Applied Mathematics News

This summer, Stevenson University’s Applied Mathematics program took its research to Boston as Applied Math majors Leorah Singman and Aaliyah Blackmon, along with faculty members Dr. Ben Wilson and Dr. Mark Branson, attended MAA MathFest 2026, the annual meeting of the Mathematical Association of America.

For Leorah and Aaliyah, the conference provided an opportunity to share research they completed through Stevenson’s Summer Science Scholars Research Program (S3RP) with Dr. Wilson. Both students presented undergraduate research posters exploring mathematical strategies for games.

Leorah presented “Optimal Strategies for the Game ‘Black Hole,’” investigating how mathematical modeling and strategic analysis can be used to understand the popular game. Aaliyah presented “Optimal Strategies for the Game Battleship,” applying mathematical and computational techniques to explore effective strategies for the classic guessing game.

Aaliyah’s work received additional recognition when she was selected for an Outstanding Poster Award.

The Stevenson faculty also contributed to the conference’s program. Dr. Wilson presented “Optimal Shut the Box,” continuing his work applying mathematics to games. Dr. Branson presented “Teaching the Resistance: Student Reactions to a Quantitative Justice Curriculum,” sharing insights from his work on innovative approaches to teaching mathematics and quantitative reasoning.

The Math Escape Room was once again a huge success! Participants were transported to the fictitious Dr. Fechner’s toy shop, where their mission was to discover his newest toy invention to save the shop from bankruptcy. This year’s escape room welcomed 21 teams, with a total of 72 participants. Congratualtions to all of the participants and especially to the winning student team: Ashley Cook, Victoria Herrera, Madison Parker, Alyssa Reddy, and Anna Zadel. We look forward to adding their names to the Escape Room Champions plaque outside of MAC S150! Thank you to everyone who took part, and we can’t wait to see you in the next Math Escape Room!

To celebrate Halloween, students and faculty gathered at a recent AWM meeting to make paper pumpkins and explore a bit of topology.

At the October AWM Math Chat, students and faculty engaged in a meaningful discussion about why it is essential to address issues affecting women in mathematics and the sciences.

Get ready for a brain-bending experience as the Math Escape Room returns for 2024! Created by Math Faculty Professor Amy Tucker and Dr. Ben Wilson, this year’s escape room promises to be full of challenging and fun puzzles.

Teams of students, faculty, adn staff will step into the world of Dr. Fechner’s Toy Shop, where they will need to put their puzzle solving and teamwork skills to the test. The stakes are high: the student team that completes the escape room in the fastest time will have their names added to the Escape Room Champions plaque!