| OFF ON A TANGENT |
| A Fortnightly Electronic Newsletter by the Hope College Department of Mathematics |
| October 23, 2002 | Vol. 1, No. 4 |
Math Week is next week!
Math Week is now just a few days away. A schedule of events follows.
Make note that a couple of the events require reservations. So if
you plan to attend one of those events, make sure you RSVP soon to Professor
Lalani. You can do so, by sending her an e-mail or signing up on
her the list on her office door (VWF 214). In addition to the following
schedule of events, a book sale will take place in the Reading Room (VWF
222) and entries for Grand Prize Raffle will be collected all week long.
| Mon., Oct. 28 | 10:30 - 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Study Break Take a study break in the reading room, VWF 222. While there, you will get a chance to meet the faculty, enter the Faculty Fun Facts Contest (the theme of this year's contest is home improofments), buy a math book, and have some refreshments. The poetry contest entry forms will also be available. (Note - the winning poem will be sent to Math Horizons for possible publication!) |
| Tues., Oct. 29 | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Career Panel Come hear Hope graduates discuss how they are using their mathematics degrees in a variety of occupations. A light dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. in the Maas conference room with a question and answer session afterwards. Please RSVP to Prof. Lalani. |
| Wed., Oct. 30 | 2:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Poetry Workshop The reading room (VWF 222) will be set up for you to work on your math poems. Come in for a break and polish your poem. The deadline to enter the contest is 5:00 p.m. Turn your completed poems in at the mathematics office. |
| Thur., Oct. 31 | 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Problems, Puzzles, and Pizza (P3) At 4:00 in VWF 102 Prof. John VanIwaarden will present puzzles and problems for students to solve in groups. Pizza will be served at 5:00. Since this event lands on Halloween, there will also be a prize for best costume! |
| Fri., Nov. 1 | 5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Dinner and a Movie At 5:30 p.m. there will be a dinner in the Reading Room (VWF 222) Please RSVP to Prof. Lalani if you plan to attend. At 6:15 p.m. prizes for the poetry contest and raffle will be awarded in Peale B50. At 6:30 p.m. Donald in Mathmagic Land and A Beautiful Mind will be shown in Peale B50. |
| Sat., Nov. 2 | 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Michigan Autumn Take Home (MATH) Challenge |
Professor Harrelson to talk on "Proportions and Odds, What's the Difference?"
This week's colloquium will be given by Professor Dyana Harrelson.
She will present "Proportion and Odds, What's the Difference?" on Thursday,
October 24 at 4:00 p.m. in VWF 104. Professor Harrelson will look
at two case studies. One examines the possibility that taking vitamin
C can reduce the chance of getting a cold. The other looks at the
relationship between smoking and cancer. Through the two case studies,
she will show statistical procedures for comparing proportions as well
as those for comparing odds. No prior knowledge of statistics will
be assumed for this colloquium. This colloquium will also serve as
an introduction to the statistical modeling course that will be taught
next semester.
Surfing the Web
What do origami, knot theory, dissection, tiling, and fractals all have
in common? They are all a part of the Geometry Junkyard web site.
You can find this site at http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/junkyard.
This site, created by David Eppstein of the University of California Irvine,
contains, web links, lecture notes, research excerpts, programs, problems,
and other things related to geometry. Some serious and some just entertaining.
For example, you can see a proof for the honeybee conjecture or see how
someone tiled their bathroom with pentagonal tiles. There is even
a link to where you not only can buy a Klein bottle, but a Klein stein
or a Klein hat as well!