Ithaca College

Monday March 25th in Williams 320, Victor Donnay, Professor of Mathematics at Bryn Mawr College, will present: Math Modeling and Education for Sustainability

How can we better inspire our students to succeed in mathematics? Victor Donnay will discuss his experiences in using issues of sustainability as a motivator. He teaches a service learning course titled Math Modeling and Sustainability in which students learn how math can be used to examine issues of sustainability. Students then apply their knowledge by serving as consultants to help community organizations analyze sustainability issues. Recent projects include working with:
(i) Philadelphia’s Sustainability Department’s Energy Office to determine which city owned buildings would be the best candidates for solar panels and (ii) with the social justice group EQAT to determine the social cost of the carbon produced by
the PECO energy company’s uses of fossil fuel in generating electricity. He has worked to adapt these issues to the K-12 setting, supporting Philadelphia teachers as they incorporate the Education for Sustainability standards into their curriculum.
Sustainability is an ideal topic around which to develop interdisciplinary collaborations. This talk is aimed at a general audience; pre-service and in-service teachers and non-mathematicians are particularly invited to attend.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Matt Thomas at mthomas7@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1826. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.