The 2026 Rocky Mountain Section meeting will be held April 17-18, 2026 at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Co.

Abstract Submission Deadline: March 6, 2026. Meeting registration will be available soon.

Meeting Information

Check back often for updated information

Meeting Schedule

Friday, 4/17 

• Workshops:  9:30-11:30am 

• Student Lunch:  11:30-12:45pm

• Social Hour:  11:30-12:45pm

• Meeting Starts:  1:00 

• Dinner:  6:30pm (included with registration) 

Saturday, 4/18 

• Rocky Mountain Section Business Meeting:  8:30-9:20am 

• Meeting Starts:  9:30am 

• Student Jeopardy: 10:30-11:30am 

• Meeting Concludes:  1:00pm 

Plenary Speakers

• Francis Su, Harvey Mudd College, MAA Pólya Speaker 

• Audrey Malagon, Senior Director for Programs at the Mathematical Association America, MAA Section Visitor 

• Hortensia Soto, Colorado State University, MAA Past President 

• Forest Mannan, Western Colorado University, 2025 Early Career Teaching Award winner 

Francis Su - MAA Pólya Speaker 

Affiliation: Harvey Mudd College 

Bio: Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, a former president of the Mathematical Association of America, and a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. In 2013, he received the Haimo Award, a nationwide teaching prize for college math faculty, and in 2018 he won the Halmos-Ford writing award. His research is in geometric combinatorics and applications to the social sciences. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and the New York Times. His book Mathematics for Human Flourishing (2020), winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize, has been translated into 8 languages. It offers an inclusive vision of what math is, who it's for, and why anyone should learn it.  

Title of Presentation: Randomness, Geometry, and Privacy  

Abstract: Differential Privacy is a relatively new area of computer science that studies ways to protect the privacy of individual data in a database. Since a user like me might be able to discover information about you by asking a database a question that is sufficiently targeted, the privacy of a query answer can be accomplished by injecting a little randomness into it. Such "differentially private" mechanisms have been used by Apple, Google, Uber, and the US Census Bureau. I'll describe how such algorithms work, and then discuss recent efforts to quantify how much randomness is needed to guarantee privacy but still give accurate answers. Surprisingly, this analysis involves the geometry of sets positioned in space in clever ways.  

Audrey Malagon - MAA Section Visitor

Bio: Audrey Malagon is Senior Director for Programs at the Mathematical Association America where she oversees a range of programs in support of the MAA’s mission to “advance the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world.” Previously she was Professor and Chair of the Mathematics Department at Virginia Wesleyan University and Chair of Academic Assessment as well as chair of the MAA’s Council on Teaching and Learning. From 2018-2022 she served as mathematical advisor to Verified Voting where she combined her technical expertise and administrative capabilities to advance initiatives, including the passage of the first pre-certification risk-limiting audit legislation in Virginia. At home, she has two stubborn but wonderful children, a husband Mark, and a mouthy husky who bosses us all around. Audrey holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from Emory University. 

Title of Presentation: Votes of Confidence: Leveraging Mathematics to Ensure Election Security 

Abstract:  From investigations into foreign interference to problems with voting equipment, news of election security leaves many questions for our democracy. In this talk, I’ll discuss why voting poses difficult problems and how mathematicians and computer scientists are working alongside political scientists, lawyers, and activists to solve these problems. I’ll share my story and discuss ways we as a mathematical community can contribute to election security in a non-partisan way. 

Hortensia Soto – MAA Past President 

Affiliation: Colorado State University 

Bio: Hortensia Soto is a Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Mathematics at Colorado State University. Her research centers on the teaching and learning of K-16 mathematics where she adopts an embodied cognition perspective. Specifically, she has used this lens in teaching and researching the learning of geometry, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and complex analysis. Hortensia has mentored young women and promoted mathematics via summer outreach programs and frequently facilitates professional development for K-16 teachers. Hortensia is a working member of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) where she has served as the Associate Treasurer, the Associate Secretary, and as an editor of the MAA Instructional Practices Guide. Currently, she serves as MAA Past President. She is a proud recipient of the MAA Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. In her spare time, Hortensia enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, practicing yoga, meditating, and spending time with her son Miguel. 

Title of Presentation: The Shears Know: Creative Assemblage with 3-D Change of Basis Vectors 

Abstract: In this presentation I will share on a research project where we explored how undergraduates, enrolled in an introductory linear algebra course, collectively created an assemblage of a shear using 3-D change of basis vectors. For this study, I used a theoretical perspective that falls under the umbrella of embodied cognition–inclusive materialism. This lens posits that learning is the invention of a new creation that manifests through imagination in unusual and unexpected ways. It describes mathematics as an assemblage between the body of participants and the body of their materials that give shape to an activity, where affective and aesthetic features contribute to the virtuality of the body of mathematics. Our findings suggest that the class created an assemblage of a shear by (a) introducing or catalyzing the new and (b) showcasing how aesthetics and affect inspire intra-actions. As part of my presentation, I will describe the students’ intra-actions with their own fabricated material. 

Forest Mannan - Early Career Teaching Award 

Affiliation:  Western Colorado University  

Bio:  Forest earned a B.A./B.S. dual degree in math and music at the Evergreen State College and received a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Tulane University in 2017. After spending two years as a post doc at Colorado School of Mines, he began teaching at Western Colorado University in 2019 and is currently an Associate Professor. Forest teaches a variety of undergraduate math courses regularly and is devoted to using active learning in the classroom, focusing especially on activities. 

 Title of Presentation: An Activity Based Talk on Basic Cellular Automata 

Abstract:  The concept of Cellular Automata (CA) was discovered by Stanislaw Ulam and John von Neumann in the 1940’s while investigating modeling the growth of crystals and self-replicating robots. Since then, CA have been studied more broadly as a particular type of dynamical system with many interesting mathematical properties. This will be an expository talk that introduces CA and combines lecture and an activity to provide an opportunity for guided self exploration of some CA topics. 

Pre-Conference Workshops 

There will be two pre-conference workshops offered Friday morning, 4/17. Details forthcoming!  

Parallel Sessions  

Contributed talks are 20 minutes. The rooms will be equipped with whiteboards and an overhead projector with cable to plug your computer into. Questions about the special sessions detailed below should be directed to the listed session organizers.  

• Submit an abstract by filling out this form – due March 6th. 

Designing Accessible Mathematics Classrooms for All Learners 

Tanya Camargo (Metropolitan State University of Denver)

This session explores practical and scholarly approaches to making mathematics classrooms inclusive and accessible. We invite presentations that share innovative, scholarly approaches to inclusive mathematics teaching including but not limited to: adaptations of undergraduate or K–12 mathematics tasks for accessibility; use of tactile, auditory, or multimodal resources; empirical studies or classroom-based research on accessibility and learning; curriculum design, assessment, or technology innovations that broaden participation. 

History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching  

Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State University - Pueblo) and George Heine (Math and Maps) 

The use of history in teaching mathematics has a long history in the United States itself, with the Institute for the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching (IHMT) in the 1990’s playing an important role in bringing this highly beneficial pedagogical strategy into the undergraduate classroom. Like the IHMT, this session features topics that range from "pure" history to those that highlight a specific strategy for bringing history into the classroom. The format will consist primarily of 20 minute contributed talks, but may also include a panel or other form of discussion session.  

Integrating Generative AI into Mathematics  

Rebecca Machen (University of Colorado Boulder) 

Generative AI is rapidly transforming mathematics education, raising both opportunities and challenges. This session brings together faculty to share scholarly research, curricular innovations, assessment strategies, and classroom practices for integrating AI into math courses. Presenters will highlight evidence-based approaches that enhance learning, address integrity concerns, and prepare students for an AI-influenced workforce.  

Teaching and Learning Mathematics 

Shelby Stanhope (US Air Force Academy) and Forest Mannan (Western Colorado University) 

This session is open to general topics involving innovative instructional strategies and explorations into students’ mathematical learning. We welcome proposals where speakers share what they have learned from their own experiences. Presentations may include, but are not limited to, practical reforms, successful activities or assignments that support observations about student outcomes with evidence, or that could help instructors reflect on their instructional practices. 

General Mathematics Session 

Kyle Rylie (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) 

Talks not fitting into the sessions above are encouraged. Please submit abstracts to the general mathematics session. 

Registration 

Registration link is not yet available – an announcement will be sent when it is. Please check back! 

The fees for this year's meeting are as follows: 

• $80 MAA member, early registration fee 

• $90 MAA member, late registration fee 

• $90 non-MAA member registration fee 

• $60 Retired, high school teacher, or community college faculty registration fee 

• $30 Student early registration fee 

• $35 Student late registration fee 

(Dinner on Friday night is included with all registrations!)  

We are offering two professional development workshops the morning of Friday, April 17th. The workshops cost $10 to enroll. Workshop details are forthcoming. 

Early registration discounts end April 3, 2026, so sign-up today! 

Student Events 

• Students! We will have free pizza available on Friday 11:30-12:45pm in Wubben Science Hall room 112. Come grab some food and meet other mathy students! 

• We’ll also have an exciting and fun Student Jeopardy game Saturday from 10:30-11:30am. Bring your team or join one when you get here! “Football rivals are nothing compared to mathlete rivals…” 

Campus Information 

Colorado Mesa University is located in Grand Junction, CO. Most of the conference events will take place in second floor of the University Center. Here is an interactive campus map, as well as a pdf campus map (the University Center is building 60). 

You can park in any of the commuter parking lots (CP#) on campus. Please do not park in any reserved lots or pay-to-park spaces. Parking is free during both days of the conference (no permit required)! Here is a pdf parking map. 

Hotel Information 

Discounted lodging rates are available at the following hotels. Rates are valid for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights (4/16,17,18). There are a number of other lodging options available in Grand Junction relatively close to campus as well. 

Meeting Co-organizers 

Eric Miles emiles@coloradomesa.edu 

Lisa Driskell ldriskel@coloradomesa.edu