Archive for 2011Page 3

Pursued by Pi

While on sabbatical leave, I figured I’d do some research on pi, which I frequently teach about. And since I had no reason to stick around for classes (or the snowstorm that was postponing classes that day), I’d head to the Mission District of San Francisco. The photo documents the research result I achieved there: […]

They Came, They Saw, and They Were Conquered.

This past J-Term Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science Choong-Soo Lee hosted a StarCraft II tournament for students . Computer Science Major Cory Ruegg (2012) helped to promote the tournament in the Fall semester and over 20 students signed up for the tournament. 16 players were selected to compete in an elimination bracket over 3 weeks and many students came to watch the games and cheer for their friends.

Mathematical communication and the law

Students who study math or computer science learn to communicate precisely, which can serve them well even in other areas. For example, some of our alumni have become successful lawyers. A remarkable story about a court case is a good illustration of why precision matters. I’m reminded of one of the peculiarities of mathematical communication, […]

The Robots are Coming!!!

The students in the robotics workshop course have been hard at work this J-Term and they are finally seeing the fruits of their labor. They have spent the past three weeks learning about robotics, computer programming, wiring, and have designed, built, tested, and re-tested their designs and are currently working out any last minute bugs in hopes of becoming the 2011 RoboPong Champion.

Students in the Fold

The MCS department can be a busy place during the school year.  J-term is no exception.  This J-Term the department is offering courses in robotics, C++ programming, Computer Ethics, and Discrete Math, but the course that is really bending the imagination of our students is the Mathematics & Origami class. The department is fortunate to […]

Gusties at the Joint Math Meetings

Tom LoFaro and John Holte both attended the Joint Mathematics Meetings in New Orleans, LA January 6-9. While there they visited with two MCS alums who presented papers at the conference. Erik Tou (2002) presented a paper entitled “Relative Accuracy of Quadrilateral Area Measurement in the Ancient World.” Erik is currently an Assistant Professor at […]

International Robotics Comes to G.A.C.

YanYan Ji, from United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, China, will be a visitor in the MCS Department during J-term.  Yanyan was Mike Hvidsten’s teaching assistant when he was a visiting professor at UIC during the 2009-2010 academic year. She helped Mike create a course in Robotics while at UIC and will be observing and […]