BIO SIGMAA - Janet L. Andersen Prize

BIO SIGMAA Janet L. Andersen Prize

The Janet L. Andersen prize is awarded annually at MAA MathFest by BIO SIGMAA "for excellence in mathematical and/or computational biology exhibited in a presentation by an undergraduate student." The first Janet L. Andersen Prize was awarded to Andrew Matteson in August 2007, at the MathFest in San Jose.

He was awarded this prize for his work on "An Enzyme Kinetic Model of Tumor Dormancy." Andrew is a native Texan from Amarillo. He reports that he first became interested in abstract mathematics in third grade when he was fortunate to have a mentor who de-emphasized "practical knowledge" in favor of questions without answers (the most valuable type) and fostered a belief that everything should be possible and knowable. His interest in mathematical biology stems from a research methods course he took during his freshman year. He says, "I believe there is something beautiful about pattern formation from a disordered state. It is this idea that touches each of my projects and gives me real pleasure in this work."

Outside of mathematics, Andrew is active in anusara style yoga and lindy hop swing dancing, and loves spending time outdoors. He has recently taken on the project of reading the thirteen volumes of Will Durant's Story of Civilization, and reports that he has "about 6000 years to go." Andrew will graduate from Texas A&M in 2008 and plans graduate study in mathematical biology.

At the awarding of this prize, BIO SIGMAA officer Jennifer Galovich said: "Until her untimely death in November 2005, Janet L. Andersen was Professor of mathematics at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She joined the Hope faculty in 1991 after completing her master's and doctoral work in algebraic geometry at the University of Minnesota. Janet was a beloved and dedicated teacher of mathematics and served the profession in myriad ways, from her role as director of the Pew MidStates Science and Mathematics Consortium to her service as chair of the MAA's committee on the teaching of undergraduate mathematics. Half a dozen years ago or so Janet became actively interested in mathematical biology, and was Principal Investigator for an NSF grant to develop a mathematical biology course, which she then taught at Hope College several times. In conjunction with that course, she mentored many student undergraduate research projects. Through activities of the BioQUEST curriculum consortium, the Society for Mathematical Biology and in many other ways, she was untiring in her efforts to promote the inclusion of mathematics in biology education (and vice versa) and encouraged broad collaboration among mathematicians and biologists in both research and teaching. In January 2006, Janet was to have been part of a panel at the joint mathematics meetings to encourage her colleagues, especially those new in the profession, to engage mathematical biology in their own work. Janet would have been delighted that one of the outcomes of the panel discussion was the formation of a new special interest group of the MAA, the special interest group for mathematical and computational biology, or BioSIGMAA, for short. The main purpose of Bio SIGMAA is to support activities that will enhance the exchange of ideas and access to educational opportunities among undergraduates and undergraduate faculty in the fields of mathematical and computational biology, a goal that Janet would certainly have endorsed. Tonight we honor her memory with a prize for a student presentation exhibiting excellence in that area.

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