Math Students Do Well in the MAA Section Meeting Competitions
Tue, 03/10/2026 - 3:51pm
The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana/Mississippi Section of the Mathematical Association of America, which was held 26-28 February 2026 in Moody Hall and the Student Union, was a great success.
Approximately 100 undergraduate students and 50 faculty from more than fifteen institutions across Louisiana and Mississippi attended the meeting.
Eleven of our students participated in several of the events, which included an Integration Bee, an Student Team Competition, and an Student Paper Competition. Our participants are: Ben Auer, Beau Bijeaux, Dylan Davis, Noah Dupre, Michael Erny, Sydney Francois, Sydney Iles, Kenny Le, Elijah Peck, Scott Whitman, and Josie Zimlich.
Student Paper Competition
Three of our students, Sydney Francois, Scott Whitman, and Elijah Peck, participated in the Student Paper Competition.
Elijah Peck placed First in the Student Paper Competition! Elijah was advised by Ross Chiquet.
Student Team Competition
We fielded two teams in the Student Team Competition. Both teams were coached by George Turcu.
Both of our teams did quite well in the Student Team Competition.
Our team, with members Noah Dupre, Ben Auer, Kenny Le, and Dylan Davis, came in First Place in the competition!
Our other team, with members Scott Whitman, Sydney Francois, Sydney Iles, and Michel Enry, came in second in the competition! (Sydney Iles' children were there for the competition to support this team.)
Student Talks
Three of our students gave research talks.
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Elijah Peck presented his work “Dynamics of Linear Circle Maps.”
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Sydney Francois presented her work “Counting Configurations: Exploring the Combinatorial Complexity of Kalah.”
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Scott Whitman presented his work “A Formula for the Probability of Spheres Linking in Rn.”
