Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
Office: 607-255-3290
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's Math Explorer's Club will meet for the first time during this school year Sept. 15 in the fifth floor lounge of Malott Hall on campus, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It also will be an open house for the parents of area high school students.
The club, run by graduate students and faculty in Cornell's Department of Mathematics, is designed for high school students who are interested in math and want to learn more about it and meet other high school students with similar interests. Convening on Saturdays throughout the fall and the spring, the club will have activities, including problem-solving sessions, computer labs and instructional modules, covering math topics not normally encountered in the high school curriculum.
This fall the club will focus on "knot theory" and "Fibonacci sequences and the golden ratio." Each Saturday, there will be two one-hour periods, with refreshments served during the break. In one period, students are presented with a mathematical idea, problem or exploration. In the other period, students work together to explore a variety of topics and problems under the direction of a Cornell graduate student. Exploration sessions may include problems, math games, computer labs, field trips and math movies.
Previous modules have included "fractals," "secret codes," "graph theory," "probability," "the four numbers game" and "shapes of the universe." Other possible topics include such themes as chaos, dynamical geometry, networks, modeling, number theory, celestial mechanics and infinity. Student participants will help shape the program.
There is no charge for the program, but participants must register and have a signed parental permission form. For information, call (607) 255-4013.
Related World Wide Web sites: The following site provides additional information.
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