Pi Mu Epsilon (PME), the National Honors Society for Mathematics, honored the Michigan Lambda Chapter at Aquinas College with the selection of the AQ students’ design of the 100th anniversary button. PME is “dedicated to the promotion of mathematics and recognition of students who successfully pursue mathematical understanding” and is proud to celebrate 100 years of outstanding academics in 2014.

With the celebratory button, PME will showcase the dedicated chapter at AQ as well as commemorate a century spent inspiring students in the field of mathematics. The design was debated last April during a Math Club meeting and involved Professors Michael McDaniel and Jasho Ghosh, and student members Sarah Ewing, Ember Clark, Laura Shuman, Deb Pankiewicz, Tayler Spellis, Rachel Hodge, Bailey Aggatas, Andrew Borgman, and John Bishop.





The unique design will represent the special year in PME history, is a complex union of mathematical ideas and pleasing aesthetics. According to the Math Club, the button represents the following: “The six gold arcs are orthogonal to the inner circle and each other, forming a regular hyperbolic hexagon, if we take the inner circle for the boundary. The three lavender arcs pass through pairs of antipodal points on the outer circle (though this relationship might be lost when the badges are mounted). The lavender arcs also form a Realeaux triangle inside the inner circle. The inner circle has half the area of the outer circle (Euclidean measure). The Euclidean equilateral triangle in violet anchors the entire structure and the Greek letters down the middle of the triangle are meant to invoke the PME Key. One AQ student remarked about the position of the letters ME, “That's me in the honor society!”

The Michigan Lambda Chapter at Aquinas College battled against three other renowned universities, each with unique and eye-catching designs. These educational institutions included: the Ohio Sigma Chapter at Case Western Reserve University, the Oregon Delta Chapter at Western Oregon University, and the Florida Epsilon Chapter at South Florida University. After a close vote comparing the four distinct designs, Aquinas was chosen to represent the PME booth at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in New Orleans in January.

With the success of the button contest, Aquinas members of PME demonstrated the dedication to the society as well as the recognition of the College on a national scale. The mathematics department, with the help of Professor Michael McDaniel, continues to challenge students and further the Aquinas tradition which “makes all the difference in the world.”

>>Learn more about Pi Mu Epsilon and read the announcement of the Aquinas win

>>Learn more about the Aquinas Mathematics Department, class offerings, and Math Club