Math Club - Fall 2018 Events
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Vertex-to-Self Trajectories on the Dodecahedron
Speaker: Professor David Aulicino, Department of Mathematics, Brooklyn College
12:30–2 p.m., 1141 Ingersoll Hall
Abstract: Starting at a vertex of a Platonic solid, is it possible to walk on the surface of it in a straight line so that we return to the vertex we started at without passing through another? Surprisingly, the answer depends on which Platonic solid we consider. We will review what the Platonic solids are and explain how to solve this problem for the tetrahedron. There will be lots of pictures, animations, and 3D models. Students are encouraged to bring scissors and tape!
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Elliptic Curves over Finite Fields
Speaker: Professor Heidi Goodson, Department of Mathematics, Brooklyn College
12:30–2 p.m., 1146 Ingersoll Hall
Abstract: Elliptic curves are solution sets to cubic equations in two variables. Questions of how to find, count, and characterize points on elliptic curves have been studied since the days of Diophantus. Nearly 2,000 years later, the great mathematician Joe Silverman wrote, "the theory of elliptic curves is rich, varied, and amazingly vast." In this talk, I will define what it means to be a point over a finite field and answer the question "How many?" We'll discuss estimates, exact values, and surprising trends as the order of the field varies!
Part I: Thursday, October 25, 2018
Part II: Tuesday, October 30, 2018
What Is Physical Mathematics?
Speaker: Professor Kishore Marathe, Department of Mathematics, Brooklyn College
Both parts: 12:20–2 p.m., 1141 Ingersoll Hall
Professor Marathe hosted a colloquium on physical mathematics.
Abstract: Physical mathematics is a new and very active area of research at the interface of physics and mathematics. However, its roots go back to antiquity. We will discuss the ancient origins of this subject and highlight some important achievements in this area leading up to current developments. They have given us surprising new results and new perspectives on old results in mathematics starting with results from experimental and theoretical physics. A special session on "Physical Mathematics" was organized by Professor Kauffman and myself at the joint International meeting of the AMS and TIMC held at BHU, India, in December 2016. The theme of the 2017 Arbeitstagung honoring the work of Yuri Manin at MPIM, Bonn was "Physical Mathematics."
Executive Board Members
President: Eugene Dorokhin
Vice President: Paul Magrini
Treasurer: Sarah Coopersmith
Secretary: Naomi Leader
Club Connector: Alexander Hart
