Bryn Mawr College
How can we better inspire our students to study and succeed in mathematics? Victor Donnay will discuss his experiences in using issues of civic engagement, particularly sustainability, as a motivator. He will present a variety of ways to incorporate issues of sustainability into math and science classes ranging from easy to adapt add-ons to standard homework problems to elaborate service learning projects.
Victor Donnay is Director of the Environmental Studies Program and William Kenan, Jr. Professor of Mathematics at Bryn Mawr College whose Mathematics Department received the 2013 AMS Award for Exemplary Achievement for its success in encouraging women to study mathematics. In addition to his research on chaotic dynamical systems arising in geodesic flows and in billiard systems, he has worked extensively on issues of K-16 education in projects funded by the NSF Math Science Partnership and Noyce programs. He is interested in connecting math to issues of Civic Engagement with a particular focus on sustainability. His Differential Equations course was chosen as a model course by the SENCER project and he was Chair of the Advisory Committee for Mathematics Awareness Month 2013 -The Mathematics of Sustainability.