YSU MathFest Workshops

What is it?

One of the main features of YSU MathFest is the workshops. All students will attend 2 workshops chosen from a wide variety of topics. Workshops encourage learning about the depth and breadth of many fields in mathematics through group activities and demonstrations. Here students will have the opportunity to see that mathematics is much more than algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. The workshops will be conducted by university faculty and are noncompetitive. Some of the workshops will utilize the computer while some will use graphing calculators.

Workshop Titles 2024

  1. An Introduction to Impossible Problems by YSU Students.
  2. Artisanal Math by Thomas Madsen.
  3. A Glimpse into Abstract Algebra by Eric Wingler.
  4. Cluster Analysis and its Applications by Lucy Kerns.
  5. Experiences of Math Majors by YSU Students.
  6. How Lucky is a Bowl of Lucky Charms? by Dr. Jay Kerns.
  7. Playing Our Way into Game Theory by Sepideh Khavari.
  8. Secret Codes by Dr. Moon Nguyen.
  9. The Calculus in My Heart by Dr. Jozsi Jalics.
  10. The Mathematics Behind Google’s PageRank by Dr. Paddy Taylor.
  11. When Will We Ever Use That?! by Dr. Prieto and Ms. Bucholtz.

An Introduction to Impossible Problems, by YSU Students, Youngstown State University

We have all had problems put in front of us that feel impossible to solve, but is it possible to tell when that is actually the case? In this workshop, we will explore a famous impossible problem: the three utilities problem. Along the way, we will encounter famous results from graph theory and algebraic topology. Come along and see what it means for a problem to truly be impossible.

Artisanal Math, by Thomas Madsen, Youngstown State University

Do you like numbers? Like really like numbers? In this workshop we will work with lots of numbers. With the invention of electronic calculators, doing computations became a triviality. In this workshop we will get back to the roots and experience how authentic people from earlier centuries did math. We will see how one can do very precise calculations using tables of logarithms. The basic principle is that addition of numbers is easier than multiplication and evaluating, for example, trigonometric functions. By using logarithms multiplication is turned into addition and seemingly hard calculations become much easier. This way of organically doing calculations in trigonometry was the standard for more than 300 years! If you have ever wondered what the point of logarithms is or if you just like rows and columns of numbers, then this is the workshop for you.

A Glimpse into Abstract Algebra, by Eric Wingler, Youngstown State University

While almost everyone is familiar with the operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, there are other operations that they may not be aware of, operations between objects that may not even be numbers. We will introduce a mathematical structure, known as a group, by looking at transformations on various geometrical figures.

Cluster Analysis: Uncovering Patterns in Data, by Dr. Lucy Kerns, Youngstown State University

In today’s data-driven world, we are constantly generating and collecting vast amount of data. However, extracting meaningful insights from these data can be very challenging. Cluster analysis is a powerful data mining technique for uncovering hidden patterns and structures within large datasets. In this workshop, we will use real-world examples across diverse fields, including market research, image pattern recognition, social network, and disease classification in healthcare, to explore different clustering algorithms for gaining valuable knowledge from complex datasets.

Experiences of Math Majors, by YSU Students, Youngstown State University

What is it like to be a Math Major? Several YSU math majors will discuss their wide range of experiences as math majors. You'll see that they have many different mathematical interests and career goals.

How Lucky is a Bowl of Lucky Charms?, by Dr. Jay Kerns, Youngstown State University

A bowl of this popular breakfast cereal, with its multi-colored marshmallows and tasty toasted oats, truly lives up to its tagline: "Magically Delicious!" However, it seems like, as the box gets more empty, the later bowls somehow don't seem quite as magical as the earlier ones. Using mathematics and statistics, we'd like to investigate this phenomenon. Just how lucky is a bowl of Lucky Charms? Come to this workshop to find out!

Playing Our Way into Game Theory, by Sepideh Khavari, Youngstown State University

We have all played games since childhood. We have played board games, card games, and tic tac toe among many others. Have you ever wondered whether there is a way for you to always win in a game? In this workshop, we will explore the mathematical world of game theory, investigate games where such a “winning” strategy exists, and challenge ourselves to find and implement these strategies in games against each other. Are you game? Adventure begins here!

Secret Codes, by Dr. Moon Nguyen, Youngstown State University

Are you curious about how ancient Greeks and Romans used secret codes to send messages? In this workshop, you will learn how to write a secret message to a friend, your teacher, or relatives using a Caesar code. You also will learn how to decode a mystery message too.

The Calculus in My Heart, by Dr. Jozsi Jalics, Youngstown State University

The proper functioning of the heart requires the coordinated electrical activity of billions of individual heart cells, cardiac myocytes. The abnormal firing activity of these cells can cause deadly arrhythmias. We will discuss the vital role that mathematical modeling plays in understanding the complex patterns of activity present in the heart and explore a simple model that employs basic trigonometry.

The Mathematics Behind Google’s PageRank, by Dr. Paddy Taylor, Youngstown State University

In 1998 Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, changed the landscape of internet search by introducing their PageRank algorithm for improving how web-searches are performed. The PageRank algorithm applies numerical linear algebraic techniques and exploits the link structure of the internet to rank web pages based on order of importance and relevance. We will explore the mathematics behind their algorithm and provide a simple example illustrating the process. We will also hold a competition during the workshop and rank the participants using PageRank. Students attending this workshop will learn how to multiply matrices; no prior experience is necessary. Graphing calculators or cell phones are encouraged to help students with calculations.

When Will We Ever Use That?!, by Dr. Prieto and Ms. Bucholtz, Youngstown State University

Have you ever wondered when will you need the things you learn in you math classes? In this workshop we will explore different applications of the things you learn in class and we will tied them up with different careers that use mathematics. This will be a hands on workshop with fun problems that use math that you already know to solve questions you might have already wonder about.

Workshop Titles 2023

See this page for workshop titles from 2023.
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