Marden Lecture in Math: The intrigue that compels us

When we witness unexpected phenomena, a mathematician finds themselves asking: why? We are compelled to understand further; what is the cause, the basic underlying principles? Mathematics is full of symmetries, patterns and visuals that we can appreciate in their own right or use to explain and illustrate concepts. And, they can also drive us to discovery. I will tell a story of chip-firing, a mathematical idea that leads to fascinatingly intricate structures. The imagery of these structures has spurred many questions to which we know surprisingly few answers.

Presented by Professor Caroline Klivans, Brown University.

A reception follows the lecture in EMS E495.

The Marden lecture, along with Marden scholarships, is supported by the Marden family. Dr. Morris Marden (1905-1991) was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and is generally considered to have been the founder of the Mathematics Department at UWM as a research department, and he is the person most responsible for the beginning of graduate programs at UWM.