Before Microsoft, Bill Gates was a mathematician! During his sophomore year at Harvard, he formulated an algorithm to figure out the minimum number of flips it takes to sort a stack of pancakes. Listen to or read the NPR interview with Dr. Lewis, Gates’ professor who introduced him to the problem. For background information and the “burnt pancake problem, ” click here.
Category: Blog Posts
The Key to PSAT Math Success
A new study from Western University shows a correlation between fluency in basic math and high achievement on the math portion of the PSAT. Watch the video and read more here.
Can Math Save the World?
A new world-wide initiative, Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013, will tackle global issues such as natural disasters and sustainability. Mathematicians will dedicate the year 2013 to researching and finding solutions for problems plaguing our world. Another major objective of the project is to inform the public of the relevance of math in modern calamities. Read more about MPE2013 here. Check the website for upcoming events and discoveries. The United States launch of this initiative is this week at the Joint Math Meeting in San Diego, California.
Fun Math Facts About 2013
It’s always fun to learn fun math facts about our calendaring system. Wired has an article that has just a few examples that you can read about. Just click here.
Dr. Robert J. Lang
Beginning in the 1990s, the world of origami was dramatically changed by the introduction of mathematical methods in origami design. The most successful was a set of techniques called “circle packing, ” which was a systematic way of constructing any origami figure topologically equivalent to a tree graph. In the new millennium, circle packing has been augmented by many new techniques, collectively known as “polygon packing, ” which gives regular, easily less-insanely-difficult foldable crease patterns. In this talk, I will give an overview of circle packing and talk about the newer polygon packing techniques and will touch on several open mathematical problems that arise therefrom. Robert J. Lang is recognized as one of the foremost origami artists in the world as well as a pioneer in computational origami and the development of formal design algorithms for folding. With a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Caltech, he has, during the course of work at NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Spectra Diode Laboratories, and JDS Uniphase, authored or co-authored over 80 papers and 45 patents in lasers and optoelectronics as well as authoring, co-authoring, or editing 14 books and a CD-ROM on origami. He is a full-time artist and consultant on origami and its applications to engineering problems and his origami artworks are shown and sold commercially in galleries in Santa Fe, NM and Jackson Hole, WY. He received Caltech’s highest honor, the Distiguished Alumni Award, in 2009 and has been selected as one of the inaugural Fellows of the AMS in January, 2013.