By Dan Nonte , University Relations
Chaos, mutants and dating. Oct. 15 was a special Saturday at UNCG.
A dozen undergraduates from around the state presented their research on these topics and others during a mathematics conference.
That’s right, math is sexy.
The conference, organized by Dr. Jan Rychtar and supported by a grant from the Mathematical Association of America was held in the Bryan Building. Eight of the students attend UNCG; the others attend Davidson College, Meredith College and UNC-Chapel Hill. Each student made a 15-minute presentation.
Most of the presenters applied advanced mathematics to everyday situations. Several dealt with specific applications of game theory, the modeling of how individuals or groups seek to maximize their returns. Thomas Schelling and Robert Aumann won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Economics for their work on game theory.
Among the presenters was UNCG student Christian Sykes, who has been awarded a $3,000 Trjitzinsky Scholarship by the American Mathematical Society. Sykes studies evolutionary game theory and intends to pursue graduate studies in pure mathematics.
The award was made possible by the Waldemar J. Trjitzinsky Memorial Fund. The mathematical society used a random drawing to select member universities, which in turn picked deserving students. Eight students nationwide received the award.
