Newswise — Founded in 1915, the Mathematical Association of America will celebrate its 100th birthday with activities throughout the coming year. The association is now the largest professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level.

The centennial planning committee, led by Deanna Haunsperger and Stephen Kennedy (Carleton College), has spent the last several years preparing for the festivities.

“The MAA is the professional home of thousands of mathematicians who share a passion for mathematics, its teaching, and its communication,” Haunsperger and Kennedy say. “We hope the centennial celebration will feel like a homecoming to them all.”

The centerpiece will be MAA MathFest in Washington, D.C., August 5-8, 2015. The meeting program promises prominent speakers, thought-provoking lectures, wide-ranging sessions, and special events and exhibits.

The MAA Centennial Lectures at MathFest will feature a distinguished roster of invited speakers: 2014 Fields Medalist Manjul Bhargava (Princeton University), Carlos Castillo-Chavez (Arizona State University), Jennifer Chayes (Microsoft Research), Ingrid Daubechies (Duke University), Erik Demaine (Massachussetts Institute of Technology), and Karen Parshall (University of Virginia).

Beyond MathFest, sections of the MAA plan to celebrate the centennial throughout the year in a variety of ways in their own parts of the country.

In addition, the spring of 2015 will see publication of a commemorative volume titled A Century of Advancing Mathematics. The book will contain about 30 original articles covering a wide range of topics, from reviews of mathematical developments to pedagogy and aspects of mathematical culture and history. The list of all-star authors includes Bob Devaney, Andrew Granville, Robin Wilson, Joe Silverman, Frank Morgan, Michael Starbird, Rhonda Hughes, Gil Strang, Joe Gallian, Alan Tucker, Phil Davis, Jon Borwein, Dan Zelinsky, Bud Brown, Ken Ross, Jerry Alexanderson, Bonnie Gold, Bill Dunham, Leonard Klosinski, and Karen Parshall.

Go to http://www.maa.org/100 to learn more about MAA’s 100 years of history in advancing the mathematical sciences and promoting mathematical education in America.

Follow the MAA on Twitter (@maanow) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/maanews)/ The MAA centennial Twitter hashtag is #MAA100.

About MAA: The Mathematical Association of America is the largest professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Formed in 1915, the association has members that include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists; statisticians; and many others in academia, government, business, and industry who are interested in the mathematical sciences.

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