Madison Math Circle
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.
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!
We have a weekly meeting, Monday at 6pm in 3255 Helen C White Library, during the school year. New students are welcome at any point! There is no required registration, no fee, and the talks are independent of one another, so you can just show up any week. See below for directions.
If you are a student, we hope you will tell other interested students about these talks, and speak with your parents or with your teacher about organizing a car pool to the UW campus. If you are a parent or a teacher, we hope you'll tell your students about these talks and organize a car pool to the UW (all talks take place in 3255 Helen C White Library, on the UW-Madison campus, right next to the Memorial Union).
Directions and parking
Meetings are held in 3255 Helen C. White Hall.
Parking. Parking on campus is rather limited. Here is as list of some options:
- There is a parking garage in the basement of Helen C. White, with an hourly rate. Enter from Park Street.
- A 0.5 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via these directions, many spots (free starting 4:30pm) in Lot 26 along Observatory Drive.
- A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via these directions, many spots (free starting 4:30pm) in Lot 34.
- A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via these directions, 2 metered spots (25 minute max) in front of Lathrop Hall.
- A 0.2 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via these directions 6 metered spots (25 minute max) around the loop in front of Chadbourne Hall .
- For more information, see the UW-Madison Parking Info website.
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
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:
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 | 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
Link for presenters (in progress)
https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations