Institute of Technology Public Lecture Series

The University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology offers public lectures featuring distinguished leaders on topics related to science and technology. The lectures are designed to share the latest scientific discoveries, explore the impact of technology on culture, and encourage networking on campus. The program is sponsored by the Institute of Technology Alumni Society.

Please note: The loaction of the lecture has been moved to the Van Vleck Auditorium, Room 150, Tate Laboratory of Physics.

2007–08 Institute of Technology Public Lecture

Seeing Mathematics Everywhere

Thursday, June 12, 2008
6:30 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Lecture
Van Vleck Auditorium
Room 150, Tate Laboratory of Physics
117 Pleasant Street S.E., Minneapolis

Free and open to the public.
Register online now!

Presented by Doug Arnold, world-renowned mathematician and University of Minnesota professor

From medicine to entertainment, mathematics is critical to meeting the needs of our future. In this Institute of Technology Public Lecture world-renowned mathematician and University of Minnesota mathematics professor Doug Arnold will highlight interesting examples in which the University’s Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) has solved problems in contemporary life.

Arnold will specifically highlight several examples where teams of mathematicians worked side-by-side with engineers and scientists to develop exciting solutions. IMA researchers have studied the movement of insects to build better robots, examined the body’s virus-fighting systems to develop enhanced computer security systems, and used imaging techniques to restore old films and improve surveillance video in a homicide investigation. Arnold will also discuss some of the IMA’s outreach work including a YouTube video on mathematics that has received nearly 1.5 million views within the last year.

Arnold is completing seven years as director of the IMA, the preeminent interdisciplinary mathematics research institute in the world. Arnold was recently awarded a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship as one of only five mathematicians in the U.S. and Canada to receive the prestigious award. Arnold has been named a McKnight Presidential Endowed Professor of Mathematics, a position to which he was recently appointed by University President Robert Bruininks. Arnold also is the president-elect of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the leading professional organization for applied mathematicians, computational scientists and engineers.

Previous lectures

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Fluid Power
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Renewable Energy for Minnesota: Does Renewable Energy Make Sense?
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Crash! The Legacy of Auto Safety Pioneer James J. Ryan
Max Donath

Math at Top Speed: Breaking Myths in Drag Racing Folklore
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Seven Warning Signs of Voodoo Science
Robert Park

Venture Capitalism and the Nanotube
Richard Smalley, Robert Gower

Technology-Enhanced Learning
Christopher Dede, James Hirsch, and Doug Ernie

Cosmic Cabaret
Lynda Jeanne Williams

The Challenge of New Materials
Philip Ball

Inventing Modern
John Lienhard

Global Warming: Potential Effects on Lakes and Rivers
Heinz Stefan

This Not-So-Crazy World: Order in Randomness
Raymond Orbach

The Art and Science of the Motorcycle
Charles Falco

The Changing Role of the Health Care System
Earl Bakken

The Mathematics of AIDS Research
Alan Perelson

Deep Blue's Defeat of Chessmaster Kasparov
Murray Campbell

Life's Other Secret: New Mathematics
Ian Stewart

How Geometry Has Changed Hollywood
Tony DeRose

For information on other University of Minnesota lectures and performance, see the events calendar.