STERLING — Sterling College presented two research talks at the Kansas Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Conference. Presentations were by Robert Stansbury, student, and Dr. Samuel A. Hokamp, assistant professor of mathematics. The MAA is the largest math organization in the world. 

Robert Stansbury, of Lorriane, presented research he worked on last summer at a Math REU that took place at Arizona State University. His group did research by creating mathematical models for COVID-19 to answer the question, “To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate: That is the Key Question,” Stansbury and his collaborators have submitted their paper to a peer-reviewed journal and are awaiting further feedback.

Dr. Hokamp also gave a research talk at the same meeting. His talk was titled, “Spaces of Bounded Measurable Functions Invariant Under a Group Action.” This talk was based on a paper that was published this past fall in a peer-reviewed open-access journal. 

“I continue to be amazed by the quality of math students that Sterling College is blessed by,” said Pete Kosek, assistant professor of mathematics. “Robbie is the third student in the past six years who has been accepted to these highly competitive summer Math Research Experience for Undergraduates and the first to present their research at an MAA meeting. Dr. Hokamp has been an incredible asset to Sterling College’s math department with his personal research while encouraging students such as Robbie to pursue their own mathematical research in preparation for the expectations of graduate school.”