Stanford University Mathematical Organization

What is SUMO?

We are the by-students-for-students math club on campus. We host various events that are open to everyone: math majors and non-math majors, graduate and undergraduate. Non-Stanford people are also welcome! Don't forget to subscribe to our mailing list if you'd like to receive SUMO announcements.

Events? What sorts of events?

Listed below are the main events that SUMO runs throughout the year. You can also look at the SUMO events calendar for more detail on what's happening when.

Colloquium / Speaker Series – 4:15 to 5:05 PM each Thursday in 380-380C

This is a weekly talk given by a professor, grad student, or visitor about undergraduate-accessible topics in pure and applied mathematics that go beyond the standard curriculum. You can get 1 unit of credit for your attendance by signing up for MATH 196; of course, you're also welcome to just show up. Food is provided afterwards.

Symposium – 5:00 to 6:00 PM each Tuesday in 380-383N

This is a weekly informal talk or discussion led by an undergraduate or graduate student about any math-related topic of their choosing. You are welcome not only to attend, but also to sign up to give a talk yourself!

Math mingle – 4:00 to 6:00 PM each Friday in 380-381U

This is a fun weekly social event where students interested in math can socialize over interesting mathematical ideas and free food in a laid-back atmosphere. Problems and puzzles will be provided but you are welcome to bring in your own mental challenges!

Homework night – 8:00 to 10:00 PM each Tuesday in 380-381U

This is an unstructured weekly event for math students to meet other students from their classes and work on homework. Food will be provided.

Stanford Math Tournament

This is a competition we write and run every February for hundreds of local high-school students as well as a number of teams from across the country and even across the world. For many high-school students, this is an important opportunity to solve some very fun problems and meet other math enthusiasts. We encourage you to help out; you can get involved as early as fall quarter!

American Regions Math League

Each year, the Bay Area sends several extremely strong teams to ARML, a prestigious, national math contest for high schoolers. SUMO members coach these teams and accompany them to the competition each spring.

Tutoring – 6:00 to 10:00 PM each Monday and Wednesday in 380-381T

We run twice-weekly tutoring sessions for students in the MATH 51/52/53 course series.

Other Events

We're planning on running a few special events throughout the year:

Movie Night: We will be hosting a Movie Night a few times each quarter. Dinner will provided.
Puzzle Hunt – 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturday, April 20th: This year we hosted a puzzle hunt in the style of the MIT Mystery Hunt!

Other information

We've also created a page about various mathematical opportunities, including a lot of summer programs.

Feel free to contact one of us to see what we're up to or to suggest new activites!