Jackie Hoefler Vice President of Communications and Marketing | Lake Forest College
Jackie Hoefler Vice President of Communications and Marketing | Lake Forest College
Students engage with math research at statewide conference
From exploring artificial intelligence to uncovering the role of equity in math education, students had the opportunity to engage with significant ideas and inspiring scholars at the 2025 Illinois Sectional Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). The event was held March 28–29 at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.
Led by Professor of Mathematics Enrique Treviño and Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Tung Nguyen, five students attended the conference, which featured plenary talks, breakout sessions, and hands-on workshops focused on the evolving landscape of mathematics. The conference emphasized not only technical skills and research but also the human and ethical dimensions of the field.
Professors Treviño and Nguyen also contributed to the conference as speakers. Treviño presented “Selecting balls from urns with partial replacement rules,” while Nguyen gave a talk titled “Integral Cayley graphs over a finite symmetric algebra.”
“The conference showed me a view into what research in mathematics entails and made me excited about topics I could potentially explore in postgraduate—or even undergraduate—studies. I wanted to do research before, but this conference made me even more interested in finding ways to do so,” said Lorelei Osterlund ’27.
Students who attended included Sepehr Akbari ’27, Judith Johnson ’27, Connor McKelvey ’27, Lorelei Osterlund ’27, and Ricardo Salazar Ordoñez ’25.
Keynote sessions covered a wide range of topics:
“Bring your data to life and generating a tailwind with AI” by Jim Kulich (Elmhurst University)
“The principle, perils, and persecution of equity in mathematics education” by Greg Larnell (University of Illinois Chicago)
“A glimpse at the horizon” by Deanna Haunsperger (Carleton College)
“Data science for and by pure mathematicians” by Cindy Wyels (CSU Channel Islands)
In addition to expanding their academic horizons, students also connected with peers and professionals from across the region, gaining valuable insights into research opportunities and future career paths.
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