2013-2014 Elections Candidates

Here is the (growing) list of candidates for the MU election! The list of candidates will be finalized by Wednesday.

President

Sams Seraj

My platform is based on a single idea: community. It is an unfortunate state of affairs that currently the undergraduate body of math students is detached from one another and from professors.

To instill a sense of unity, I will ensure the organization of movie nights, pub nights and socials, along with the presence of prominent academics. These are standard functions of a union, but have rarely occurred in recent times.

Over the last three years, I have researched with professors, published papers, and lectured in a handful of cities. This experience will help me to coordinate student seminars. Although I have concentrated on studies in university, I was president of a math competition club and a puzzles club in high school.

With my ties to students in several departments, math professors and the office staff, we can implement a new vision of a visible, supportive union. Vote Sams.

Secretary

Michael Yu

Hello everyone, I am a second year student going into third year in Mathematics Specialist. I have been involved in Math Union in my first year as first year representative and this year as the person who put all of this on this website.

I could talk about my experiences as co-president of math club in high school. I could talk about my organizing and advertising events for the Math Union these past two year. But think what’s more important is that I tell you the following.

I will be living on residence next year and I frequent Bahen almost every day. I am online pretty much whenever I am sitting down in front of a table. If you want me to know or do something you can be certain I’ll know it in a few hours of awaking time.

I look forward to making things happen next year.

Treasurer

Jonathan Love

I am a math specialist going into my fourth year. I have previously been heavily involved in the math union, as president in my second year and year representative in my third year.

I will be running for Treasurer, and basing my campaign on one thing only: availability. Having seen the math union in action for two years now, there unfortunately has been a consistent problem of people with some level of financial responsibility simply disappearing. For a union to function properly, it is absolutely vital to have financial stability. I promise to ensure that financial duties, including crafting a budget based around the ideas of the rest of the executive team, ensuring that other exec team members receive the finances they need to run their events, and reimbursing their expenses, all happen in as timely a manner as I can. There’s nothing flashy about being a Treasurer – the true test is whether people can depend on you to do your job, so they can do theirs.

Academic Officer

Rachel Lo

I am Rachel Lo. I am a Math major student entering my fourth year in coming September 2014 and I am interested in running for the position of the Academics Officer. I have been the vice president of marketing for the UoftT Yoga and Fitness club, which is a club with more than 700 members, for the past 2 years. I organize events, approach different organization outside campus seeking for collaborations, and make sure members stay informed through social media platforms. So, I have been always wanted to get involved in my area of studies, hoping to build a stronger cohesion to the undergraduates community and finding new ways to provide academical assistances to the ones that need to be carried. As UofT is such a tough university, undergraduates need the help of each other to survive and make their ways to the completion of their degree. If I were given a chance to be part of the union, I will more likely to put the development of the help-center on the top of the agenda. Vote for Rachel!

Communications Officer

Ryan Downes

My name is Ryan Downes, I currently a second year student in a Math Specialist program at the University of Toronto. I am interested in running for Communications Officer for the math student union in 2014 – 2015. I am a very organized person, that is fast to respond to my email, Facebook messages, and other social media. This message will have been submitted after 3 hours of Donna Birch releasing the email about the election for the position.

I feel confident that I would be able to manage the Facebook group effectively, and would be able to make a meaningful contribution to the upkeep of the unions website. I would also feel confident that we could expand are reach to include Twitter and Google+ as ways to reach are audience.

I work for a special events company on specific weekends of the year. One of my main rolls in the company is to organize volunteers, at times I would be organizing 50 or more untrained volunteers to do things such as, operate rides, and guard exit doors. I would also organize that every person would have lunch breaks, which with so many people spaced over a huge hall is no easy task. With this as experience managing the PR-committee should be no problem for me.

Event Coordinator

Adam Artymowicz

I am a motivated 1st year student intending to pursue a pure math POSt, and I would like to strengthen the presence of the Math Union in the mathematics department. One way to do this would be by coordinating fundraising events during the academic year, which would increase public awareness of the union, as well as increase the resources available for future events.

4th Year Representative

Ian Greig

3rd Year Representative

Eric Zhao

My name is Tianchen Zhao (or just Eric); I’m a second year mathematics specialist student (going third year soon) and I’m interested in running the “year representative” position in the Mathematics Union! I will be finishing MAT257/MAT347 this semester, but for the next regular school year I will take MAT315.

2nd Year Representative (Applied Mathematics Specialist POSt representative)

Kunyi Zhong

I am a first year student who wants to do a specialist in Applied Mathematics.  I want to be a representative of second year students next year, including all students taking MAT247 and MAT257/237.

I have participated in mathematics activities from summer Putnam study session to the recent Public Probability Lecture.

2nd Year Representative (Mathematics Specialist POSt representative)

David Pechersky

Stay tuned for more!

See the election information page for the election process.

 

2013-2014 Elections Update

Hello everyone,

Friday April 4 is not a good time for everyone, so we have arranged more options for candidates and voters.

Candidate speeches and voting

(Session 1)
When: Wednesday April 2 @ 4:20 PM
Where: BA B025

(Session 2)
When: Friday April 4 @ 10:30 AM
Where: BA B024 (note the change of room!)

Candidates and voters are all invited to hear the speeches of candidates during these two session and vote. Free snacks  will be provided!
Candidates are recommended to attend both sessions if possible.

Extra voting hours

Voters can also submit ballots in the Math Specialist Lounge (BA 6202) on Thursday April 3 @ 2 PM to 6 PM.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

To Candidates
Please email both Gal Gross (g.gross@mail.utoronto.ca) and Michael Yu (michaely.yu@mail.utoronto.ca) a short bio and campaign platform by Wednesday if you have not done so already.

To Voters
Bring your T-card when you come to vote.

The bio/platforms of the candidates are here. And again for candidates, here is the link to the description of each position.

2013-2014 Elections

Open Positions at the Undergraduate Mathematics Union!
Make a difference! Join the Mathematics Union!
The Undergraduate Mathematics Union (MU) has a lot to offer to all U of T students who are interested in mathematics. We have funding, we have resources, and we got the power! Make a difference by running for a position, or simply by voting in the elections! Free Snacks :-)
WHAT? Elections!
WHEN? 10:30am, Friday April 4th.
WHERE? Specialist Lounge, 6th floor Bahen Centre.
Please see the document Roles and Responsibilities for a short description of all the positions at the union. If you are interested in running for a position, please send a short bio\platform to Gal Gross at g.gross@mail.utoronto.ca
Now is your chance to make a difference!
Gal G.
MU President.

MUMS Talk February 14 – Paul Sacawa: “Universal Algebra using the language of Category Theory”

Hi everyone,

The next Mums talk will occur next Friday 14. It will be an introduction to the principles of universal algebra using categorical notions. In particular, we want to impress on the listener the importance of the notion of universal constructions in algebra. The beauty of universal algebra and category theory lies in their broad descriptive power, rather than in their depth.

Time: 5pm – 7pm, Friday February 14, 2014
Location: TBD (somewhere in BA, check Facebook for the update)
Speaker: Paul Sacawa
Title: Universal Algebra using the Language of Category Theory

Abstract: An introduction to universal algebra using the language of category theory. Cats, functors, universal constructions; omega-algebras, free objects, varieties, and the isomorphism theorems. We end by describing some universal constructions with easy descriptions in varietal categories.
Intended audience: It’s enough to know some basic algebra (which we use just as examples): group, normal subgroup, quotient group, ring, ideal, quotient ring. It would be nice to come in with the idea of categories in your head.

MUMS Talk January 24 – Paul Sacawa: “Computational Complexity and the Cook-Levin Theorem”

Hi everyone,

This talk already occurred. Here is the writeup. Notes from the available upon request (send me an email).

Time: 5pm – 7pm, Friday January 24
Location: BA 6183
Speaker: Paul Sacawa
Title: Computational Complexity and Cook-Levin Theorem

Abstract: An introduction to the modelling of computation, computability, connections to incompleteness in logic, time complexity of problems, completeness in the class NP, and a proof of the Cook-Levin theorem. We’ll end by discussing a modern approach to the famous P v. NP problem based in geometry if there’s time.
The whole talk will be very elementary.

Public lecture – Prof. James Brown: “Proofs and Pictures: The Role of Visualization in Mathematical and Scientific Reasoning”

Hello everyone,

You are cordially invited to a free public lecture hosted by the
Mathematics Undergraduate Union. This Thursday, Nov. 28th, 4-6 pm at
GB303.

The subject of the talk is “Proofs and Pictures: The Role of
Visualization in Mathematical and Scientific Reasoning.” Given by
Prof. James Brown a philosopher of science and mathematics. More
details below.

Prof. James Brown is a professor of philosophy here at the University
of Toronto. His areas of interests are the philosophy of science and
the philosophy of mathematics. He is one of the foremost modern
advocates of Platonism in the philosophy of mathematics. In the
philosophy of science he is most widely known for his ideas about
thought experiments. In 2007 he was chosen to be a fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada.

Among his numerous books are “Philosophy of Mathematics: An
Introduction to the World of Proofs and Pictures”, “The Laboratory of
the Mind: Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences”; and a new
books published in 2012: “Platonism, Naturalism, and Mathematical
Knowledge.”

MUMS Talk November 7 – Samer Seraj: “On Diffusion”

Hi everyone,

This Thursday, Samer Seraj, and undergraduate student here at UofT, will be giving a talk on his original research in cryptographic security. In his talk titled “On Diffusion”, Samer will outline the ideas of his solution to an open problem in security posed to him in an undergraduate research course. Spanning more than one year of work, Samer  prepares from his latest results, in conjunction with materials from his earlier talk in Normandy, the awaited conclusion to his research. Samer will finish his talk by proposing 3 open problems to the audience as directions for further research. This talk is accessible to math students in all years of study at UofT.

 

Time: 4pm – 5pm, Thursday November 7

Location: BA B024 (Basement of Bahen centre)

Speaker: Samer Seraj

Title: On Diffusion

Abstract: We first precisely define the space and structure of cryptographic information. We then proceed to compare two rival definitions of diffusive (scrambling) functions between such spaces, and produce optimal versions of each. The interesting fact is that some use the two definitions interchangeably, but they are quite different. Finally, we propose new directions of research and open problems. The material is from a paper by the speaker, under the supervision of Dr. Kumar Murty.

First years welcome social

The Math Union will be holding a casual social in the Undergraduate Specialist Lounge (BA6202) this Friday from 4:30 to 7:30 as a welcome event for first year mathematics students. There will be drinks and desserts served in the Mathematics Graduate Lounge at 5pm. Drop by BA6202 and meet fellow math students!

First MUMs talk of the year: History of Mathematics Education

Hello! Welcome back to the new school year!

Coming this Friday September 20th, we have a guest speaker, Mariya Boyko, a PhD student in History of Mathematics.

The MUMs talk will be at 5-6pm in BA6183.

Here is the abstract for the talk!!

The 1950s and 1960s were marked by education reforms in US and USSR. Those changes to the curriculum originated in a desire to connect mathematics education at all levels to what was happening in “modern” research mathematics. The reforms were very fortunate to enjoy vastly increased financial resources that were devoted to science education because of concerns arising in the Cold War, the “space race”, “arms race” and general public unrest. We will discuss the mathematics curriculum reforms promoted by professor of mathematics A. Kolmogorov in its intellectual, political and social context, explore Kolmogorov’s pedagogical innovations and trace the development of his ideas to the present day mathematics curriculum in Russia and the USA.

Mock CUMC Announcement

Hello everyone,

MUMs is proud to announce to host Mock CUMC!!

This event is in the spirit of upcoming CUMC.

Since not everyone can make it to CUMC for this year, the purpose of Mock CUMC is to have student speakers in CUMC from UofT to give a talk in the University of Toronto. Any Undergraduates in UofT are welcome!

For now, the schedule is the following:

  • Tuesday July 2nd, BA6180, 3-4pm: Samer Seraj
  • Friday July 5th, BA4010: Anne Dranovski at 1-2pm, Seonghyun (Daniel) Park at 2-3pm, and Matt Sourisseau at 3-4pm
  • Monday July 8th, BA4010: Christopher Mahadeo at 1-2pm, Changho Han at 2-3pm, and Dylan Butson at 3-4pm
  • Tuesday July 9th, BA6180, 3-4pm: Tomas Kojar

Talk topics and abstracts will be available soon.

Stay tuned~