Matt Gunn ’24, a mathematics and engineering double-major, recently earned First Prize for Best Undergraduate Presentation at the spring meeting of the Mathematical Association of America’s MD-DC-VA section, held at James Madison University.

Gunn’s presentation, entitled “Exploring Probabilities in Bingo and its Variations,” explored how many numbers must be called before a player can expect to get bingo, including scenarios with multiple boards, different patterns, and different-sized boards. He then compared the theoretical probability distributions to results obtained from a Python simulation.

“He found that the theoretical answers closely matched the simulations he set up with his excellent computer coding skills,” said RMC mathematics professor Chiru Bhattacharya, who served as Gunn’s advisor. “He received many excited questions from the audience at the MAA conference, all of which he answered very ably.”

“I am honored to receive this award,” Gunn said. “I am very appreciative of all the support from the mathematics department and specifically my advisor, Dr. Bhattacharya!”

The Mathematical Association of America is one of the largest professional societies devoted to mathematics in the world, focusing on research and teaching with a particular emphasis on mathematics at the undergraduate level. RMC students have won prizes for their research presentations at MAA conferences on several occasions, most recently Martha Hartt’ 20 for Best Undergraduate Presentation in 2019.