician and musician who works in combinatorics and geometry. He was an ICM 2022 speaker and has received the NSF CAREER Award for research, the MAA National Haimo Award for teaching, and the AMS "Mathematics Programs that Make a Difference" Award for service. He serves as Professor at San Francisco State University and co-Director of the MSRI-UP REU program for students from minoritized groups, and has mentored over 50 thesis students. Federico is always searching for ways to grow and foster an increasingly diverse, equitable, welcoming, and joyful community of mathematicians that empowers and serves the needs of all.