October surprises presented by the Math Club
September 30, 2008 | EditorFriday, October 10, Mitby Theater, 9 a.m. to noon:
- 9 a.m. — Professor Numbers Mathemagics Show by Ray Blum
- 10:30 a.m. — Face Off, math jeopardy for area middle schoolers, sponsored by the MATC Foundation.
Sixteen teams from Black Hawk, Cherokee, Hamilton, Jefferson, River Valley, Spring Harbour, Spring Hill and Waunakee will compete in our seventh annual middle school math competition. We salute the 64 contestants and their teachers.
Wednesday, October 15, 3:30 p.m.:
“Mass Points: Geometry by Physics” Speaker: Professor Elgin Johnston, Iowa State University
By using very elementary ideas about the center of mass of systems of three or four masses we can easily prove many interesting and beautiful results from geometry.
Professor Johnston earned his PhD in 1977 from the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he worked in approximation theory and complex analysis. He is currently Associate Chair of the Mathematics Department at Iowa State, Problem Section Editor for Mathematics Magazine, and Chair of the Committee on American Mathematics Competitions. His areas of active interest include problem solving, complex analysis, and working with mathematically gifted pre‑college students. His leisure activities include biking, brewing beer, playing guitar, and reading history, mysteries, and science fiction.
This will be his third presentation to our math club. For more details, please visit the Math Club website.
