Ross Middlemiss Undergraduate Math Majors' Lounge There is a lounge for the use of math majors in Cupples I, Room 222.  It is provided through a generous gift from the late Professor Emeritus Ross R. Middlemiss.  The room has chalkboards, tables, furniture, a phone (935-7498), microwave, refrigerator, and a collection of mostly undergraduate level books available for use while working in the room. There is a computer and printer.  A wireless transmitter has been installed so majors can use laptops with wireless cards while in the Lounge.  There is also a small number of lockers available for those who need them (students living at home, for example, might find such a locker useful). You should have been given the combination for the lock on the Lounge door when you declared your major.  If you’ve lost the combination, you can get it again from the receptionist in the Math Office (Cupples I, Room 100), or from Professor Ron Freiwald.

Departmental Awards Each year the department considers graduating seniors for the Ross Middlemiss Prize, awarded to a graduating math major with an outstanding record Putnam Exam Prize, awarded to a graduating senior who has done exceptionally well on the Putnam Exam throughout his/her time at Washington University Martin Silverstein Award, established in memory of Professor Martin Silverstein who, until his death in 2004, was a pioneer in work at the interface of probability theory and harmonic analysis. Each year the department considers outstanding majors for this award, especially those with strengths in probability or statistics.   Each award is a cash prize, and each award is noted on the student’s permanent university record.  The Department also recognizes recipients of these awards at it annual Awards Ceremony in April.

Job Opportunities The department usually needs some undergraduates for grading and sometimes other jobs each semester.  Interested students should contact Dr. Blake Thornton (Cupples I, Room 204A; 935-6301) for information about salary and to fill out an application.  The best time to do this is near the end of the preceding semester, but you can also ask around the times that classes are starting. Students who are interested in being leaders for PLTL Calculus Groups should contact Lisa Kuehne (935-4226) who coordinates the department's PLTL program.  PLTL leaders are usually chosen in the spring for the following academic year: applications are usually due just before Spring Break, with interviews in late March, and selection in April. Undergraduates are also hired by Cornerstone for tutoring and leading study groups. You should contact Cornerstone directly to fill out an application.

Washington University Math Club  The Washington University Math Club gives math students (whether majors or not!) a chance to interact and provides opportunities to hear about interesting math topics they might not see in the classroom.  It’s also a forum where undergraduates can present to each other interesting pieces of mathematics that they've learned in their own reading. Early each semester students meet to plan the semester's activities. In recent years the club has met in the late afternoon and sponsored a series of short talks and films, followed by pizza and soft drinks.  Undergraduates are also welcome to present talks on subjects of interest to them.  If you are interested in participating or finding out what's happening, please contact the club president, Shubho Sadhu.

Math Competitions The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition is a contest for undergraduates sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).  Each year, on the first Saturday of December, about 4000 undergraduates from more than 500 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada participate.  The problems are difficult (6 hours, 12 problems) and require some ingenuity. Copies of past examinations are available online. Here’s how  MAA describes the competition: The examination will be constructed to test originality as well as technical competence. It is expected that the contestant will be familiar with the formal theories embodied in undergraduate mathematics. It is assumed that such training, designed for mathematics and physical science majors, will include somewhat more sophisticated mathematical concepts than is the case in minimal courses. Thus the differential equations course is presumed to include some references to qualitative existence theorems and subtleties beyond the routine solution devices. Questions will be included that cut across the bounds of various disciplines, and self-contained questions that do not fit into any of the usual categories may be included.  It will be assumed that the contestant has acquired a familiarity with the body of mathematical lore commonly discussed in mathematics clubs or in courses with such titles as “survey of the foundations of mathematics.”  It is also expected that the self-contained questions involving elementary concepts from group theory, set theory, graph theory, lattice theory, number theory, and cardinal arithmetic will not be entirely foreign to the contestant’s experience. Any number of students can take the Putnam exam as individuals, but three of the students are also designated in advance as the school's team.  (The team score is the sum of the individual scores; team members do not collaborate during the competition.) A student may officially take the Putnam Exam at most four times before receiving a bachelor's degree. Washington University's performance in this competition over the years has been very good.  Since 1976, our team has placed among the top ten nationally in 19 of the past 33 competitions, and in the top five for 11 of those years.  In the 21 competitions 1989-2009,  28 different WU students have ranked in the top 100 a total of 49 times. (Of those times, 4 students were among the top 10 scorers nationally.) Practice problem sessions are held weekly in the late afternoon during the fall semester. These will be announced by e-mail to major and on the Math Undergraduate Web Page. If you want more information, see the information posted on the Undergraduate Web Page, or contact Professor Richard Rochberg.  Also watch for signs about the practices near the Undergraduate Math Lounge. Also, each spring (late March or early April) the Department sends two teams to compete in the Missouri MAA Collegiate Math Competition.  In the 15 competitions since the contest began in 1996, WU teams have won a first or second place (sometimes both: more than one team is allowed!) in each year except 2007: a total of 9 first places and 9 second places.  Mostly recently, our team won first place in the April 2010 Competition held on the campus of  the University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, MO).  The next Missouri MAA Collegiate Mathematics Competition will be held on March 31-April 1, 2011 (Thursday evening-Friday morning) on the campus of Columbia College in Columbia, MO. The Department will cover the teams’ expenses.  We would like some students to also stay for  the Awards Banquet Friday night and return on Saturday.  Mark your calendars and contact Professor Ron Freiwald if you’re interested.