Atul Vyas Memorial Lecture in Mathematics

Thursday, November 15, 2018
4-5 p.m. – CMC Freeberg Forum, Kravis LC62

Atul Vyas was an outstanding CMC student who was majoring in Mathematics and Physics. He tragically lost his life in a train crash that occurred on September 12, 2008 in Chatsworth, California. The Math Department at CMC fondly remembers Atul as someone who was equally excited by the power of mathematical abstraction and the possibilities for its applications.

In memory of Atul, the CMC Math Department hosts a yearly lecture series, aimed at a general audience, on the Creative Application of Abstract Mathematical Ideas. Our 11th lecture in the series will be given by Professor David Bachman, Pitzer College.

Speaker David Bachman, Professor of Mathematics, Pitzer College
“Knots, Hyperbolic Space, and Sculpture”

Abstract: The second simplest knot you can tie in a piece of rope is called the "Figure Eight" knot. In the mid 1970s William Thurston demonstrated a deep connection between this knot and hyperbolic geometry. In this talk I will describe joint work with Henry Segerman, where we created a sculpture that depends on this connection. The sculpture is part of a ball (one model of hyperbolic space) that has been cut in half by a hyperbolic surface derived from the Figure Eight knot, and colored by a fractal pattern. No prior knowledge of hyperbolic geometry or knot theory will be required.

A brief reception will take place prior to the talk at 4 p.m. and refreshments will be provided.