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Student's math theory wins award

By Amy Lohmann '14
August 22, 2011

At the Mathematical Association of America's recent MathFest conference, Nathan Bishop '12 won the Council for Undergraduate Research award for his presentation introducing the theory of Rational Density.

Bishop worked on the theory during an Interim research project with Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Adam McDougall. The theory provided a way to study the properties of rational numbers, and Bishop's talk at the conference — titled "Sizing up the Rationals" — showed how it could be used to prove that rational numbers don't clump up, but are equidistributed throughout all real numbers.

The MathFest conference, held in Lexington, Kentucky, features lectures by award-winning researchers and professional development workshops. The $150 Council for Undergraduate Research award is regarded as the top prize for the MAA student paper session. Bishop’s presentation was selected out of more than 120 papers.

"I had an absolutely fantastic time at the conference," Bishop says. "At any given moment there were at least two talks that I wanted to attend, all presented by top-notch mathematicians discussing topics they love. I was honored to be among such inspiring presenters, let alone given an award for my talk."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.