[Concerns of Young Mathematicians] January Digest of YMN Concerns

Mon Feb 6 18:19:24 PST 2006

  *Concerns of Young Mathematicians*

         January Digest Edition

An electronically distributed digest for discussions of the issues of
concern to mathematicians at the beginning of their careers.  Please
visit the Young Mathematicians' Network Scoop site at

    http://concerns.youngmath.net <http://concerns.youngmath.net/> 

to join the discussion or submit stories.  You may also direct
submissions and questions to the board by writing to Dave Kung, the
managing editor of YMN at dtkung at smcm.edu. 

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Editorial:

It's a busy time of the year: a new semester or quarter is just
beginning, lots of people are flying around for job interviews, and many
of us are recovering from the Joint Meetings.  We had a great turnout at
all the YMN events in San Antonio (thanks go out to the many YMN Board
members who helped organize these events), and as a result we've added
over 100 new members to this list which is now over 1000 strong! .
Welcome to all the new subscribers - we hope you enjoyed the panel
discussions and will continue to benefit from the wealth of information
on our website.

This issue contains lots of great articles, from a synopsis of some of
the panel discussions to news notes about Math Awareness Month and how
the business world views mathematicians.  There's lots more summarized
below, plus there are a number of questions posted by readers on the
website.  Please take some time to answer the questions of your fellow
mathematicians.

One quick technical note that everyone should be aware of.  Our site
allows everyone to post your own articles and to comment on others'
articles.  Unfortunately, an overabundance of spam comments has forced
us to restrict comments to users who are logged in.  So, we encourage
everyone to add your comments to the site, but you'll have to register
as a user in order to do so.

Finally, I'd like to welcome the newest member of our Board, Sarah Ann
Stewart of Belmont University.  

Good luck with the new semester!

dave 

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Math will rock your world!

By chawne, 2006-01-26 04:59:50

A great article about math and its nonacademic value appeared in
Business Week.  Follow the link in this story...

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/26/45950/2056

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Panel Recap -- You have a job, now what?  Professional development
opportunities 

Section: Career

This panel was held at the San Antonio Joint meetings (Jan. 2006).
Below are the notes from this panel, which focused on professional
development opportunities for mathematicians early in their careers.

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/2/1/82545/42129

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Math and Internet Security - Math Awareness Month 2006 

By Vanes63, 2006-01-24 11:00:05

Need a reason to celebrate in April?  April is Mathematics Awareness

Month.  For this year, the Math Awareness Month topic is Mathematics and

Internet Security.

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/24/8265/38694

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Project NExT Applications - Due right after your taxes.

By dkung, 2006-01-30 12:27:06

Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) is soliciting a new group of
fellows.  If you're a new or recent Ph.D. you should definitely get
involved.  As someone once told me, it's like 20 years of networking all
packed into one week.  Applications are due on April 17th.  More info on
the flip...

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/30/12276/0936

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Requesting Letters of Recommendation

By halewis, 2006-01-09 06:19:40

I have recently had several students ask me to write letters of
recommendation for them, a task I often enjoy.  Some of these recent
requests, however, were presented in such a clear and organized manner
that I wanted to capitalize on their hard work by summarizing steps that
students can take to make the experience as easy and pleasant as
possible.

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/9/4314/45553

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Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Program By Anonymous Hero, 2006-01-26
19:39:06

I am considering applying to the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics
program - has anyone heard about how hard/easy it is to get accepted -
do you have to be the next Fermat or Gauss to be confident in your
chances? Also, has anyone found this program to be of significant value
on grad school applications and such?  Just curious - information on
this seems to be very hard to come by. Any info would be appreciated.

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/26/193613/817

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Passing those Ph.D. Oral Qualifiers

By kevin charlwood, 2006-01-08 10:49:27

If you are a graduate student who will soon take your Ph. D. oral
qualifiers, this article may be of interest to you.  The point here is
to give some useful tips, and avoid the horror stories that abound.  If
you are in the throes of preparing to take these exams, good luck!

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/6/13199/87777

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Math Conference Just For Undergraduates

By Iluveisensteinscriterion, 2006-01-23 06:46:28

Below is some information on an undergraduate math conference. This is a
great experience for undergrads to get their feet wet in the never
ending world of research and presentations. And even better, not only I
am presenting, but I get to help organize this year. 

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/22/21318/0130

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PhD switch from Math to Education?

By Innovator, 2006-01-11 23:44:38

Section: Grad Life

I love teaching at the college level and I have specific and workable
ideas for teaching calculus better as well as working around general
"math phobia" in students. I am almost three years into a PhD program
for math with two to three years left. What I am wondering is if I
should switch to a PhD program in education or stay with one in math? 

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/11/145348/731

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The Search for Non-Academic Jobs

By Iluveisensteinscriterion, 2006-01-21 23:08:17

Section: Job Search

I know that the typical job for a mathematician is teaching/researching
at the university level, which is awesome. This website has a lot to
offer in advice on this subject, but I feel that there is very little
information on jobs for mathematicians that are not academia. 

    [more on the flip side...]

For more details and to share your thoughts and comments visit

    http://concerns.youngmath.net/story/2006/1/21/23817/7547

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Subscription & Web Site Info

To subscribe or change your subscription to the *Concerns* mailing list,
visit URL

    http://youngmath.net/mailman/listinfo/concerns .

___________________________________________________________

Disclaimer:

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the
administrative board or membership of the Young Mathematicians' Network.
The editorial policy of this newsletter is to encourage discussion of
issues and facilitate the dissemination of information relevant to the
concerns of young mathematicians.

___________________________________________________________

The YMN Board:

Brian Birgen        brian.birgen at wartburg.edu

Kevin Charlwood     kevin.charlwood at washburn.edu 

Dov Chelst          dchelst at nj.devry.edu 

Vanessa Garcia      vanessagarcia63 at gmail.com 

James Hamblin       jehamb at ship.edu 

Bill Higdon         whigdon at uindy.edu 

Jackie Jensen       jensen at shsu.edu 

Lloyd Kilford       l.kilford at gmail.com 

Chawne Kimber       kimberc at lafayette.edu 

David Kung          dtkung at smcm.edu 

Josh Laison         jlaison at coloradocollege.edu 

Heather Lewis       hlewis5 at naz.edu 

Kim Roth            kroth at wju.edu 

Sarah Ann Stewart   stewarts at mail.belmont.edu 

John Vano           jvano at youngmath.net 

___________________________________________________________

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[*Concerns of Young Mathematicians*] January Digest of YMN Concerns

[Concerns of Young Mathematicians] January Digest of YMN Concerns