Information about our Fall 2025 Section Meeting at Iowa State University is being added as it is available. Please continue to check back as we get closer to the meeting!
The Section meeting will use our standard format: Section NExT activities on Friday morning, parallel sessions Friday afternoon, plenary talks Friday night and Saturday morning, parallel sessions and the business meeting through the day on Saturday, and capped with a plenary talk by a Section teaching award winner.
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Title: The Shears Know: Creative Assemblage with 3-D Change of Basis Vectors
Abstract: In this presentation I will share on a research project where we explored how undergraduates, enrolled in an introductory linear algebra course, collectively created an assemblage of a shear using 3-D change of basis vectors. For this study, I used a theoretical perspective that falls under the umbrella of embodied cognition–inclusive materialism. This lens posits that learning is the invention of a new creation that manifests through imagination in unusual and unexpected ways. It describes mathematics as an assemblage between the body of participants and the body of their materials that give shape to an activity, where affective and aesthetic features contribute to the virtuality of the body of mathematics. Our findings suggest that the class created an assemblage of a shear by (a) introducing or catalyzing the new and (b) showcasing how aesthetics and affect inspire intra-actions. As part of my presentation, I will describe the students’ intra-actions with their own fabricated material.
Bio: Hortensia Soto is a Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Mathematics at Colorado State University. Her research centers on the teaching and learning of K-16 mathematics where she adopts an embodied cognition perspective. Specifically, she has used this lens in teaching and researching the learning of geometry, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and complex analysis. Hortensia has mentored young women and promoted mathematics via summer outreach programs and frequently facilitates professional development for K-16 teachers. Hortensia is a working member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) where she has served as the Associate Treasurer, the Associate Secretary, and as an editor of the MAA Instructional Practices Guide. Currently, she serves as MAA Past President. She is a proud recipient of the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. In her spare time, Hortensia enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, practicing yoga, meditating, and spending time with her son Miguel.
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Title: How to Turn Your Knots from Blah into Fabulous
Abstract: Are you tired of tying boring old shoelace knots? Frustrated with messy knots in your spaghetti that are impossible to undo? Wish you could make friends and influence people with your amazing knot-tying ability? Then come join us! You’ll learn to harness the power of mathematics and the fourth dimension to unlock the secrets of knots. Discover how to make tangled up messes magically disappear and make knots apparate out of thin air. But wait! There’s more! Impress your friends and family with fancy phrases, like “prime knot” and “persistent tangle.” Come join us, and all your wildest dreams will come true.
Bio: Allison Henrich is a Professor of Mathematics at Seattle University and editor of the news magazine of the Mathematical Association of America, MAA FOCUS. She enjoys collaborating with students on research, especially on problems related to knots and games. She coauthored the books An Interactive Introduction to Knot Theory and A Mathematician’s Practical Guide to Mentoring Undergraduate Research, and she coedited Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey as well as the Encyclopedia of Knot Theory. Her newest book is a handbook for math majors, Navigating the Math Major: Charting Your Course. In her “spare time,” Allison enjoys spending time with her husband and their two silly kids.
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Title: Singled Out: Analyzing single-cell data to identify significant interactions in leukemia
Abstract: Complex protein interaction networks complicate the understanding of what most promotes the rate of cancer progression. High dimensional data provides opportunities for new insights into possible mechanisms for the proliferative nature of aggressive cancers, but these datasets often require fresh techniques and ideas for exploration and analysis. In this talk, we consider mass cytometry data capturing expression levels of tens of biomarkers in individual cells from acute myeloid leukemia patients. After identifying immune cell subpopulations in this data using an established clustering method, we present a novel statistic for testing differential biomarker correlations across patients and within specific cell phenotypes.
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Title: The Hope of Audacity, and Other Lessons Learned from a Lifetime of Teaching
Abstract: I plan to share my teaching perspective of being aspirational and audacious in the assignments and big projects I ask of my students, hoping to inspire others to feel the same. I will also offer some lessons learned over the years of teaching regarding being relational, demanding, and caring with students, sometimes simultaneously.
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Title: My Journey into Open Educational Resources
Abstract: I will share a bit about my journey with open educational resources; we will explore what OERs are, how to adopt them, and discuss using PreTeXt as a tool for creating them. We will also discuss a recent statewide OER working group that I helped facilitate in the 2024–2025 academic year.
Student and Faculty Talks/Posters
As usual, we hope for a wide variety of talks from our own members. If you have something interesting to say about mathematics or teaching, contribute a talk or poster and share with the rest of the section. Students (both undergraduates and graduates) are encouraged to participate.
Registration
Online registration is helpful for planning purposes, and it also allows you to pay using Venmo. Please register online by Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
Campus Information
Please consult the Iowa State University map.
Lodging Near Iowa State University
Sleep Inn
Nightly Rate $119.96 (inc. taxes)
Includes breakfast
Date cut off for making the reservations is Oct. 14th
Request block with ‘Iowa MAA’