Immaculata's programs in mathematics and information technology provide students with strong foundations in their major fields and guide them in the habits of clear reasoning and systematic thought. The setting of the program within a liberal arts tradition provides an overall preparation for life that is both broad and versatile. In addition, opportunities for internships provide valuable experience in the use of knowledge and skills.   Students have the opportunity to explore additional or advanced topics through participating in independent research projects. They can also enroll in a topics course which may focus on new or emerging technologies.  

Program Goals

• To form systematic, orderly, and exact habits of thought; to develop the power of reasoning; to enable students to see the place of mathematics and technology in the liberal arts.
• To provide the necessary background for work in the natural and social sciences, in computer science, and in the management of information.
• To provide the fundamental education and training necessary for graduate study or careers in mathematics, computer science, information technology and natural and social sciences.

News from the Chair

Department News:  Fall 2010   Our department is pleased to welcome classes into our newly renovated LH107 Physics lab (shown to the right)   Mike Holland (Junior, Math and Secondary Ed), Alex Onderdonk (Sophomore, Math and Secondary Ed), Marc Schlottman (CE, Math and Computer Science) and Vincent Bush (Junior, IT) are working with Dr. Molli Jones on a faculty/student research mini-grant project, "What Makes a Game Engaging?"  They will be analyzing different games and creating a list of criteria for an engaging game.  The students will then create their own games that meet their criteria.  They will be presenting their work at two MAA conferences in the spring of 2011.

We had food, fun, and prizes at the Sept 2010 Welcome Back Department Games night.   Department News:  Summer 2010 In August 2010, Dr. Molli Jones gave two talks at the 2010 MAA's annual MathFest in Pittsburgh: "Improving Proof Writing by Increasing Confidence, Communication, and Understanding" and "Developing Mathematical Thinking and Communication Skills through Guided Discovery Learning in Modern Algebra." See also:  www.maa.org/mathfest   Department News:  Spring 2010

• This semester we have two students doing “virtual internships” with an alum who owns her own company and is a former CIO of the Whitehouse (2006-08).
• The Math Club will have a private tour of the Goddard Space Center and participate in a New Jersey Math competition and a Pennsylvania Math Conference.
• Students who have been involved in faculty/student research projects this year are getting ready to present their work at local spring undergraduate research conferences. Ana Lemus Moreno, Alex Onderdonk, and Steve Rodolico, who have been doing research with Dr. Molli Jones, are speaking on "Spirograph: Exploring the Mathematics Behind the Drawings" at the 24th Annual Student Mathematics Conference at Moravian College on February 20, 2010.  
• We just had a professional photographer alum visit our multimedia course to give students technique pointers in digital photography. We continue to have more collaborative and technology-enriched learning activities in all of our courses.   
• Dr. M.E. Jones, of our department, and Dr. Melanie Kisthardt, of the English department, are collaboratively teaching the second of four offerings of CIS 105 – 3-D Computing.  This course - which introduces students to programming concepts using the Alice 3-D programming environment – is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.  The goal is to encourage and foster student creativity while learning introductory programming concepts.
• This semester, we launched the new course CIS 218 Software Design & Programming, designed to introduce students who learned programming concepts with the Alice programming to intermediate and advanced concepts for designing and creating software applications. Students are using Java as their object-oriented programming language.
• Dr. Molli Jones spoke on the topic, "Integrating Mathematical Modeling into Science and Mathematics Curricula in Challenged School Districts" at the 2010 joint meetings of the AMS and the MAA in January in San Francisco. 
• The IU Math and Science Departments are collaborating to conduct a conference in May for Greater Philadelphia area teachers to support their collaborative efforts to enhance their academic programs. http://www.sepche.org/ACT/iu.htm
• Congratulations to Dr. M.E. Jones, who received the 2009-2010 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award.

• Dr. Molli Jones was elected Secretary of the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware (EPaDel) Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) in November.
• Our Mathematics/Ed majors have been enjoying their student teaching assignments and have been working as paid tutors in our on-campus Math Tutoring Center.
• Our Math, IT and Math/Computer Science majors are doing a variety of internships with companies like Lockheed Martin, SunGuard Higher Ed and QVC.

Department News:  Spring 2009

• On 2/21/09, Ms. Kasey Cole and Ms. Amanda Holdorf gave a presentation titled “Breaking It Down: Ideas for Teaching College Algebra” at the 23rd Annual Student Mathematics Conference at Moravian College, February 21, 2009.
• On 2/25/09, our department majors and faculty hosted a day of problem-solving for 60 local high school students.  The event featured the Mathematical Association of America's (MAA) American Mathematics Competitions, the AMC 10 and AMC 12 exams, great food and a hands-on team competition of critical-thinking problems from mathematics, to physics, to computer science.  A good time was had by all and four high school students qualified to move to the next level of the AMC process.
• On 3/12/09, we had our annual Spring Colloquium and luncheon, which featured the acclaimed mathematics historian, Dr. Victor J. Katz.  Dr. Katz received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Brandeis University in 1968 and was for many years a professor of mathematics at the University of the District of Columbia. He is an author and editor of many books and articles on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching, and he has been very active in MAA. The particular focus of his presentation was combinatorics in early history from Islamic and Hebrew Sources.

• Kasey Cole (math major) completed a summer '08 internship at Lockheed Martin. As a result, she has been offered full-time employment upon graduation. Congratulations, Kasey!
• On 9/22/08, the CIS 330 Advanced Topics in Robotics class had a field trip to Paoli Hospital to have a hands-on experience with the new $1 million DaVinci surgical system. Students discussed technical aspects and surgical applications and benefits with hospital and equipment representatives.
• Our new weekly Department Forums have been fun and interesting for all who attend. They have included good food and activities like puzzles, Conway Pencil Models, encryption and Sudoku strategies. Upcoming sessions will include Alice animations and robotics demos.

  Valerie Martin Department Chair vmartin@immaculata.edu