Guest Lectures:
You can find more information on the guest lecturers themselves on the
About Us page.
May 10, 2008, 1:30-3:30PM: Chuck Doran
Topic: String Theory and Mathematics
Chuck Doran is a geometer specializing in mathematics related to string-theoretic physics. He has taught at the University of Washington for the past four years, including co-teaching a class with Henry Cohn from Microsoft Research. Prof. Doran's talk on "String Theory and Mathematics" is based on his invited lectures at SIMUW, the UW Science Forum Colloquium, and Math Day.
December 8th, 2007, 1:30-3:30PM : Chris Jeuell
Topic: Mass Points
Mass points are a powerful way to solve geometry problems that involve cevians. In this lecture, we will examine how to use mass points to solve problems and work through a variety of illustrative examples.
December 15th, 2007, 1:30-3:00PM : Dipankar Ray
Topic: Cardinality
Are there "more" rational numbers than integers? More real numbersthan rational numbers? More transcendental numbers than algebraic? What could I possibly mean by the word "more" in the context ofinfinite sets? We'll explore these questions and others.Keywords: cardinality, Cantor diagonalization trick, countable anduncountable infinity, continuum hypothesis.
January 5th, 2008, 12:30-1:30PM: Nathan Pflueger
Topic: Rearranging Summation
When computing a finite sum, the order we take the terms is irrelevant. This trivial observation is far more powerful than it appears, often transforming complicated problems into more intuitive form. In this lecture, we will examine situations where this technique is useful, and how to recognize them. Emphasis will be placed on counting "horizontally" versus "vertically." As an application, we will demonstrate a weak form of Stirling's approximation for the factorial function.