Two Tapped to Join Math Honor Society

On Saturday, April 21, the Department of Mathematical and Computing Sciences inducted two new members to the New York Alpha Sigma Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon at St. John Fisher College.

Pi Mu Epsilon is a national mathematics honor society with chapters at more than 400 undergraduate institutions across the country. Newly inducted into Fisher’s chapter were seniors Devyn Fairbairn and Sarah Sorrentino. The new member induction was led by fellow student Robert Markwick, with chapter advisor, Dr. Erica Johnson, presiding over the ceremony. Guest speakers Drs. Ann Marie Fallon and Kris Green offered welcoming remarks.

To be nominated for membership, each student demonstrated high academic achievement and involvement in other activities that promoted mathematical scholarship and mathematical community.

“Their high grades are a testament to the effort they put into their courses, where they have shown significant achievement,” said Johnson. “Their ability to reason abstractly, generalize from known situations, and communicate effectively are what stand out among their peers.”

Both students demonstrated excellence both inside and outside the classroom. Fairbairn is a member of the Honors Program and is majoring in both mathematics and inclusive adolescence education. She attended the 40th Annual Spring Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New York State in March 2017 at Nazareth College and will graduate in May.

Sorrentino is a scholar-athlete who has maintained a consistently excellent classroom performance while being a member of the College’s tennis team. She also served as a member of the successful team for the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (sponsored by COMAP) in spring 2017. For her senior thesis, Sorrentino is modeling and predicting obesity rates in Monroe County. She will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in computer science.