Graduate Blog

I am happy to announce that to boost your financial support, the Department will offer a $3,000 top-up to all students who become the recipients of an OGS award.  The international students application deadline is today (March 7) and the domestic students application deadline is April 1^st, 2013.

Please note that applicants to the OGS will also be eligible for the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships in Science & Technology (QEII-GSST) which is equal in value to the OGS. The deadline for this scholarship will be announced at a later date.

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The on-line application form for the 2013-14 OGS is now available for students to access via the SGS website or using the following url:

http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/informationfor/students/money/support/provincial/OGS.htm

Complete instructions regarding the application can also be found in the same link.

Please note the departmental deadline dates below:

International Students deadline:     March 7, 2013

Domestic Students deadline:           April 1^st, 2013

The University of Toronto OGS application requires that students provide the same supporting materials as has been included in previous OGS applications:

• Two Academic Assessment reports (referees will be required to submit on-line)
• Plan of study (approx. 500 words)
• Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions (unofficial or student issued copies are permitted)
• List of previous awards/publications/conferences/research experience

Important note: This application will only be assessed at the University of Toronto. Students must submit an OGS application to each institution for which they are seeking admission. OGS awards are no longer transferrable by a student from one university to another.

Any issues with the online application form can be addressed to: ogs@sgs.utoronto.ca.

Good luck with your application!

The 2012 Math Kangaroo International Competition (MK) is looking for people to help with this year’s competition.

MK is an open competition for students from grades 2 – 12 who come to the University of Toronto campuses and write the international Math Kangaroo competition.

This year’s competition will take place on Sunday, March 25th and will offer prep-classes on Sunday’s in March.

Currently the following positions are available (multiple people are needed for each position):

You are more than welcome to be involved in more than one position if you would like.

Saturday Prep Assistants
* Sunday, March 4th, 11th and 18th from 12 – 2pm
* Accommodations may be available for those unable to commit to all three sessions but still wishing to assist
* These volunteers are required to help out with prep sessions, assisting students and providing general support

Test Invigilators
* Sunday, March 25th from 9:00am – 1:30pm (attendance for the full time is required)
* This includes set up of the test room, invigilation of the test and collection of papers afterwards.  Invigilators will also be considered “group leaders” for their groups of students.
* Some preparation work before the competition is required (3 – 4 hours) but the schedule for this is highly flexible.

Test Markers
* Sunday, March 25th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm
* Marking the tests and compiling the grades

Other positions may come available as we get closer to the date.

Pizza and pop and the eternal gratitude of the department (including certificates) are supplied to all volunteers.  Training will be provided.

If you are interested in being involved or would simply like further information please contact Pamela Brittain (pamb@math.toronto.edu).

COMC, Markers Still Needed!

The Canadian Open Mathematics Competition (COMC) is coming and we 
still need markers.  We are expecting a large number of papers 
(in the 1000's) and we need people to mark them.  

We only require a few hours of your time on November 12th and/or 13th 
and you can mark at either UTSC, UTM or St George.  

If you are interested, or require further information, please send an 
email to mhs@math.toronto.edu with your name, email, availability and 
preferred marking location.

We Need Your Help! Markers Needed!

We are looking for people to help us mark the 2011 Canadian Open Mathematics Competition (COMC).

Markers are needed on Saturday, November 12th and/or Sunday, November 13th from 10am – 4pm.  Lunch and snacks will be provided as will certificates.  If you are able to help for only one of the days, or for only part of the time that’s fine, just let us know.

A strong background in math is not required however, please let us know if you do have one.  All markers will be provided with marking sheets and answer keys.  You need only bring yourself.

If you’d like a chance to be a part of a great competition and make your mark on it then contact us at mhs@math.toronto.edu ASAP with your name, contact information, preferred marking location (UTM, UTSC or St. George) and math background.

We need many volunteers so please send this on to your friends and colleagues.

More information on the COMC can be found at: http://math.ca/Competitions/COMC/

To Graduate Mathematics Students:

Each year, I run an undergraduate mathematics competition and am on the
lookout for good problems. So I am appealing to you to contribute. Some
of you will have had lots of experience in competitions yourself, and so
may have access to some good material. However, I also find that some good
questions arise out of research. Perhaps you have proved or come across a
nice lemma, example or a special case of a situation that can be pressed
into purpose.

The problems should be accessible to first or second year honours
mathematics or engineering science students. The topics used so far are
calculus, linear algebra, theory of equations, basic probability,
combinatorics, basic group theory and differential equations, although
probloems of basic reasoning and game theory are also welcome. You can
see past papers on my website www.math.utoronto.ca/barbeau/home.html.

You can contact me at barbeau@math.utoronto.ca . I would be grateful if
the submissions were accompanied by solutions.

Thanks for your help. Ed Barbeau

Presenting your research at a conference this year?

Need to travel to complete your PhD Research?

Need financial assistance to get you there?

The following SGS Award Opportunities are now available to assist you:

• The SGS Conference Grant assists registered, full-time doctoral-stream (M.A, MA.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD (including flexible-time option PhD) students in good standing present  their research at a conference or academic meeting.
• The SGS Research Travel Grant assists registered, full-time PhD students in the humanities or social sciences who must travel to complete their research.

For more info check out the SGS website

All SGS Award opportunities are now available on Ulife!

Visit the Ulife website for details

This new Conference Grant is to assist registered, full-time doctoral-stream
students in 
good standing to present their research at a conference or other academic meeting.  
Preference will be given to students early in their career who are presenting their 
research for the first time. The grant will cover all or much of the student
registration 
fee and a fixed amount based on conference location. 

The SGS Conference Grant will run twice a year, in October and March. The first
competition will be in 
March 2011. Applicants will need to signify their intent to present at a conference
by submitting the application 
form and supporting documents. Successful applicants will be asked to provide proof
of registration 
at the conference in order to have the grant funds deposited to their account, and
confirmation of 
attendance and active involvement (e.g. hotel receipt and a conference programme
that lists their name) 
in order to retain the grant.

More details on the application process will be announced in the weeks ahead.

For more information:
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/adminsupport/memos/2010-11_Decanal_Memos/007.htm

Please donate your time: Sunday February 7, 1-3:30 pm

To: faculty, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students

Dear Colleagues,
February 7, 12 teams participate in Math Battle. We need 12 judges, and only 8 have been found

Among them are undergrads and grads from Math Dept (and 2 guys from Engineering). We need 4 more: faculty, postdocs, graduate and undergraduate students!  All could be without any experience (they will be paired with experienced Judges).

Toronto Math Battles (problem-solving competitions organized for high school students) have been running for 10 years under the  auspices of  the Department Mathematics, U of T.  This event is very popular among high school students, that we have about 20 teams who register for the event every year (although we do not advertise widely).

February 7 is going to be the first Math Battle event of this season for 12 teams who got through qualifier.

For this event we need volunteers (people with mathematical background) who can serve as Jury ( 2 Judges for each game). We already have 8 judges who responded to our invitation (among these are undergrad and grad students of Math Department and Engineering ), but we still need 4-5 volunteers.

Please, consider the possibility to donate talent, time, and enthusiasm for the younger generation. In case you decide to volunteer for this event, please advise Olga Ivrii at  oz@math.toronto.edu

Schedule of the day (February 7):  By 10:00am teams appear at BA 2135 (HeadQuarters).

10:00am Captains get the problem sets and lead their teams to assigned rooms for a 3-hour preparation.

By 1pm Judges go to BA 2135. Final paring so that in each pair of Judges one is with experience.

At 1:10 Judges go to assigned rooms and Battles start.

Usually, it take about 2 hours per game, but can take longer.

Notes:

1. All Judges will receive Problem Set& Solutions (in advance).
2. Rules of Math Battle can be found at:

http://www.math.toronto.edu/oz/turgor/mathbattle/rules.php

Experience shows that Math Battles are memorable event not only for the participants, but for Judges as well.