Below are current events in the Mathematics Department. Check back often to see what is going on!
Annual department events include:
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Monday,
October 29, 2012
All Day
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5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. | Stright Hall 327-329 Dr. Christopher Powell will discuss the geometry and proportions used in Pre-Columbian America and today. The presentation concludes with a discussion of how Maya geometry was - and is - an expression of Maya cosmology and religion. |
Tuesday,
October 30, 2012
5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Pratt Hall Auditorium Dr. Christopher Powell will refer to the Popol Vuh, (a 16th Century Maya genesis story), Maya hieroglyphic texts, and ancient Maya paintings and sculptures in a discussion about Maya concepts of creation and rebirth. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on what is known about the “End” of the Maya Calendar that will occur on the winter solstice of this year, and on some of the modern theories that this upcoming event has inspired. |
Wednesday,
October 31, 2012
5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. | Stright Hall 327-329 Dr. Francisco Alarcón will present the basics of the Maya number system. He will also present algorithms that he has developed that can be used for basic arithmetical computations with the Maya number system and compare these with algorithms used in the decimal number system. |
Thursday,
November 1, 2012
4:45 p.m.–5:45 p.m. | Stright Hall 226-229 Ms. de Alarcón will give a brief lecture followed by a workshop on basic conservation techniques and the types of activities conservators employ within a museum context. The lecture and workshop will focus on cleaning techniques and how conservators approach the treatment of complex surfaces. Furthermore, there will be a discussion on the risks of cleaning archaeological and ethnographic objects and how surfaces are evaluated prior to cleaning. Attendees will learn how to prepare their own cotton swabs and the basics of solvent and mechanical cleaning. |
6:15 p.m.–7:15 p.m. | Pratt Hall Auditorium Dr. Chiarulli will present how the Maya made and used stone tools in ritual as well as everyday activities. Ritual stones included spear points, obsidian blades used in bloodletting and eccentric works of art used by the kings and nobles to reinforce their political boundaries. Stone was used by everyone as in woodcutting, carving, hunting and agriculture. This presentation looks at the sources of the different kinds of stone, techniques used to make stone tools, and uses of the stone tools among the Maya in Northern Belize. |
Friday,
November 2, 2012
3:45 p.m.–4:45 p.m. | Stright Hall 327-329 Ms. de Alarcón will present treatments of objects from El Zotz and El Peru Waka’. Both are Lowland Maya sites in Guatemala’s Petén. The talk will look at the role of conservation and conservators in field work and use complex treatments of fragile artifacts as examples. Methods for block lifting, consolidation, and reconstruction will be discussed for a variety of material types. The implications for further research of these materials following treatment and ways of mitigating sample contamination will also be addressed. |
Monday,
November 5, 2012
All Day
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3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. | Dr. Jennifer Franko Vasquez '01 will present a colloquium as part of IUP's Young Alumni Achievement Awards.
Abstract: We will begin by defining the braid group and discussing properties of permutations. We will then introduce two puzzle games. Time permitting, we will explore modified versions of the games as well as the corresponding mathematics behind them. |
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Dr. Jennifer Franko Vasquez, '01 will talk to students about Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) in mathematics. Dr. Vasquez is at IUP as part of IUP's Young Alumni Achievement Awards. |
Wednesday,
November 7, 2012
7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Pratt Auditorium The Maya Civilization was without a doubt the most developed of the pre-Columbian Americas. It flourished for centuries in southern México, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. They are known for a fully developed written language, an intricate calendric system, beautiful art, and sophisticated architecture. They were one of only two civilizations in the world to develop and use the concept of zero.
Much attention has been given to and many theories abound about Maya prophecies surrounding the end of the world in 2012. In this talk we will present some of the history, theory and current understanding of the Maya Long Count Calendar, the Maya number system, and Maya Cosmo vision. The Long Count is set to complete 13 Bak'tuns in December 2012. We will examine what the Maya may have really believed was to happen on this ominous date, as well as what all the hype about world destruction reveals about our own culture. |
Friday,
November 9, 2012
Thursday,
November 15, 2012
Monday,
November 19, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Tuesday,
November 20, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Wednesday,
November 21, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Thursday,
November 22, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Friday,
November 23, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Saturday,
November 24, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
Sunday,
November 25, 2012
All Day
| Thanksgiving is an annual tradition in the United States that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. |
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