Mathematics Awareness Month
Public Lecture Series

Mathematics Awareness Month is held each year in April. Its goal is to increase public understanding of and appreciation for mathematics. To that end Cornell's Department of Mathematics sponsors an annual public lecture in keeping with each year's theme. To learn more about Mathematics Awareness Month, its history and previous years’ themes, visit www.mathaware.org.

Upcoming Lectures

The April 2013 lecture will be in keeping with the national theme, Mathematics of Sustainability.

David Shmoys, Cornell University
Computational Sustainability: An algorithmic lens for better decision-making [poster]

When: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 5:00 PM
Where: 251 Malott Hall

Sustainability is about providing the resources to meet today’s needs while preserving the environment for future generations. Managing limited resources gives rise to an incredibly broad range of issues, such as:

• managing “sleep cycles” on your computer,
• limiting the impact of forest fires,
• battling the advance of invasive species,
• preserving endangered species.

A simple mathematical model, along with algorithms to find good solutions, can be used to tackle these complex issues.

Previous Lectures in the Series

• Paul Velleman, Cornell University
  Surfng the Data Deluge (2012)
• John Hubbard, Cornell University
  The Price of Anarchy (2011)
• Allen Knutson, Cornell University
  The Mathematics of Juggling (2010)
• Christopher Danforth, University of Vermont, Thomas Pfaff, Ithaca College, Zellman Warhaft, Cornell University, and Mary Lou Zeeman, Cornell University and Bowdoin College:
  Mathematics and Climate (2009)
• Michael A. Jones, Montclair State University:
  What a Difference a Procedure Makes: Scoring Rules in Politics and Sports (2008)
• David Field, Cornell University:
  Unraveling the Knot of our Sensory Experience (2007)
• Graeme Bailey, Cornell University:
  Keeping and Sharing Secrets (2006)
• John Hubbard, Cornell University:
  Order and Chaos in the Solar System (2005)
• Steven Strogatz, Cornell University:
  Sync (2004)
• Warwick Tucker, Cornell University:
  Using a Computer to do Rigorous Mathematics (2002)
• Robert Connelly, Cornell University:
  How to Unfold a Carpenter's Rule in the Plane (2001)
• John Hubbard, Cornell University:
  Chaos, Complication and Control (2000)

Last modified:April 17, 2013