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The MathPath logo
The MathPath logo

MathPath is a mathematics enrichment summer program for students ages 11–14 (middle school age in the US). It is four weeks long, and moves to a different location each year. MathPath is visited by world-renowned mathematicians such as John H. Conway and Francis Su. It was probably the original, and is still one of the few, international residential high-end summer camps exclusively for mathematics and exclusively for students of middle school age.

History

MathPath was founded in 2002 by George Rubin Thomas, who had previously founded Mathcamp for high school students and has since founded Epsilon Camp for children age 7–11 (in 2011, originally aged 8-11) and Delta Camp for children 6 and 7 (in 2014 and 2015, now merged with Epsilon Camp). His goal was to inspire and advance the most mathematically gifted middle school age students, through a summer camp.

Subjects

At MathPath, students learn about many math topics that are rarely taught in American schools, or taught in much depth, such as non-Euclidean geometry, advanced Euclidean geometry, number theory, combinatorics, induction, spherical trigonometry, mathematical origami, and the mathematics of card shuffling. They also learn some history of math and work on mathematical writing. Topics vary somewhat each year, depending on instructor interest. As well, students have the opportunity to prepare for contests such as MATHCOUNTS, AMC, or AIME.

The emphasis throughout is on enrichment, not acceleration. Thus no effort is made to place students out of their next school course, and when topics are taught which are elective university courses (e.g., number theory) the purpose is to give a good understanding of the issues and key ideas and methods, not to cover the entire university course. Covering a whole university course would be difficult, even at the rapid MathPath rate, since MathPath courses are only a week long.

Although much of the day is spent learning mathematics, there is deliberately more free time than at high school math camps. Also, students regularly go on weekend day trips and visit the surrounding area's attractions.

Staff

Regular Staff

Regular staff are those who come almost every year. Usually they come for 2–4 weeks, but a few come for only one week. Most of the regular staff members have an in-camp nickname.

  • Silva Chang (Ms C), University of Colorado at Boulder. As director of the Colorado Math Circle, coach of the Colorado ARML Team, and five-time coach of the Colorado MATHCOUNTS Team, Ms. Chang has mentored and taught MOSP attendees, USAMO qualifiers, and state MATHCOUNTS champions. At MathPath, Ms. Chang has taught two very popular courses, mathematical origami and Mathematica.
  • John Horton Conway ( Conway) is the inventor of Surreal numbers and Conway's Game of Life, among other things. A professor at Princeton, he comes to MathPath for one week each year.
  • Thomas Drucker (Coach D) is a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin and the editor of Perspectives of the History of Mathematical Logic. He is an expert on the history of mathematics from the 17th century to modern times.
  • Alan Q. Lippert (Mr. L) is a retired mathematics teacher and MATHCOUNTS coach. He was the Academic Director of MathPath in 2003–2005. He used to specialize in MATHCOUNTS and AMC8 classes, but more recently he prefers courses on the mathematics of sudoku extensions like Ken Ken and Kendoku. Also, he is famous for the Problem of the Day, which is always a puzzle problem, sometimes mathematical, sometimes involving physics, and often a general reasoning puzzle.
  • Stephen B. Maurer (Mr. M) is a Professor of Mathematics at Swarthmore College. He became Academic Director of MathPath in 2006, and Executive Director in September 2014. He is a former Chair of the AMC and an expert on mathematical writing. At MathPath he teaches courses on mathematical induction, combinatorics, "Linear Set Geometry", and sometimes AMC competitions. He also runs sessions where student solutions to the Qualifying Test are used anonymously to discuss mathematical writing. But watch out! Mr. M sometimes screws up and forgets to remove the name.
  • Jonathan Rogness, University of Minnesota, is well known for his beautiful mathematical visualizations, including an award-winning video, Möbius Transformations Revealed, which went viral online and has been viewed by nearly two million people. At MathPath he has taught cryptology and the Shape of Space.
  • Francis Su (Prof Su) is a professor of mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA. He teaches about problems relating to probability, shuffling (card tricks!) and social sciences (such as fair division). He typically comes for the first or last week. Now that he is President Elect of the Mathematics Association of America, and then President and then Past President, he may not be able to attend for a few years.
  • Crispin Sumner (Kip) is the Camp Director and is in charge of student life and activities, as well as some years being camp champion in doubles pickleball and perennial co-champion in doubles pool. Starting in 2014, he also teaches an advanced course in graph theory.
  • George Thomas (Dr. T), Executive Director Emeritus, is the founder of the camp. He teaches courses in Analytic Geometry, Hyperbolic Geometry, Elliptic Geometry and Projective Geometry.
  • Sam Vandervelde (Dr. V) is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Lawrence University, NY, Coordinator of the Mandelbrot Competition, and author of the Circle in a Box pdf and hardcopy book for use in the Math Circle movement. He teaches courses on various topics, usually different ones each year, such as number theory, problem writing, and Ford circles. He will be moving to California in summer 2015 to be the first Dean of Mathematical Sciences of the new Proof School in the Bay Area.
  • Glen Van Brummelen (Glen) is an expert in the history of mathematics, especially ancient Greek and medieval Islamic mathematics. In 2009 he published a book on the history of trigonometry, and in 2012 he published the first new book on spherical trigonometry in over 100 years, entitled "Heavenly Mathematics: The Forgotten Art of Spherical Trigonometry", and based in part on the course Heavenly Mathematics that he teaches at MathPath.
  • John Howe (Honest John) is a retired mathematics teacher at Princeton Day School and is a general administrative Assistant to Kip and Mr M, best known for running the bank, posting the assignment of students to breakout sessions, and taking students to medical care.

Visiting Staff

Visiting staff are participants for one year or occasional years. Usually they attend for one week, or for a day or two to give a few lectures. Often they are faculty at the host institution or nearby institutions. Below is a sampling of guest staff from recent years. For more recent information see The MathPath Faculty Webpage; A new version with a new year number is put up a few months before each summer's program.

  • Gene Abrams is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs CO. His research interests include Leavitt path algebras and noncommutative rings.
  • Jennifer Beineke is an Associate Professor of Mathematics, Western New England College, Springfield, MA is a specialist in analytic number theory.
  • Andrew Beveridge is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College, St Paul MN. He studies random walks on graphs as well as structures generated via random processes. He enjoys thinking about problems inspired by massive real world networks, such as the internet.
  • Owen Byer, Professor of Mathematics, Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg VA, is an expert in discrete math and geometry, co-authoring the book Methods for Euclidean Geometry. At MathPath he has taught breakouts in Affine Geometry and Probability.
  • Robin Hartshorne is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at UC Berkeley and author of Projective Geometry (1967), Algebraic Geometry (1977), and Geometry: Euclid and Beyond (2000).
  • Isil Nal, Harmony School of Excellence, Houston TX, and coach of the 2011 Texas State MATHCOUNTS team that placed 3rd at nationals. At the Harmony School Ms Nal has taught National MATHCOUNTS participants, USA(J)MO qualifiers and MOSP attendees. At MathPath she teachers AMC12, AIME and USAMO courses.
  • Amelia Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Colorado College, Colorado Springs CO. She lectures on combinatorics, group theory, and the game Set
  • John Watkins, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Colorado College. A graph theorist who has also worked on puzzles. He teachers courses at MathPath that use board puzzles, Sudoku and KenKen to teach mathematics, for instance, using material from his book Across the Board: The Mathematics of Chessboard Problems.
  • Paul Zeitz is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of The Art and Craft of Problem Solving. At MathPath he has taught such courses as problem solving, combinatorics, and solving the Rubik's Cube.

Activities

Typical weekday schedule[1]

  • 6:00am Optional activities for early risers: math, jogging, table tennis, etc.
  • 7:30 Last wake-up call
  • 8:00 Breakfast
  • 8:45 History Plenary
  • 9:45–11:00 Morning Breakouts
  • 11:00–12:00 Guest Plenary
  • 12:00 Announcements
  • 12:30 Lunch
  • 1:00–2:45 Free Time
  • 3:00 Writing Plenary
  • 3:30–5:00 Afternoon Breakout Session
  • 5:00 Wrap-up, Announcements, Problem of the Day
  • 6:00 Dinner
  • 6:30 Evening Activities (digestion/soccer, basketball, etc.)
  • 8:30 Students back in the dorm; math conferencing time
  • 9:15 Counselor Meetings
  • 9:45 Quiet time, preparing for bed/ showers
  • 10:00 Bedtime! (2013)
  • 10:15 Bedtime! (2012 and prior)

NOTE: Every year's schedule varies slightly (around 15 minutes). Look on the MathPath website (www.mathpath.org) for the exact schedule for the year.

On Saturday, the afternoon activities are a little different.

  • 2:30 Show and tell and voting for breakouts
  • 3:30 Fun math activity (such as a math relay race, MathCounts Countdown, QuizBowl, etc.)

On weekends, students usually go on a day trip to the surrounding attractions or participate in other activities, such as biking, white water rafting, rock climbing, or hiking. Chess, ping pong, pool, Rubik's Cube, Set and Magic: The gathering tournaments are played and organized during the students' free time.

Admissions

MathPath is selective. The primary criterion for admission is the applicant's work on the yearly Qualifying Test. One begins the application process by filling out an online information form. An academic and nonacademic reference are also required. Admission is done on a rolling basis. For details, see How to Apply. Also available: financial aid, merit scholarships for high scores on various competitions, and fee reductions for paying early and for siblings attending in the same year.

Locations

References

  1. ^ "A MathPath Day". MathPath.
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