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We are attempting to collect some of the REU papers written by former and current U of R students who have participated in Math REUs.
• Past REU Papers
• If you are a former U of R student who would like to post your REU paper here, please send an email using the feedback button below.

• Friday, May 1, 2009, at 2:00pm in Genessee Valley Park:
  "End of the Year SUMS Barbeque!"
  This Friday at 2 we have our SUMS BBQ! It's going to be in Genesee Valley Park, and we're going to have all the fixings: hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, soda, and anything else your heart desires (or would reasonably expect to have at a barbeque). It's open to anyone and everyone in the math community, so come join us! It'll be a nice break from studying and a good chance to say goodbye to everyone.  So you should all definitely come!  It's bound[ed by above and below] to be a great time.
• Wednesday, April 22, 2009, at 8:00pm in CSB 209:
  "Distance, Area, and Dimension"
  Speaker: Professor Hladky, University of Rochester
  
  • Abstract: We'll discuss how the notion of distance relates to the ideas of area, volume and dimension. We'll see examples of objects that have non-integer dimension. Then we'll look at areas and dimensions associated to non-standard definitions of distance. If time permits, I'll briefly describe an application to neurobiology and digital imaging.
• Wednesday, April 2, 2009, at 9:00pm in CSB 209:
  "Euler's Solution to the Basel Problem"
  Speaker: Professor Paul Pearson, University of Rochester
  
  • Abstract: Many people consider Leonhard Euler the greatest mathematician of all
    time.  In this talk I'll discuss Euler's ingenious solution to the Basel Problem (What is the sum 1 + 1/4 + 1/9 + 1/16 + 1/25 + ... ?) and how this interesting chapter in the history of mathematics led to the Riemann Hypothesis, one of the most important unsolved problems of modern mathematics.  Most of this talk should be accessible to students at all mathematical levels.
• Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at 9:00pm in CSB 209:
  Game Night!
  
• Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at 8:00pm in CSB 209:
  "Topology, Knot Theory, and the Shape of the Universe"
  Speaker: Professor Ortiz-Navarro, University of Rochester
• Presentation slides
• Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at 9:00pm in CSB 209:
  "Flexagons"
  
  • We have a really fun meeting planned for this week! We are going to make...drumroll please....flexagons! For those of you who are thinking "what the heck are flexagons?" I present the following blurb (which was definitely not ripped off of Wikipedia): In geometry, flexagons are flat models made from folded strips of paper that can be folded, or flexed, to reveal a number of hidden faces. They are amusing toys but have also caught the interest of mathematicians. That's right! We're going to have a math-y arts and crafts day. I know a lot of you are probably a bit overwhelmed trying to finish last minute stuff before spring break, but that's all the more reason to give yourself a little break and have some fun. It's going to be at our usual time and place: Wednesday at 9, in CSB 209. For those of you who still need convincing that flexagons are super cool, I provide you with the following youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xn9ffk_LzM&feature=related. Enough said.
• Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 7:00pm in Goergen 108:
  "Triangular loops and the Square Peg Conjecture"
  Speaker: Jason Cantarella, University of Georgia
  
  • Abstract: On any closed, continuous curve in the plane with no self-intersections, are there four points that form a perfect square? This question, now almost 100 years old, remains unsolved. In this talk, we present some new results. For a C^1 curve, or for most curves with corners, we can show that there are an odd number of inscribed squares. Interestingly, this result seems to fit into a larger class of "inscribed polygon" theorems: for instance, any C^1 closed curve appears to contain a continuous loop of inscribed equilateral triangles. The talk will include plenty of pictures and animations!
  • Pizza at 7, talk at 8
• Thursday, April 12, 2007, at 7:00pm in the Math Department Lounge (Hylan 9th floor):
  Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, by Neil Osuch. Neil is a UR senior .
  
  • Abstract: The objective of this presentation is to familiarize the viewer with Gödel’s most famous theorem: Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem. The theorem states that for any self-consistent recursive axiomatic system powerful enough to describe the arithmetic of the natural numbers, there are true propositions about the natural numbers that cannot be proved from the axioms. To prove this theorem, Gödel developed a technique now known as Gödel numbering, which codes formal expressions as natural numbers. Furthermore, the theorem illustrates the paradox of a sufficiently complex system in that it cannot be both consistent and complete; the consistency of the axioms cannot be proved within the system. The basis for this talk will ultimately draw from Douglas Hofstadter’s literary marvel: Godel, Escher, & Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.
  • Free pizza and drinks will be served. Anyone is invited to join us!
• Wednesday, February 21, 2007, at 7:00pm in the Math Department Lounge (Hylan 9th floor):
  All Tangled Up: Conway's Classification of Rational Tangles, by Dr. Inga Johnson. Inga is a former member of the math department faculty here at U of R. She is currently a professor at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
  
  • Abstract: Tangles have become of much interest to both mathematicians and biologists recently due to their applications in the study of DNA. We will look at a subset of tangles called rational tangles with 2 strands. These tangles are basically 2 pieces of string that are twisted together in certain specified ways. Rational tangles have many interesting properties and structures associated to them which we will explore with hands on models. These properties and structures are the key ingredients to an elegant proof of Conway's Classification Theorem due to J. R. Goldman and L. H. Kaufmann ('96).
  • Free pizza and drinks will be served. Anyone is invited to join us!
• Monday, February 19, 2007, at 12:00 noon in the Math Department Lounge (Hylan 9th floor):
  SUMS celebrates the Chinese New Year!. One of our SUMS members, a Chinese student named Cheng Sun, would like to give us a small taste of China. The Chinese New Year is this Sunday, and we want to celebrate the new year the next day. Cheng will be making some traditional Chinese food to share with professors and students. (This is just a food sampling, not a complete meal.)
  If interested in joining us, please RSVP by email to Cheng (csun2 (at) mail.rochester.edu) so that she will have some idea of how much food to prepare. Also, if you are interested in helping Cheng make some of the food then you can let her know.
• Wednesday, December 13, 2006, at 7:30pm in the Math Department Lounge (Hylan 9th floor):
  Ricci Curvature, Calabi-Yau Spaces: An Open Problem in Modern Geometry, by Professor Sema Salur, one of the newest additions to the math department faculty.
  
  • Abstract: Are you curious about the objects and methods of modern geometry? Mathematics, in particular Yau's theorem, has proven the existence of a certain type of geometric object (manifold) with some particularly desirable features. It is still unknown however how to actually write down the necessary structures needed to work with and make use of them. In this talk I will explain the result many mathematicians are striving to find.
  • Free pizza and drinks will be served. Anyone is invited to join us!
• Wednesday, October 25, 2006, at 7:30pm in the Math Department Lounge (Hylan 9th floor):
  What is an REU? Join us for a SUMS Panel Discussion about Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs). Several of our undergraduate math majors will be discussing their experiences at various REUs this past summer. Free pizza and drinks will be served. Anyone is invited to join us!
• Friday, September 15, 2006, at 6:00pm:
  SUMS "Welcome Back to Campus" Cookout! Come join us at Genesee Valley Park for for hamburgers, hot dogs, and lots of FUN on Friday at 6:00pm. Genesee Valley Park is directly across Elmwood Avenue from the U of R.

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Last Updated: Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 18:41: