Last week, I was invited to speak at the induction ceremony of Stevens’ chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honors society. I was inducted as one of the chapter’s first members last year—the existence of the chapter is in no small part due to the efforts of fellow math alum and former Stute opinion columnist Zoe Hack—so it was great to catch up with the other current members and welcome the new class.
My speech focused on the importance of the mathematical community, which has also been a running theme through my columns, especially in the past semester. I’ve advocated that we stick together in the face of increasingly uncertain and, in some very real ways, dangerous times. This is a message that I feel extends to the broader STEM community and the entire enterprise of academic study and research. All of us should strive to protect the institutions we have called home, while also doing our best to improve the status quo for the betterment of those who will follow in our footsteps, as our mentors and predecessors have done for us.
With that said, it’s important to be realistic about what may be in store these next few months as we finish up our semesters and go off to summers of postgraduate employment, internships and research programs, and/or (hopefully some) rest and relaxation. My main message is this: for those of us returning to Stevens in the fall, we should expect a potentially very different environment from previous semesters. There is a lot that the Trump Administration could try to do in the summer months when many are away from college, and as I’ve discussed previously, we’ve seen a lot of destruction already.
On that note, I hope to write a separate column next semester to cover more of these attacks on universities and academic research. If my editors allow me to write this column in addition to “For Math’s Sake,” then I can bring the latter back to its original halcyon content of sharing exciting mathematical topics or new breakthroughs, with the far more political hues being left for the former.
But going back to a more general outlook, as we know, it is difficult in these summer months to deal with the ever-more severe effects of climate change. Many climate models show a 2025 that, while not potentially record-breaking compared to 2024, will still be incredibly hot, with record-low sea ice near the poles.
If you want to keep up with this climate news, I would suggest reading the columns of David Wallace-Wells and Margaret Renkl in the New York Times (which Stevens students can subscribe to for free using their Stevens email). There are also some very interesting expositions into climate modeling and oceanography on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast (which also brilliantly defends government funding for scientific research) to learn more about aspects of this subject. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I have found this content to be particularly well-crafted and informative.
Lastly, I will touch on the more dangerous aspects of the world at play or on the rise. An outbreak of measles and the continued risk of bird flu could very well make this summer quite scary; so too could the continued deportations or arrests made in blatant violation of due process. These are yet more reasons why it is so important for all of us to stick together. We may not all be together on campus for the summer months, but we should certainly check in with our friends and colleagues. Mathematically, it is harder to sever a dense graph than a sparse one.
I wish you all a safe and healthy rest of the semester and summer. If anyone has an idea for a mathematical topic for next year’s column, please reach out to me at cbeall@stevens.edu — I’d be happy to discuss!
