Professors with the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Math Program will be exposing local high school students to some new mathematical concepts during the Second Annual Imagine Math Day, to be held Friday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Campus Center.

According to Dr. Shawn Robinson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, approximately 50 students and their teachers from Aroostook County high schools will be visiting campus to take part in the math event. The group will take a guided exploration of mathematical models in population ecology, led by Dr. David Hiebeler, an Associate Professor with the University of Maine’s Mathematics and Statistics department. Dr. Hiebeler is an active researcher in this field, and the activities will make use of computer simulations that he has developed.

The day will consist of a morning session, lunch, and independent student work in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, Professor Hiebeler will give a more advanced seminar for UMPI students and faculty.

Imagine Math Day is being held in April to celebrate Mathematics Awareness Month, which is sponsored jointly by the American Mathematical Society, the American Statistical Association, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

“Imagine Math Day was conceived six years ago at Harvey Mudd College with the intent of providing high school students with an experience developing mathematical concepts through experimentation and conjecture in a collaborative framework – the way working mathematicians and scientists do,” Robinson said.

Imagine Math Day is not a competition, and no coursework beyond basic algebra is prerequisite for participation.

“We look forward to reconnecting with old friends in the mathematical community and meeting some new ones at this event,” Robinson said.

For more information about Imagine Math Day, please contact Dr. Shawn Robinson at 768-9724.