2000-2001 SIAM Officers, CU-Boulder

President	Saverio Spagnolie
Vice-President	Mary Kindel
UCEC Representative	Mary Kindel
Webmaster	Debbie Hinck
Secretary	Debbie Hinck

 

Dates for Spring '01:
Undergraduate Presentation
Who:Ashlie Singer
When:Wed. May 2, at 5:30pm
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

OPEN HOUSE
When: Thursday, April 19,2001 7pm
Where: MATH 350
Come hear Greg Russell of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Ross Winkelman of
Milliman & Robertson, Elena Black of Buck Consultants, and Steve Caulk
of Great-West Life discuss careers in actuarial science.

Modeling Contest Results
The Results are In!!! Each year, Applied Math sponsors one or more teams in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling. This international contest attracted 496 teams for the US and around the world. Undergraduate students, with a variety of majors, worked in teams of 3 over a 4-day weekend in February on one of two problems. The results were just recently announced. We'll be forming new teams next fall. Watch for announcements if you'd like to participate in February 2002!!!

We'd like to congratulate Saverio Spagnolie, Tye Rattenbury, and Grant Maklem, all applied math majors, who worked on a model for bicycle wheels and what edge they may give to a race. Before any race, professional cyclists make educated guesses about which one of two basic types of wheels to chose for any given competition. The problem asked participants to come up with a better system to help determine which kind of wheel-wire spoke or solid disk-should be used for any given race course. The report they submitted was awarded an Honorable Mention.

Congratulations are also due to Jim Barron (physics and math double major), Olivia Koski (physics major) and Jill Kamienski (Computer Science) who worked on a problem that addressed the evacuation of Charleston, South Carolina during 1999's Hurricane Floyd. Maps, population data, and other specific details were given to the teams. They were tasked with constructing a model to investigate potential strategies. In addition, they were asked to submit a news article that would be used to explain their plan to the public. The report they submitted was judged Meritorious.

The categories of papers are:
Outstanding Winners (top 2% of papers, 9 papers)
Meritorious Winners (nex 14% of papers, 70 papers)
Honorable Mention (next 25%, 123 papers)
Successful Participant (59%, 294 papers)

Advising Lunch
When: Tuesday April 3, 12-1pm
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

Modeling Contest Presentation
When: Thursday March 15, 5:30pm
Where: Applied Math Conference Room
Who: Saverio Spagnolie, Tye Rattenbury, and Grant Macklem Jim Barron, Jill Kamienski, and Olivia Koski
Come hear these two team talk about their experiences with the modeling contest.

Lunch Discussion
When: Thursday February 1, 2001
Where: Applied Math Discussion
Join us to discuss possible events for this semester.

Dates for Fall '00:

RESCHEDULED
SUN Tech Talk
Who: Bob Nelson
When/Where: TBA
Note: Bob Nelson is a recruiter from SUN, who will be discussing what SUN can offer an Applied Math Student

Computer Graphics Talk
Who: Dan Goldman
When: Monday Nov.27, at 12
Where: Applied Math Conference Room
Note: Dan Goldman will be talking about his work on The Perfect Storm.

Abstract:
Increasingly, Hollywood special effects are turning to physical simulation to recreate the natural world. The production of effects for this summer's blockbuster film "The Perfect Storm", employed a broad range of techniques to create the illusion of a raging ocean, including 2d and 3d fluid flow, and rigid-body buoyancy simulations. We will illustrate some of these methods, as well as our CGI boat models and other subtle visual magic, and how they are all combined to envision a Perfect Storm.

And a bio:
Dan Goldman is a Computer Graphics Supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, a division of Lucas Digital Ltd. His credits include The Perfect Storm, Galaxy Quest, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Men In Black, Mission:Impossible, and Dragonheart. He attended Boulder High School and studied Computer Science at Stanford University before joining ILM as a Technical Director in 1995.

Undergraduate Seminar
Who: Holly Lewis, Josh Wells, and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski
When: Wednesday Nov. 15, 5-6:15 pm
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

Mentor Lunch
When: Thursday Nov. 9, at 12
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

Undergraduate Seminar
Who: Saverio Spanolie and Mark Snyder
When: Wednesday Oct. 11, at 5pm
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

SIAM Lunch
When: Tuesday Sept. 19, from 12-1
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

New Majors Lunch
When: Thursday Sept. 7, from 12-1
Where: Applied Math Conference Room

FOOD and FUN will be provided!!!

SIAM Information

The CU Boulder undergraduate chapter of SIAM, one of the newest engineering societies at CU, was founded to promote interactions between Applied Math students and faculty. In addition to applied math undergraduates and some graduate students, SIAM has also attracted students from other engineering disciplines to its activities. Society functions include technical presentations by students, faculty, and industry speakers, field trips and student/faculty social events---all designed to introduce undergraduates to the widespread use of applied mathematics in engineering and the sciences. All interested students, from any major, are encouraged to participate in SIAM-sponsored events.

For more information, call (2-6927) or stop by the office (ECCR 238), or email SIAM.

Some of our activities include meetings, mentor lunches, and field trips. Meetings consist of guest speakers, student and industry panels, and other varying fields of interest. Mentor lunches allow undergraduate students to meet a member of the faculty and upperclassmen. All SIAM functions are paid for by the organization, which is all the more reason to get involved!

Please Send Questions and Comments to