Colloquium

Many problems, arising in discrete and metric geometry, signal processing, physics, etc, can be reformulated as questions of optimizing discrete or continuous measures. We shall review some of such conjectures, […]

Opioid addiction has become a national health crisis in recent years, with involvement in 66% of all drug overdose deaths in 2016 and high economic costs. In contrast to the dynamics of a classic disease or illicit drug epidemic, opioid addiction has its roots in legal, prescription medication - a fact which greatly increases the […]

In 1897, Indiana physician Edwin J. Goodwin believed he had discovered a way to square the circle, and proposed a bill to Indiana Representative Taylor I. Record which would secure Indiana’s the claim to fame for his discovery. About the time the debate about the bill concluded, Purdue University professor Clarence A. Waldo serendipitously came […]

David Hilbert's Grundlagen der Geometrie is a rare example of a historical mathematics text that is still profitably read today and continues to inspire research in mathematics, computer science, and philosophy. The effort of publishing an English translation of Hilbert in 1902 involved a diverse swath of the American mathematical community.  Edgar Jerome Townsend completed a first draft […]

David Bachman, chair of the CCMS Executive Committee, hosts. Please join us as we welcome our new community members, socialize, and discuss how we’re all going to cope with the semester ahead. Grab a snack, a refreshing beverage, and get on-line!

Title: Indiana Pols Forced to Eat Humble Pi, The Curious History of an Irrational Number Speaker: Prof. Edray Goins, Pomona College In 1897, Indiana physician Edwin J. Goodwin believed he had discovered a way to square the circle, and proposed a bill to Indiana Representative Taylor I. Record which would secure Indiana’s the claim to […]

Title: Experimental Knot Music Abstract: In knot theory, there are algebraic structures we can use to distinguish different types of knots and links. In this talk we will ask an unexpected question: what do they sound like? We will see a number of techniques I have been developing for interpreting knot-theoretic structures as elements of […]

Title: Space vectors forming rational angles Abstract: We classify all possible configurations of vectors in three-dimensional space with the property that any two of the vectors form an angle whose measure is a rational multiple of π. As a corollary, we find all tetrahedra whose six dihedral angles are all rational multiples of π.While these […]