Welcome back!

We are trying something new this year.  After a five-year hiatus, the mathematics department is resurrecting the newsletter, Off on a Tangent.  This time, however, we will be publishing it electronically and bringing it to you via electronic mail.  We will attempt to do this every other week, or fortnight.  We look forward to hearing from you about ideas of future articles or you could provide the actual articles themselves.  You can bring your ideas (or articles) to Professor Swanson in 211 VWF or e-mail him at swansont@hope.edu.
 

Professor Stoughton is featured in the first colloquium of the year

You may have seen a proof that the square root of two is irrational. You may have even seen a proof that e is irrational. But few (including faculty) have seen a proof that p is irrational. This elegant proof that was first published in 1947 uses only mathematical ideas from Calculus I and II.  Professor John Stoughton will present this at the year's first colloquium titled, "Rational and Irrational Numbers: An Introduction to Mathematical Proof and the Mathematics Major."  He will talk about the structure of the real numbers from both analytical and algebraic points of view.  He will also discuss algebraic and transcendental numbers and why they are important.  Please join him for this colloquium on Thursday, September 12, 2002 at 4:00 p.m. in VanderWerf 104.
 

Changes in the mathematics department

There are a few changes in the mathematics department this semester.  Professor Jillian McLeod has left us to teach at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.  Professor Mary DeYoung is on sabbatical for the year and Professor Tim Pennings is on sabbatical for the semester.  Professor Kate Vance will be teaching the mathematics for elementary school classes this year.  Look for more information about the sabbaticals and Professor Vance in our next issue.
 

What your professors did last summer

Each professor in the department was asked to give approximately five words that describe his or her past summer.  Their responses are given below.  If something sounds interesting (e.g. UFO propulsion research) you might want to seek out further information.

• Andersen - Worked with four students. Conferences!
• Cinzori - moved, remodeled, wrote, ran, played
• Harrelson - REU, Jacob, Colorado, Iowa, South Carolina
• Lalani - emergency room, calculus projects, beach, migrant kids, Canada Day
• Stephenson - geometry, travel, Farscape, baseball, drywall
• Stoughton - long motorcycle trip, Arizona and Utah canyons, worked on house
• Swank - UFO propulsion research, travel (not in a UFO)
• Swanson - statistics labs, kids, patio, painting, painting

Graduate record examination information session set

The Hope Pew Society and the Office of Career Services are sponsoring an information session on the Graduate Record Examination. Professor Kim Risley of the Department of Biology will discuss the mechanics of the GRE, what students might do to prepare for the exam, and answer questions.

The session is especially important in light of the new format for the analytical section, which goes into effect on October 1.  All juniors and especially seniors that are thinking about going on to graduate school should plan to attend.

The session will be on Thursday night, September 12, 7-8 p.m. in Peale B-50.  More information on the GRE and information on the availability of some practice test software can be found at the Career Service's GRE web page, http://www.hope.edu/student/career/GRE.html.
 

Exhibition of art work with a mathematical flavor opens at De Pree

An exhibition by Texas artist and Hope College alumnus Nate Cassie opened the 2002-03 exhibition season at De Pree Art Center last week.  The exhibition, titled "Bivouac," continues through Sunday, Sept. 29.

In Cassie's own words, "'Bivouac' is a new installation, built specifically for De Pree Art Center Gallery, which draws its basic form from the Golden Mean and the Fibonacci Sequence -- mathematical patterns found in nature, music, and classical architecture. 'Bivouac' utilizes basic construction materials and methods common to contemporary architecture and involved with commercial spaces, rural spaces and sacred spaces -- from Watts Towers to a beach hut in Oaxaca, Mexico. A sound component acts as a uniting feature to the visual experience of the piece with sound filling the entire space and making it whole. 'Bivouac' is a temporary shelter, in some respects not unlike a student's shelter at a college. The installation involves patterns and methods of motion which draw us closer as a world and also push us further apart."

The De Pree Art Center is located at the corner of 12th Street and Columbia Avenue. Regular gallery hours are Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
 

Math week will return again this year!

Last fall the mathematics department had such a convergence of activities in one week that we declared it Math Week!  In an effort to show some continuity, we will celebrate Math Week again this year during the week of October 27 - November 1.  Some of the functions already planned include dinner and a movie, trivia contest, problems - puzzles - pizza, and a book sale.  More events will be added to this list.  If you have an idea for an event, contact Professor Lalani.