By Hannah Vickery

Lee University’s Dr. Debra Mimbs and Dr. Laura Singletary, along with Lee students Brett Buckner, Adam Carty, Sarah Minucci, Jeremy Newton, and Mesa Williams, recently presented at the 2016 Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM) in Seattle, Washington.

“It’s a lovely part of academia for the mathematical community to gather and present new research and ideas for the classroom,” said Mimbs, assistant professor of mathematics. “It is even more fulfilling and enjoyable to see our students be so confident in their work in the midst of other students and professors from across the nation. I am honored to work at a place that encourages me to mentor our students in research.”

Buckner presented “The Symmetry and Structure of Coloring Graphs.” His research investigated a structure that contains information about all possible colorings of a graph.

Carty compiled information on the effects of immunotherapy on melanoma cancer. He developed a mathematical model that demonstrated how melanoma tumors grow over time and how they can be combated through immunotherapy, a treatment that boosts a patient’s immunocytes (a type of white blood cell).

Minucci examined the relationship between inflammation and leptin, a hormone produced by fat. Her research used a mathematical model to determine critical points in excess nutrition in women. These findings will help with obesity management and treatment of immune dysfunction.

“This was my first big math conference,” said Minucci. “It was great to go with my peers and professors as an undergraduate and to learn how it all works. I feel so much more prepared and confident in presenting at such conferences more independently in the future.”

Newton presented “Predicting the Sequence of Non-Truncated Tetrahedron Numbers.” He compared tetrahedrons, which are three-dimensional shapes made of four triangles, and truncated tetrahedrons, which are three-dimensional shapes made of four hexagons and four triangles.

Williams and her group used shifting methods to analyze patterns and intervals within numerical semigroups, a set of numbers with specific properties.

“The students exceeded all of our expectations and were very creative throughout their research process,” said Singletary, assistant professor of mathematics. “We heard incredibly positive feedback from other attendees about how impressive their research was; we are very proud of them.”

Mimbs presented “Modeling, Inquiry, and Discovery in Calculus,” where she discussed a project done in her Calculus I class at Lee. Singletary presented “Developing Young Mathematicians: An Undergraduate and Secondary Collaboration.” She discussed the M^3: Mentoring Mathematicians in the Making program that the division offers for high school students in Cleveland and Bradley County.

Mimbs joined Lee’s faculty in fall 2010. She earned her doctorate and master’s degree in applied and computational mathematics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her bachelor’s degree from Lee University. She has published research in such publications as Transactions of the American Mathematical Society.

She currently directs or co-directs multiple grants involving undergraduate research and promoting the awareness of the beauty of mathematics among high school students. She co-directs the “Mentoring Mathematicians in the Making” program, serves as a counselor on the Council for Undergraduate Research, and has participated in NSF sponsored programs such as CURM, PIC Math, and Project NeXT.

Singletary joined Lee’s faculty in fall 2012. She earned her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Georgia and was awarded the Presidential Graduate Fellowship while there. She received her master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from Lee University. She has published research in such publications as Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Mathematics Teacher Educator, Mathematics Teachers, and School Science and Mathematics.

The JMM is the largest annual mathematics meeting in the world and offers a variety of sessions that are designed to appeal to undergraduates. The event is put on by the Mathematical Association of America, the largest professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level.