The Humboldt State University Mathematics Colloquium and annual Kieval Lecture will take place on Thursday, April 25.
Humboldt State University Mathematics Colloquium, Dr. Frank Farris, April 25, 2019, 4:00-4:50 PM, BSS 166
"In Creating Symmetry, The Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns, I explain a process to create wallpaper patterns from photographs using ideas from partial differential equations and complex analysis. In this talk, complex numbers take center stage. What are they and why are they useful in making images like the one shown? Using the domain coloring algorithm, which I proposed in the late ‘90s, we illustrate many familiar concepts from complex analysis. Then we take a step in the direction of art, using photographic material as our color palette. Completing the complex plane to the Riemann sphere gives us even more flexibility."
The 73rd Harry S. Kieval Lecture, Dr. Frank Farris, April 25, 2019, 7:30-8:30 PM, FH 118
"For some reason, humans like to see symmetry. For instance, your mind can look at a pattern and know how it could repeat to fill the whole plane. In this talk, I’ll focus on helping you see the symmetries in decorative patterns, from rosettes and friezes to wallpaper patterns. I’ll describe the path that led me to create these patterns, using mathematics and photographs. The kernel of the idea is as simple as a sine wave, but the story touches on such far-flung topics as group theory and partial differential equations. Building from scratch, I’ll take you through my technique of turning photographs into mathematical art."
Frank Farris, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Santa Clara University, has served as editor of Mathematics Magazine and as the MAA Chair of the Council on Publications and Communications. His book, Creating Symmetry: The Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns, was published by Princeton University Press in 2015. It describes a new artistic process for creating art from source photographs. Exhibitions of this work have been displayed by Carleton College, Cornell University, Bowdoin College, Pomona College, Pacific University, Temple University, and others. His undergraduate degree is from Pomona College (1977) and his Ph.D. from MIT (1981). Awards include the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Golden Section of the MAA and Best Photograph, Painting, or Print at the 2018 Mathematical Art Exhibition at the Joint Mathematics Meetings.
This Kieval lecture series is presented by the HSU Department of Mathematics. Named for HSU Mathematics Professor Emeritus. Dr. Harry S. Kieval, who taught at HSU from 1966 to 1979, the series includes topics on popular and/or broad aspects of mathematics attractive to undergraduates and the public.