"I won't ever use that after I get out of school" is a common complaint about math. But the students who participated in the Math in Nature competition will never be heard saying that again.

Professor of Mathematics Reetika Dhawan conceived the new competitive program to help students conceptualize and apply real-life situations to the math and science principals they are studying. Rosalba Medina the Math Club President assisted Dhawan in organizing the event.

The event featured two categories. The poster group displayed the concept of their thesis with math and science illustration about how they would apply their studies to the problem they were solving. The second event used brightly colored sand and other media to create geometric patterns in the tradition of "Rangoli," a mathematical art form practiced in India.

The $50 1st-place winner in the poster group was Zachary Barney, who demonstrated the theory of a "Falling Object with Drag." The poster "Bungee Jumping," which won the 2nd place award of $35, belonged to a team that included Avinash Tiwari, Brandon Preciado, Rafael Hernandez and Daniel Zavala. The 3rd-place winner, Yingli Hillis, won $15 for her poster titled "Where to Sit at the Movies."

The 1st-place winners of the Rangoli competition were Priscilla Granados, Lizbeth Medina, Michelle Aguirre and Diana Montes, who won $40 for their colorful design.

The event was sponsored by James Jones of the AWC Engineering Program, who contributed $100. AWC professor of English Richard Jhana also contributed $100, and Cengage Publishers contributed $30, and together these contributions paid for the awards and supplies.

The judges for the poster competition were Scott Donnelly, Sotero Alvarado, Dahwei Chang and Evelyn C. Figueroa. The judges for the Rangoli competition were William Blomquist, George Tomkins, Steven Dilley and Marie Stubbs.

Dhawan envisions the Math in Nature competition becoming an annual event.

Photo courtesy of AWC Photo Services