Baylor Department of Mathematics Will Host New Mobius Lecture Series

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (April 22, 2014) – In honor of Baylor’s math club becoming a chartered organization on campus for the first time, and in recognition of April as National Mathematics Month, the department of mathematics will host the first annual Mobius Lectures Tuesday through Thursday of this week.
Lance Littlejohn, Ph.D., chair of the mathematics department, said he is excited to have an established math organization on campus.
“It feels wonderful,” he said. “This should have been done a hundred years ago.”
Jonathan Borwein, Ph.D., Professor Laureate and Director of the Center for Computer Assisted Research Mathematics and its Applications (CARMA) in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, will be the first speaker in Mobius Series.
Borwein will present three lectures during his visit to campus:

“The Life of Pi, Part 1 – History,” 3:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 22

“The Life of Pi, Part II – Computation,” 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, April 23

“Seeing Things in Mathematics by Walking on Real Numbers,” 3:45 p.m., Thursday, April 24

Each lecture will be held in Marrs McLean Science Building, Room 301, and a reception will be held at 3 p.m. each day in Sid Richardson, Room 318.
Borwein was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, and obtained his bachelor’s degree in Honors Mathematics at the University of Western Ontario. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, where he earned his master’s and his doctorate degrees.

Borwein is a prolific author and has written more than 400 articles and 10 mathematics books. He has held faculty positions at Dalhousie University, Carnegie-Mellon University, University of Waterloo, Simon Fraser University and the University of Newcastle.
Borwein is holder of a prestigious Canada Research Chair, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fellow in the Australian Academy of Science. He has been Governor-at-Large for the Mathematical Association of America and is past President of the Canadian Mathematical Society.
“He really is one of the top mathematicians in the world,” said Littlejohn. “We are very fortunate to have him join us for three days.”
Marrs McLean Science Building is located at 1214 S. Fourth Street. Sid Richardson is located at 1410 S. Fourth Street.
For more information, call the department of mathematics at (254) 710-3561.
by Kristen Bennett, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805.
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Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.