Pictures from the event are available here.
Prof. William Dunham
"A Tribute to Euler"
Thursday, May 5, 2005
7:30 p.m.
Century Room, Millennium Student Center
sponsored by The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Abstract:
Among history's greatest mathematicians was Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) of
Switzerland. The remarkable quality of Euler's achievements is matched
only by their equally remarkable quantity — his collected works contain
over 25,000 pages of pure and applied mathematics! His insight, industry,
and ingenuity prompted Laplace to characterize Euler as "the master of us all."
In this talk, we sketch Euler's life and mention some of his contributions
to number theory, algebra, and other branches of the subject. Then we
examine a pair of beautiful Eulerian theorems: one addressing the so-called
partitioning of whole numbers and the other establishing what is now known
as "Euler's identity." Such bold and clever arguments give a sense of this
towering genius from the history of mathematics.
NOTE: This talk should be accessible to any student of calculus or beyond.
The Presenter:
William Dunham, who received his B.S. (1969) from the University of
Pittsburgh and his M.S. (1970) and Ph.D.(1974) from Ohio State, is the
Truman Koehler Professor of Mathematics at Muhlenberg College.
Originally trained in general topology, Dunham later became interested
in the history of mathematics. He has directed NEH-funded seminars on
math history at Ohio State and has spoken on historical topics at national
and regional meetings as well as at the Smithsonian Institution, on NPR's
"Talk of the Nation: Science Friday," and on the BBC. Although he has
given talks at dozens of U.S. colleges and universities — from Carleton
to Columbia and from West Point to Berkeley — the Spencer & Spencer Lecture
marks his first visit to a Missouri campus.
In the 1990s, Dunham wrote three books — Journey Through Genius (1990),
The Mathematical Universe (1994), and Euler: The Master of Us All (1999).
His expository writing was recognized by the Mathematical Association of
America when they presented him with the George Plya Award in 1993 and
Trevor Evans Award in 1997, and the American Association of Publishers
designated The Mathematical Universe as the Best Mathematics Book of 1994.
Dunham's most recent book is The Calculus Gallery: Masterpieces from Newton
to Lebesgue, published by Princeton University Press (2005).
A reception will follow the lecture
Admission is free, but reservations are requested.
Please call (314) 516-5789.
Parking is available in lot E.
Special thanks to Robert Spencer (B.A. Mathematics, '72)
whose gift has made this lecture series possible.