Math is More:

Dear Colleagues, On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun in parts of the United States and a partial eclipse in a bigger region. The accuracy of eclipse predictions is made possible in part by mathematics. Here is one of many accounts of some of the mathematics involved: ht...

Dear Friends, A diophantine equation is one where solutions to the equation in positive integers (and one can also look for integer solutions) are being looked for. The straight line 7x + 11y = 4 has many pairs of real numbers that satisfy it, but what about positive integers? Ways to find integers ...

Dear Colleagues, For a large city school system getting bus routes that efficiently get children to schools and kept costs down is a large problem. The TSP (traveling salesperson problem) and the vehicle routing problem give some insight into tools that might come in handy for such a situation. Here...

Dear Friends, There are many fascinating dissection puzzles (often involving wooden pieces) where an appealing geometric shape can be constructed from pieces with various levels of "regularity." Here are the templates for making the interesting pieces that assemble to a square pyramid: htt...

Dear Colleagues, One might not think of turning to mathematics for dealing with chronic pain but mathematics is a tool for modeling a very wide collection of aspects of what we humans have to deal with. Here is an interesting survey of some ideas that are being used to try to help people with chroni...

Dear Colleagues, This article addresses the value of digitizing the images of plants and creating software that will help classify or identify them: http://www.nature.com/news/artificial-intelligence-identifies-plant-species-for-science-1.22442? I think it is of interest to develop "measures&qu...

Dear Colleagues,

Mathematical art is not only appealing as art but often provides a window into new mathematical questions and insights into old mathematical questions. Here is a very appealing sample of mathematical art:

http://faculty.mercer.edu/yackel_ca/Mat ... deShow.pdf

Cheers,

Joe

Dear Colleagues,

Sad news about the distinguished mathematician Cathleen Morawetz:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytime ... =186335200

Regards,

Joe

Dear Colleagues,

You might enjoy this post on Diane Ravitch's blog about the "report card" the organization known as ALECS has for the education offered in different states.

https://dianeravitch.net/2017/07/24/ale ... he-states/

Regards,

Joe

Dear Colleagues, Students with very low incomes typically have fewer choices for where they can attend college. A new study looks at the way students "signal" their interest in attending particular colleges and whether or not procedures in place are slanted against those with low incomes. ...

Dear Colleagues, Stephen Wolfram has written a very interesting essay about the work and life of Solomon Golomb (1932-2016) - perhaps best known for his promotion of polyominoes. This article pays lots of attention to shift register sequences: http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2016/05/solomon-golomb-19...

Dear Colleagues, Here is a recent comment about the issue of student perceptions of mathematical ability. I am not sure the "headline" captures what the article is "about" but some of the data is thought provoking: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/08/women-who-...

Dear Colleagues, One of the most prestigious awards in Computer Science is named for Alan Turing. Recently ACM held a conference honoring those who had received the Turing Award over its 50 year history. Many of the individuals honored "started out" as mathematicians. Here are some videos ...

Dear Colleagues,

Quilts are a very interesting source for patterns and design ideas, often suggesting new questions about the mathematics of symmetry, either on a strip, in the plane, or involving color.

http://www.speedmuseum.org/exhibitions/kentucky-quilts/

Regards,

Joe

Dear Colleagues,

Moira Chas at Stony Brook has written a very appealing expository account of the mathematical work of the recently deceased Field Medal winner Maryam Mirzakhani.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-beau ... -20170724/

Regards,

Joe