Madison Math Circle

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What is a Math Circle?

The Madison Math Circle is a weekly series of mathematically based activities aimed at interested middle school and high school students. It is an outreach program organized by the UW Math Department. Our goal is to provide a taste of exciting ideas in math and science. In the past we've had talks about plasma and weather in outer space, video game graphics, and encryption. In the sessions, students (and parents) are often asked to explore problems on their own, with the presenter facilitating a discussion. The talks are independent of one another, so new students are welcome at any point.

The level of the audience varies quite widely, including a mix of middle school and high school students, and the speakers generally address this by considering subjects that will be interesting for a wide range of students.


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After each talk we'll have pizza provided by the Mathematics Department, and students will have an opportunity to mingle and chat with the speaker and with other participants, to ask questions about some of the topics that have been discussed, and also about college, careers in science, etc.

The Madison Math circle was featured in Wisconsin State Journal: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/school-spotlight-madison-math-circle-gives-young-students-a-taste/article_77f5c042-0b3d-11e1-ba5f-001cc4c03286.html

All right, I want to come!

Directions and parking

Meetings are held in 3255 Helen C. White Hall.

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Parking. Parking on campus is rather limited. Here is as list of some options:

Email list

Sign up for our email list: https://lists.math.wisc.edu/listinfo/math-circle

Contact the organizers

If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, or so on, just email the organizers (Carolyn Abbott, DJ Bruce, Gheorghe Craciun, Daniel Erman, Ryan Julian, and Philip Matchett Wood): math-circle-organizers@math.wisc.edu. We are always interested in feedback!

Report on Math Circle in 2013-14

Annual Report

Donations

Please consider donating to the Madison Math Circle. As noted in our annual report, our main costs consist of pizza and occasional supplies for the speakers. Our costs have been covered so far by donations from the UW Math Department plus generous gifts from a private donor. But our costs are rising, primarily because this year we expect to hold more meetings than in any previous year. In fact, this year, we expect to spend at least $2500 on pizza and supplies alone.

So please consider donating to support your math circle! The easiest way to donate is to go to the link:

Online Donation Link

There are instructions on that page for donating to the Math Department. Be sure and add a Gift Note saying that the donation is intended for the "Madison Math Circle"! The money goes into the Mathematics Department Annual Fund and is routed through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is convenient for record-keeping, etc.

Alternately, you can bring a check to one of the Math Circle Meetings. If you write a check, be sure to make it payable to the "WFAA" and add the note "Math Circle Donation" on the check.

Or you can just pay in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.

Flyer

Please feel free to distribute our flyer! Flyer

Help us grow!

If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow! Students, parents, and teachers can help by:

  • Posting our flyer at schools or anywhere that might have interested students
  • Discussing the Math Circle with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others
  • Making an announcement about Math Circle at PTO meetings
  • Donating to Math Circle

Contact the organizers if you have questions or your own ideas about how to help out.


Meetings for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016

All talks start at 6pm in room 3255 of Helen C. White Library, unless otherwise noted.

Fall 2015
Date Speaker Topic
September 14, 2015 David Sondak How to SEE Sound
September 21, 2015 Prof. Uri Andrews Guarding Mona Lisa
September 28, 2015 Eva Elduque Pick's Theorem
October 5, 2015 Jessica Lin The Math of Sudoku
October 12, 2015 Ryan Julian Eight Dimensional Oranges
October 19, 2015 Keith Rush CANCELLED
October 26, 2015 Megan Maguire Aperiodic tilings: Beyond your parents' bathroom floor
November 2, 2015 Marko Budisic Mathematics of GPS satellites
November 9, 2015 Tess Anderson Gold Coins and Goats
November 16, 2015 DJ Bruce To Infinity And Beyond?
November 23, 2015 Prof. Tullia Dymarz (Last meeting of fall) TBA
Spring 2016
Date Speaker Topic
February 1, 2016 Will Mitchell Are these networks the same?
February 8, 2016 Lalit Jain TBA
February 15, 2016 Prof. Jordan Ellenberg TBA
February 22, 2016 Soumya Sankar TBA
February 29, 2016 Alexandra (Sashka) Kjuchukova TBA
March 7, 2016 Alisha Zachariah TBA
March 14, 2016 Chiara Franceschini TBA
March 21, 2016 No Meeting (Spring Break)
March 28, 2016 No Meeting (Spring Break)
April 4, 2016 Becky Eastham TBA
April 11, 2016 Andrew Kidd TBA
April 18, 2016 Solly Parenti TBA
April 25, 2016 Prof. Betsy Stovall TBA
May 2, 2016 Jen Beichman TBA

High School Meetings

We are experimenting with holding some Math Circle meetings directly at local high schools. Our schedule for the fall is below. If you are interesting in having us come to your high school, please contact us!

Fall 2015
Date Location Speaker Topic Link for more info
September 28, 2015 2:45pm East High Daniel Erman How to Catch a (data) thief
October 19, 2015 2:45pm East High Carolyn Abbott Donuts and Coffee Cups
Spring 2016
Date Location Speaker Topic Link for more info
February 22, 2016 2:45pm Memorial High TBD TBD
April 18, 2016 2:45pm Memorial High TBD TBD

Abstracts

Prof. Daniel Erman
Title: How to Catch a (Data) Thief

I will discuss some surprising statistical facts that have been used to catch companies that lie about data.


Carolyn Abbott
Title: Donuts and coffee cups: the topology of surfaces

A classic problem in topology is to decide whether one surfaces can be deformed into another, without creating any holes or connecting any new points (stretching and bending is allowed!). If you can do so, such surfaces are considered 'the same.' We will formalize this notion and classify all closed surfaces, along the way answering such questions as whether a coffee cup is the same as a donut.


Contact Information Form

Link to Contact Information Form

Archived Math Circle Material

Archived Math Circle Material

Link for presenters (in progress)

https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations