Alaska Alpha Pi Mu Epsilon
Pi Mu Epsilon is a non-secret Honor Society dedicated to the promotion of mathematics and recognition of students who successfully pursue mathematical understanding.
About Pi Mu Epsilon
A UAS student meeting the following qualifications may be elected to membership by the Alaska Alpha Chapter:
- Undergraduate students who have completed at least the equivalent of two semesters of calculus and two additional courses in mathematics, at or above the calculus level, all of which lead to the fulfillment of the requirements for a major in the mathematical sciences.
- In addition, such students must have maintained a grade point average equivalent to that of at least 3.0 on a 4 point scale, both for all courses that lead to fulfillment of requirements for a major in the mathematical sciences, and also for all courses that lead to fulfillment of requirements for an undergraduate degree.
This election shall be irrespective of sex, religion, race, or national origin.
Alaska Alpha Chapter
The Alaska Alpha Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon was installed by Dr. Colin Starr of Willamette University on Thursday April 17, 2014.
Chapter Officers
- Current Chapter President: Dylan Wood (2023–2024)
- Chapter Advisor: Andrzej Piotrowski
- Permanent Faculty Correspondent: Chris Hay-Jahans
Chapter Members
- Erin Abbott
- Remington Wiley
- Elizabeth Bruch
- Cassandra Suryan
- Dylan Wood
- Alice Mehalek
- Hailey Quinto
- Josh Walsh
- Katy Price
- Amy Jenson
- Sarah Liddell
- Evan Carnahan
- Zefeng (Felix) Xian
- Michael Bushey
- Ashlynn Kay
- Benjamin Malander
- Nicole Jacobs (Charter member)
- Patricia Gerdes (Charter member)
- Matthew Sperber (Charter member)
- Louis Scott (Charter member)
- Andre Bunton (Charter member)
- Jill Dumesnil (Charter member)
- Megan Buzby
- Andre Piotrowski
- Derek Eby
Memorable Events
AY 2026
The Math Club and the Alaska Alpha Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon hosted two talks this year. The first talk was by Dr. Patricia Commins, a postdoctoral scholar at the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute in Berkley, California. The title of her talk was Trees, Colorings, and the Chromatic Symmetric Function. The next talk was by Elizabeth Bruch, a UAS Alumna and graduate student in the UAF Earth System Science program. Elizabeth talked about How the S and M Work Together in STEM!
AY 2025
Alice Mehalek returned to Juneau over her Spring Break and gave two talks. One of these was a UAS Math Club talk, open to all interested. Alice is a UAS graduate and Colorado State University Ph.D. candidate in mathematics. Her first talk, titled Research in math education: Towards a Unifying Theory of Abstraction, was about Alice's Ph.D. research. Her second talk, an extension of her UAS capstone project that she researched further to qualify for her Ph.D., was to UAS mathematics seminar attendees and was titled Octonions and Moufang Loops.
There was also an outreach activity that involved club members. This was the Enigma (Juneau-Douglas High School Math Club) on-Campus Event which was supported by a MAA Dolciani Mathematical Enrichment Grant that was secured by Andrzej Piotrowski.
AY 2024
Amy Jenson gave a Math Club talk titled Modeling the Evolution of Glacier Outburst Floods: A Case Study of Mendenhhall Glacier. Amy is a UAS graduate and Ph.D. student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, specializing in subglacial hydrology research through the UAF Geophysical Institute and doing her required doctoral coursework in the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
April 2023
The UAS Math Club and Alaska Alpha Alpha PME hosted an outreach event on the mathematics of board games for students from Thunder Mountain High School. This event was part of a UAS URECA Project led by Alice Mehalek and involving several UAS Math Club members.
September 2017
The UAS Math Club and Alaska Alpha PME sponsored two talks by Dr. Charles Biles, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Humboldt State University: The Electoral College vs. A Popular Vote; and A History of Congressional Apportionment: A Mathematical Perspective.
August 2014
Andre Bunton, BS in Mathematics May 2015, won a Pi Mu Epsilon award for his presentation on Simultaneous Generation of a Basis B and a Corresponding B-CZDS at the 2014 Mathfest in Portland, OR.
April 2014
Installation ceremony of the Alaska Alpha Chapter - Thursday April 17, 2014.
After installing the Alaska Alpha Chapter and inducting Charter Members, Dr. Colin Starr of Willamette University gave a public talk titled The Nine-Point Circle and Feuerbach’s Theorem