Francis Edward Su
Harvey Mudd College
"Voting in Agreeable Societies"
Abstract: When can a
majority of voters find common ground, that is, a position they all
agree upon? How does the shape of the political spectrum
influence the outcome? What does mathematics have to say about
how people behave? When mathematical objects have a social
interpretation, the associated theorems have social applications.
We give examples of situations where sets model preferences, and show
how extensions of classical theorems on convex sets can be used in the
analysis of voting in "agreeable" societies. No advanced
background in mathematics is assumed. This talk also features research
with undergraduates.
Biography: Francis Edward
Su is a Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, and earned his
Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research is in geometric
combinatorics and applications to the social sciences, and he has
co-authored over 20 papers with undergraduates. He also has a
passion for teaching and popularizing mathematics. From the MAA, he
received the 2001 Merten M. Hasse Prize for expository writing, the
2004 Henry L. Alder Award for distinguished teaching, and was the 2006
James R.C. Leitzel Lecturer. He also serves on editorial boards of the American Mathematical Monthly and Math Horizons. In his spare time he enjoys working on his "Math Fun Facts" website, which receives nearly 4,000 hits each day.
David Kung
St. Mary's College of Maryland
"How Math Made Modern Music Mad Irrational"
Abstract: The scale used
by 20th century classical musicians is strikingly different from that
used in Bach's time. In fact, over the past 500 years, a wide
variety of scales have permeated Western music. Amazingly, none fo them
was "in tune"! In fact, in some sense, no piano is ever in tune.
The reason for this is purely mathematical.
Starting with a single vibrating string, we'll use some physics and
some advanced matheamtics to make sense of the various sounds a violin
can make. Add to the mix a little music theory and some basic
arithmetic, and we'll be able to construct several different scales and
see what's "wrong" with each one. Finally, by constructing the modern
scale, we'll be able to answer the question posed in the title.
Throughout the talk, these concepts will be illuminated with excerpts
played on the violing, including passages from Bach, Mendelssohn, and a
few more modern composers.
Biography: Dave Kung fell
in love with both mathematics and music at a very early age. More
successful with one than the other, he completed three degrees from the
University of Wisconsin - Madison, none in music, before joining the
faculty at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Now chair of the
Mathematics Department, he still enjoys playing violin in a
variety of student and community ensembles. He has authored many
articles on topics in harmonic analysis and mathematics education, and
is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2006 Teaching Award
from the MD/VA/DC section of the MAA.
Recently, Dave spent the past year on sabbatical at Fudan University in
Shanghai, trying to avoid natural disasters and not make a fool of
himself in Mandarin (he was only successful at the former.) He
was also working on an upcoming book about college math teaching
entitled, "What Could They Possibly Be Thinking? Understanding Your
College Math
Students."