Department News
2017 Summer Mathematics and Science Program @ UCA
The tenth annual 2017 Summer Mathematics and Science Program @ UCA was held from June 12 to June 30 on the UCA campus. Twenty middle and high school students from Conway participated in this three-week program. This year, the program had five activities: Algebra I, Algebra II, Biology, Physics and Robotics and Computer Coding. The Algebra I activity was presented Ms. Cara Cates, Math Specialist at the UCA STEM Institute, whereas Algebra II session was taught by Ms. Katie Burden, a graduate student in the Math MA Program. Biology faculty member Dr. Krista Peppers and physics faculty members Dr. Debra Burris conducted activities in biology and physics respectively. Biology activity include a field trip to the Jewel Moore Natural Reserve on UCA campus for plant identification. Another physics faculty member, Ms. Nancy Getson, conducted robotics activity. Dr. Mark Doderer of the Computer Science Department taught computer coding. Contents of all activities were designed to stimulate and enhance students’ interests in math and sciences with several hands on experiments. Dr. Ramesh Garimella, Chair of Mathematics Department and Dr. Umadevi Garimella, Director of the UCA STEM INSTITUTE organized the summer program. For information about future Math and Science Summer programs, please Contact Ramesh Garimella at 501-450-3147 or rameshg@uca.edu.
Student Talks: Undergraduate and Graduate Theses
On Friday three of our students gave presentations right here at UCA. Andrew Jensen (pictured with his committee members) and Diana Morales gave talks in the student center to defend their undergraduate honors theses. Graduate student Edward Tawiah gave his talk in the math department to defend his thesis in our M.S. program.
“Comparing Efficiency of Roundabouts to Traffic Lights in Conway, Arkansas – A probabilistic and Simulation Approach”
Andrew Jensen (Under R.B. Lenin and George Bratton)
“Mathematical Modeling of an Epidemic with Exposed Group and Diffusion”
Diana Morales (Under Long Le and Danny Arrigo)
“Factors Contributing to the Success of Small Businesses Using Structural Equation Modeling – A Statistical Framework”
Edward Tawiah (Under R.B. Lenin)
STEM Night: Partnering with local school
On April 6th, in a joint effort with Carl Stuart Middle School and Dr. Fetterly’s class (MATH 4335 Concepts of Advanced Mathematics), the two joined forces to involve parents and their children in activities that focused on math. The evening was based on a “50’s” theme Rockin Around the Clock. Carl Stuart faculty and UCA students dressed up for a blast from the past. Hands-on and conceptual activities were presented to some 100 families. Parents and children experienced mathematical activities that emphasized algebraic thinking and proportional reasoning.
2017 Student Awards
2017 O. L. Hughes Award Cyrus Koch, a BS STEMteach Pure Mathematics student received the 2017 O.L. Hughes Award. The award is annually presented to an outstanding senior mathematics major 
based on their math achievement, GPA, and leadership. It is given in memory of late Professor O.L. Hughes, who was the chair of the Math Department at UCA from 1945 to 1967. Cyrus will graduate at the 2017 Spring Commencement. Cyrus has accepted a teaching position at North Garland High School in Garland, TX and will also be assistant coach for the school’s competitive math team. He plans to attend UT-Dallas to work on a MS in pure mathematics so that he can be involved in teaching and curriculum development for the school’s ultra fast-track math program.
2017 Dorothy Long Award Andrea Weaver, a BS STEMteach Applied Mathematics student received the 2017 Dorothy Long Award, annually presented to an outstanding female junior. 
The award is given in honor of late Professor Dorothy Long, who was a mathematics faculty member and the Dean of Women at UCA in the 60’s. Andrea received a Noyce Scholarship last year and presented “Nonlinear Elliptical PDEs” at the 2017 AMS/MAA Joint Mathematics Meeting. She attended the 2017 Oklahoma-Arkansas MAA Section Meeting and participated in the Math Jeopardy Contest. Also, Andrea is a recipient of a SURF grant and will begin research on “Nonclassical Symmetries of Dispersion Equations,” this summer with Dr. Danny Arrigo.
2017 Outstanding Graduate Student Award Katie Burden, an MA Mathematics Education student, received the 2017 Outstanding Graduate Student Award by the unanimous recommendation of the 
Department of Mathematics faculty. She has worked in collaboration with Dr. Jason Martin on her thesis “Case Studies of Virtual Manipulative and Static Derivative Images” and presented her research at the 2017 Oklahoma-Arkansas MAA Section Meeting. Beginning in fall 2017, Katie will teach at Little Rock Central High School.
UCA goes to MAA Conference
This past weekend UCA sent three faculty members (Ramesh Garimella, Jason Martin, and Jeffrey Beyerl) and six students (Azaryah Wilson, Connor Wilson, Lindsey Hazeslip, Andie Weaver, Katie Burden, and Kayla Waters) to the Mathematical Association of America sectional conference at the University of Oklahoma. The undergraduate students competed in math jeopardy and the integration bee. The competition team did not take home any prizes, but Azaryah came extremely close having lasted 7 out of the 9 rounds in the integration bee. The graduate students and Dr. Beyerl presented talks.
Left to right: Andie Weaver; Lindsey Hazeslip; Azaryah Wilson; Connor Wilson
STEM Fair with the Conway Symphony
Last Saturday the math club and Loi Booher hosted a booth at the STEM Fair before the Conway Symphony’s presentation of The Planets. Emily Tran, Media Tech for the math club organized four other students to present mathematical curiosities and games to local middle school aged children.
Calculus Tournament 2016
The third annual Calculus Tournament was held on November 19, 2016 from 4 to 5: 30 PM in the Math Resource Center of the Department of Mathematics. Eleven teams, each with at most 3 students, competed in the tournament to solve eighteen calculus problems. The problems ranged from the history of calculus to differentiation and integration to applications of calculus were selected by Dr. Jeff Beyerl, Math Club Faculty Advisor. The winning team members- Lindsey Hazeslip, Azaryah Wilson, and Connor Wilson- each received a gift certificate for $15. Plans are underway to select a couple of teams to represent UCA at the Math Jeopardy Contest at the Oklahoma- Arkansas Sectional Meetings of the Mathematical Association of America to be held at University Oklahoma in Spring 2017. Pictured here are a few scenes from the tournament.
2016-17 Math GTA Orientation
A two-day Math Graduate Teaching Assistants Orientation was organized and conducted by Dr. Charles Watson, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Math GTA Supervisor on August 11th and 12th, 2016. The Department of Mathematics has thirteen GTAs for the AY 2015-16, out of which 11 are pursuing the M.S. Degree in Applied Mathematics and the rest are in the M.A. Mathematics Education. There are seven new GTAs who have joined the department this fall and the others are in their second year. Several topics including lesson planning and assessing student progress, teaching resources, integrating technology and software in the classroom, were discussed. Mrs. Charlotte Strickland, Director of Professional Development, gave a 1- hour presentation on Sexual Harassment training during the orientation. Dr. Ramesh Garimella, Chair of the Math Department and Dr. Joan Simon, Interim Graduate Dean, welcomed the students. Each GTA in the program receives a 9-month stipend of $10,800 and a tuition scholarship of 9 credit hours per semester for the academic year. Inquiries about the graduate programs in Mathematics or financial assistance may be sent to rameshg@uca.edu.
L to R: Front row-Dr. Charles Watson, Innocent B. Sano (MS 1st year), Sarah Spellmann (MS 1st year),Chantelle Giles (MS 1st year), Christina Junkans (MS 1st year),Seth Bloomberg (MS 2nd year),Katie Burden (MA 2nd year), Dr. Ramesh Garimella
Back row- Hamed Akkari (MS 1st year, Kayla Waters (MA 1st year), Eddie Gallarno (MS 1st year), Hung Lu (MS 2nd year), Edward Tawiah (MS 2nd year), John Harrelson (MS 2nd year)
Summer 2016 PD Workshops for School Teachers Conducted by Math Faculty
ALGEBRA
Dr. Long Le, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Dr. James Fetterly, Assistant Professor of Mathematics who specializes in education, conducted professional development workshops for twenty middle and secondary school teachers in central Arkansas between July 11-15, and July 25 – 29, 2016. The workshops were primarily focused on concept and skill development lessons for several topics within Algebra. Among the topics covered were proportionality, quadratic and exponential expressions. In particular, by developing a thorough understanding of the scaffolding involved in each topic, teachers will be able to recognize and assess student’s current level of understanding and provide remediation skills, when necessary. The workshops were part of a $60,699 No Child Left Behind Grant grant project Algebra- Connecting Concepts funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Dr. Umadevi Garimella, Director of the UCA STEM Institute is the PI and Dr. Ramesh Garimella, Chair of Math Department, is the co-PI. The main objective of the project is to provide long-term, sustained, and high-quality professional learning opportunities to strengthen teacher content knowledge in algebra.
ESSENTIALS OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
The UCA STEM Institute in cooperation with the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science offered professional development workshops titled Essentials of Computer Programming: Teacher Training and Support this summer. Attending were six middle and high school teachers planning to teach essential of computer science this upcoming academic year. The workshops were conducted by Dr. R.B. Lenin, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and supported by Mrs. Karen Thessing, Lecturer in Computer Science. This year-long PD is designed to provide teacher training to meet the requirements of Act 187. Training included a week long workshop from July 25 -29, 2016 held in the UCA Department of Mathematics the Computer Lab and ongoing teacher & classroom support via Google Classroom and Google Hangout/Skype. The workshops were focused on Java using Eclipse with an option to continue training during the upcoming academic year in advanced Java concepts. Dr. Uma Garimella, Director of the UCA STEM Institute, organized the event.
CONNECTING CORE INSTRUCTIONS
Dr. Nesrin Sahin, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, conducted Connecting Core Instructions (CCI) PD workshops for 25 elementary and middle school teachers in Arkansas on the UCA campus May 14, June 20-22 & July 19-21, 2016. The mathematics part of the PD lasted two hour each day. The topics covered were – understanding and interpreting graphs (qualitative and quantitative interpretation of graphs), types of graphs, linear and exponential growth, linear regression, dependent and independent variables, and probability. Teachers explored these concepts through hands-on activities, and group discussions. This was part of a $146,866 grant titled Connecting Core Instructions for Mathematicians and Scientists, funded by the U.S. Department of Education thorough the state MSP Program. Dr. Umadevi Garimella, Director of the UCA STEM Institute is the PI for the project.
EXCELLENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE
Dr. James Fetterly, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, conducted PD workshops on June 20-23 and July 21, 2016 for 20 elementary teachers in Arkansas to enhance their content knowledge and teaching skills through development of a vertical team to integrate science, mathematics, literacy, technology, and embrace project-based learning. The workshops were part of a $146,866 grant titled, Excellence in Elementary School Science (ESSS), funded by the U.S. Department of Education thorough Arkansas State MSP Program. Dr. Umadevi Garimella, Director of the UCA STEM Institute is the PI and and Dr. Haihong Hu, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies is the co-PI for the project. The EESS project ‘s goal is to provide long-term sustained high quality professional development, which includes four one-day sessions during the 2015-2016 academic year, two one-week summer institutes, and two classroom visits to observe and/or mentor teachers for a minimum of 100 contact hours. Teachers will develop lesson plans and share via Google Drive.
New Math Faculty for the AY 2016-17
Dr. Janet Nakarmi joins the Department of Mathematics as a tenure-track assistant professor in Fall 2016. She was selected from a pool of 35 outstanding statisticians for the position. Originally from Nepal, Dr. Nakarmi is a freshly minted Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Mississippi. She received her M.S. degree in Mathematics in 2013 from the University of Mississippi, and a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Business from Randolph College in Virginia in 2010. Though Dr. Nakarmi’s doctoral dissertation focused on nonparametric statistics, her research interests span over time series analysis, robust statistics, and multivariate and survival analysis. She is expected to play an integral part in the new Data Science track that debuts this fall. A fitness enthusiast, Dr. Nakarmi likes to read books and listen to music in her spare time.