MathFest draws record number to YSU

By Denise Dick | October 24, 2014 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

They came in record numbers for a united cause: The pursuit of math.

More than 400 students from 39 high schools from Northeast Ohio filled Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center Chestnut Room on Thursday for MathFest hosted by YSU’s mathematics and statistics department.

Angela Spalsbury, professor and chairwoman of mathematics and statistics, told students that math is about more than what they learn in school. Math majors have many career options, she said, such as a math teacher or an engineer, or lesser-known fields such as mathematical biologists.

One mathematical biologist at YSU is modeling sleep while another models neural pathways in the brain, Spalsbury said.

“I hope you learn math every day,” she said. “It’s a vibrant, lively field.”

The daylong event was divided into several contests and workshops. The 17 workshops led by YSU faculty and mathematics majors covered various mathematical concepts.

In “Mathematics of Diversity in the Environment,” for example, students learned about mathematical diversity and evaluating biodiversity indices. In “Are You a Terrorist?” they examined statistical methods used by agencies such as the National Security Agency.

For the Mixed Team Competition, students from various schools were matched together in groups of three or four.

Scott Donnachie of Poland Seminary High School, Samantha Renzenbrink of Liberty High School, Jordan Small of Windham High School and Nicholas Downing of James A. Garfield High School in Garrettsville formed one team asked to answer 17 questions.

“They were mostly logic questions,” Nicholas said.

Some were fairly easy; others took a bit more work, Scott said.

The teams had an hour to work them out.

At another table, Abby Pavlik of Lakeview High School, Rebekah Logsdon of Trumbull Career and Technical Center and Landon Henman of Minerva High School made up another team.

Each team member said he or she was selected to attend the competition.

“My teacher brought the advanced calculus class and a few underclassmen who are in the advanced class,” Abby said.