Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will host its first mathematics competition for high school students on Friday, April 25, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. in the Science and Math Complex Great Room on Lee’s campus.
The mathematics competition teams will consist of five to seven high school students, with representation from each of the four grade levels. The topics covered on the exam will parallel concepts included on the ACT or SAT such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. Scholarships to Lee University and other prizes will be awarded to top scorers.
"A primary goal of the mathematics competition is to recognize, encourage, and reward excellence in mathematics,” said Dr. Laura Singletary, assistant professor of mathematics at Lee. “Through the activities surrounding the competition, we hope to encourage high school students to pursue their interest in mathematics."
The competition is funded in part by the Mathematical Association of America’s Dolciani Mathematics Enrichment Grant Program. This grant will also support a mentorship program for the 2014-15 school year, which will partner selected high school students with mentors from Lee.
“We are truly excited about providing high school students with the opportunity to experience mathematics in a way that is perhaps different from what they see in their high school classrooms and encouraging their interests and gifts mathematically,” said Dr. Debra Mimbs, assistant professor of mathematics at Lee.
The mathematics competition is part of a larger event, the Science and Mathematics Research Symposium, which will take place April 25-26 at Lee. The symposium will highlight research done by Lee University’s math and science majors. Students will showcase their work through oral presentations, poster presentations, and science demonstrations.
“For several years now, we have envisioned giving our students an opportunity to present their work at a research symposium like those hosted by national scientific and mathematics societies,” said Dr. Lori West, chair of the symposium committee and associate professor of biology at Lee. “We are so excited that this year we are able to do so. We welcome everyone to attend any portion of this event.”
Lee alumna Katherine Amato will be the keynote speaker for the symposium. While at Lee, Amato served as a Laboratory Assistant/Teaching Assistant for courses in chemistry and biology, held various leadership positions in Tri Beta National Biological Honors Society, and was a peer leader/mentor for study skills classes.
Ms. Amato received multiple scholarships and awards while at Lee such as the Presidential/Honors Scholarship, the Tapley Science Scholarship, the Roberson Leadership Scholarship, and she was the recipient of the Charles Paul Conn Award, given to a senior who demonstrates the greatest promise of achievement in graduate or professional studies.
Ms. Amato is currently pursuing her PhD in cancer biology at Vanderbilt University.
For more information about the mathematics competition please contact Singletary at lsingletary@leeuniversity.edu. For more information about the symposium contact Mimbs at dmimbs@leeuniversity.edu or West at lwest@leeuniversity.edu.