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 2025

  1. Abacus Masters: Compete Like the Math Pros by YSU Students.
  2. All I do is Win by YSU Students.
  3. Cluster Analysis and its Applications by Lucy Kerns.
  4. Gerrymandering by YSU Students.
  5. How Lucky is a Bowl of Lucky Charms? by Dr. Jay Kerns.
  6. Math in Your Brain: Mathematical Modeling of Neurons by Dr. Jozsi Jalics.
  7. The Mathematics Behind Google’s PageRank by Dr. Paddy Taylor.
  8. Meme this Math Dr. Alicia Prieto and Ms. Sam Bucholtz.
  9. Playing Our Way into Game Theory by Sepideh Khavari.
  10. Secret Codes by Dr. Moon Nguyen.
  11. The Slide Rule: Outdated and Nerdy! by Thomas Madsen.

Abacus Masters: Compete Like the Math Pros, by YSU Students, Youngstown State University

Think you’re quick at math? Put your skills to the test with the abacus—the original calculator! In this interactive workshop, students will learn how to use the abacus and attempt to go head-to-head for rapid calculations, face off, and explore how this ancient tool can still outperform modern methods in mental math. Also see some of the neat things an abacus can do that you might not have expected.

All I do is Win, by YSU Students, Youngstown State University

In this workshop, we will explore game theory and combinatorics through a variety of interactive games. In our apple picking game, two players take turns eating one or two apples and strategize to eat the last apple. During sprigs, you and your opponent will try to be the person to draw the last “sprig” connecting dots. Can you find a strategy where you can always win?

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.

Gerrymandering, by YSU Students, Youngstown State University

Have you ever wondered why district maps have such odd boundaries? Gerrymandering refers to manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency to favor one party or class. But how do political leaders even know where to draw these lines? In this workshop, we will explore how we can manipulate boundaries on a grid so that we get a desired outcome.

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!

Math in Your Brain: Mathematical Modeling of Neurons, by Dr. Jozsi Jalics, Youngstown State University

About a trillion neurons in the human brain interact in complicated ways to perform innumerable complex functions each moment. Neuronal disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy are caused by the abnormal firing activity of certain neurons. We will discuss the vital role that mathematical modeling plays in understanding the complex patterns of activity present in the brain and explore a simple neuronal model that employs the unit circle.

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.

Meme this Math, by Dr. Alicia Prieto and Ms. Sam Bucholtz, Youngstown State University

In this workshop we will explore different concepts in mathematics and how they are normally misunderstood. We will work on deeply understanding mathematical definitions and processes and in order to show our understanding, students will create different mathematical memes. Come have fun with math and memes!

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 Slide Rule: Outdated and Nerdy!, by Thomas Madsen, Youngstown State University

It had a long life from the 17th century up until the mid-20th century. It was made completely obsolete by electricity and cheap electronics. It was used by astronauts and was as common as the pocket calculator is today. In this workshop we will introduce the basics of the slide rule. We will learn what makes the slide rule a great device for completing quick computations. This workshop is restricted to 5 students. This will be nerdy and fun!

Workshop Titles 2024

See this page for workshop titles from 2024.
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