間眅埶AV

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A Taste Of Pi - Talks and Activities for High School Students

2004 - 2016

The "A Taste of Pi" was a series of talks and activities for high school students sponsored by the IRMACS Centre, the 間眅埶AV Department of Mathematics, the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and the 間眅埶AV Faculty of Science.

The co-organizers of the series were Dr. Malgorzata Dubiel and Dr. Veselin Jungic.

For more details about the series, please see the article Dubiel, M., Jungic, V., A Taste Of Pi: Long and Lasting, CMS Notes, Volume 31, No. 3 (2009), 7-9

We would like to thank to all students, teachers, presenters, and volunteers for their enthusiastic participation and their many contributions to the "A Taste Of Pi" series.

Between 2005 and 2016 all talks were held in the IRMACS Presentation Studio. Our special thanks go to the staff of the IRMACS Centre for their unselfish support over many years. We would also like to thank to Ms. Ivana Filipovic for her work on the design of the "A Taste Of Pi" logo, the session posters, and the original web site, and to Ms. Nancy Bourassa-Jaswal for sharing with the "A Taste Of Pi" community her art and talent over several years.

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Presenters and Talks:

2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007 * 2008 * 2009 * 2010 * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016

  • Spring 2004
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 13

    Dr. Peter Borwein, Department of Mathematics

    A VERY LARGE Piece of Pi

    picture

    1

    April 3

     

    Dr. Nils Bruin, Department of Mathematics

    Fermat as Easy as ABC

    picture

    2

    May 8

     

    Dr. Adrian Lewis, Department of Mathematics

    Maximum Traffic in Networks

    picture

    3


  • Fall 2004
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 16

    Dr. Luis Goddyn, Department of Mathematics

    Satellites, Engine Testing and Strange Ways of Counting

    picture

    4

    November 13

     

    Dr. Chris Budd, Department of Mathematics, University of Bath, UK

    Celtic and Other Knots

    picture

    5

    December 11

     

    Dr. Petr Lisonek, Department of Mathematics

    Combinatorial Designs, Finite Geometries and DNA Screening

    picture

    6


  • Spring 2005
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 5

    Dr. Ladislav Stacho, Department of Mathematics

    Routing without a map

    picture

    7

    April 9

     

    Dr. Ralf Wittenberg, Department of Mathematics

    Simple Functions, Chaotic Behaviour

    picture

    8

    May 14

     

    Dr. Radoš Radoičić, Department of Mathematics, Rutgers University, USA

    Iterative Processes in the Plane

    picture

    9


  • Fall 2005
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 1

    Dr. Tom Archibald, Department of Mathematics

    Conformal Mapping form Mercator to Riemann

    picture

    10

    November 5

     

    Dr. Pavol Hell, School of Computing Science

    From Graph Colouring to Constraint Satisfaction: There and Back Again

    picture

    11

    December 3

     

    Dr. Rob. Scharein, Department of Mathematics

    Real, Virtual, and Virtually Real Mathematical Knots

    picture

    12


  • Spring 2006
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 11

    Dr. Matt DeVos, Department of Mathematics

    Regular Polyhedra, from Euclid to the 4th Dimension

    picture

    13

    Dr. Dave Boal, Department of Physics

    The physics of early life forms

    14

    April 8

     

    Dr. Bob Russell, Department of Mathematics

    A Brief History of Computational Mathematics

    picture

    15

    Dr. Glyn Williams-Jones, Department of Earth Sciences

    Things that go BANG in the night - what makes a Volcano Tick

    16

    May 6

     

    Dr. Norman Reilly, Department of Mathematics

    Algebraic laws: how many suffice?

    picture

    17

    Dr. Tony Williams, Department of Biological Sciences

    What's blood got to do with it? A physiological detective story

    18


  • Fall 2006
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Title

    #

    October 14

    Dr. Stephanie Van Willigenburg, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    Mathematical Methods behind Stunning Symmetries

    picture

    19

    Dr. Alton Harestad, Biological Sciences

    Biodiversity in the Forest: You Do the Math

    20

    November 4

     

    Dr. JF Williams, Department of Mathematics

    What is Applied Math Good for?

    picture

    21

    Dr. Levon Pogosian, Department of Physics

    Our universe: facts and speculations

    22

    December 2

     

    Dr. Matt DeVos, Department of Mathematics

    How to cut cake

    picture

    23

    Dr. Carl Schwartz, Department of Statistics

    One fish, two fish, .... How to estimate the size of animal and human populations using mark-recapture methods

    24


  • Spring 2007
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 10

    Dr. Marni Mishna, Department of Mathematics

    The Mathematical Difference Between a Turnip and a Cabbage

    picture

    25

    Dr. Neil Brenda, Department of Chemistry

    Nanotechnology, Molecular Machines and How We are Using Them

    26

    April 14

     

    Dr. David Muraki, Department of Mathematics

    What is the Square Root of the Scream?

    picture

    27

    Dr. Felix Breden and Kristen Gorman, Department of Biological Sciences

    Fishin' for Genes

    28

    May 12

     

    Dr. Branko Curgus, Department of Mathematics, Western Washington University

    Numbers in the Sky(viewing Sculpture)

    picture

    29

    Dr. Derek Bingham, Department of Statistics

    Statistical Models for Spectroscopic Redshifts of Galaxies

    30


  • Fall 2007
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 20

    Dr. Jason Bell, Department of Mathematics

    How to sum series

    picture

    31

    Dr. Melanie O'Neill, Department of Chemistry

    Junk RNA?

    32

    November 10

     

    Dr. Cedric Chauve, Department of Mathematics

    Walking around combinatorial trees

    picture

    33

    Dr. Arne Mooers, Department of Biological Sciences

    How to Build the Tree of Life

    34

    December 8

     

    Dr. Veselin Jungic, Department of Mathematics

    A story about BIG numbers

    picture

    35

    Dr. Gwen Flowers, Department of Earth Sciences

    Cold calculations: the math and physics of glaciers

    36


  • Spring 2008
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 8

    Dr. Adam Oberman, Department of Mathematics

    Mathematics insights into gambling and the stock market

    picture

    37

    Dr. Simon Watkins, Department of Physics

    Some connections between everyday consumer electronics, quantum physics, and Einstein

    38

    April 5

     

    Dr. Matt Devos, Department of Mathematics

    Game Theory (serious fun)

    picture

    39

    Dr. David Baillie, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    Worms in Space.... why bother?

    40

    May 3

     

    Dr. Malabika Pramanik, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    The secret life of numbers

    picture

    41

    Dr. Margaret Kalacska, School of Criminology

    Eyes in the sky: satellite and airborne remote sensing

    42


  • Fall 2008
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 18

    Dr. Greg Martin, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    Prime number races

    picture

    43

    Dr. Sophie Lavieri, Department of Chemistry

    Chem + is = 3

    44

    November 15

     

    Dr. Razvan Fatecau, Department of Mathematics

    Differential equations and the broken swimming records at the 2008 Summer Olympics

    picture

    45

    Dr. Andrei Frolov, Department of Physics

    The beginning of the universe

    46

    December 6

     

    Dr. Paul Tupper, Department of Mathematics

    Zipf's law and the size of cities

    picture

    47

    Dr. Leah Bendell, Department of Biological Sciences

    A day at the beach... from an invertebrates point of view

    48


  • Spring 2009
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 7

    Dr. Matt DeVos, Department of Mathematics

    How to draw a line

    picture

    49

    Dr Paul Percival, Department of Chemistry

    Using an exotic atom to explore chemistry in a pressure cooker

    50

    April 4

     

    Dr. Nilima Nigam, Department of Mathematics

    Mathematics, fish and locusts

    picture

    51

    Dr. Tom Loughin, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science

    Wanna bet? Best strategies for games of chance

    52

    May 9

     

    Dr. Jamie Mulholland, Department of Mathematics

    Symmetries of Things

    picture

    53


  • Fall 2009
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 17

    Dr. Jonathan Jedwab, Department of Mathematics

    Games, counting, and curvy lines

    picture

    54

    Dr. Andrew Blaber, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

    Weightlessness and fainting astronauts

    55

    November 14

     

    Dr. Randall Pyke, Department of Mathematics

    Fractals: Drawing them, using them, and playing the Chaos Game

    picture

    56

    Dr. Jenifer Thewalt, Department of Physics and Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    The Skin Barrier

    57

    December 5

     

    Dr. Nathalie Sinclair, Faculty Of Education

    Deflating Triangles: Getting More Tiles for Your Money By Giving Up On?

    picture

    58

    Dr. Esther Verheyen, Department Of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    What's the big deal about stem cells?

    59


  • Spring 2010
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 13

    Dr. Rina Zazkis, Faculty Of Education

    Hollywood Perceptions of Mathematics

    picture

    60

    Dr. Sarah Johnson, Department Of Physics

    Particle Physics 101

    61

    April 10

     

    Dr. John Stockie, Department of Mathematics

    Math and the Olympics

    picture

    62

    Dr. Peter Wilson, Department Of Chemistry

    Synthesis and Symmetry

    63

    May 15

     

    Dr. Veselin Jungic, Department Of Mathematics

    What Makes 42.2 a BIG Number?

    picture

    64

    Dr. Allison Kermode, Department Of Biology

    Plants and Human Health

    65


  • Fall 2010
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 16

    Dr. Katherine E. Stange, Department Of Mathematics and PIMS

    Clocks, Set, Elliptic Curves, and the Secret Math of Spies

    picture

    66

    Dr. Andrew DeBenedictis, Department of Physics

    Black holes, wormholes, warp-drives, and time machines: Some extreme features of gravitation

    67

    November 6

     

    Dr. Roger Donaldson, Department Of Mathematics and PIMS

    It's likely more than software: How probability models make the internet useful

    picture

    68

    Dr. John Clague, Department of Earth Sciences

    Science and Politics in the Great Climate Change Debate

    69

    December 4

     

    Dr. Karen Yeats, Department of Mathematics

    Unexpected identities

    picture

    70

    Dr. Shahram Payandeh, School of Engineering

    Robotics: it is in Serious Games

    71


  • Spring 2011
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 12

    Dr. Jessica McDonald, Department of Mathematics

    Connect-the-dots with graph theory

    picture

    72

    Dr. Lynne Quarmby, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    Actually, on a cellular level, I am really quite busy

    73

    April 9

     

    Dr. Matt DeVos, Department of Mathematics

    The Remarkable Tale of Bill vs. the Fish

    picture

    74

    Dr. Mario Pinto, Department of Chemistry

    Molecular modelling and drug design

    75

    May 14

     

    Dr. Cynthia Loten, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, UFV

    Caterpillars and Monstrous Trees

    picture

    76

    Dr. Michell Vetterli, Department of Physics

    What is mass? I bet you thought this was a solved problem?

    77


  • Fall 2011
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 15

    Dr. Emily Walsh, Department of Mathematics

    Storm chasing

    picture

    78

    Dr. Norbert Haunerland, Department of Biological Sciences

    "The eight plague" - muscle fuel in locusts and other high-performance athletes

    79

    November 12,

     

    Dr. Charles Samuels, Department of Mathematics, Oklahoma City University

    A new kind of circle and the p-adic numbers

    picture

    80

    Dr. Claire Cupples, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    Noisy green bugs: Understanding life at the molecular level

    81

    December 3

     

    Dr. Mark MacLean, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    Geometric phases?

    picture

    82

    Dr. Byron Gates, Department of Chemistry

    The chemistry of nanoscience

    83


  • Spring 2012
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 17

    Dr. Ladislav Stacho, Department of Mathematics

    Wondering in a town, not so much without a reason

    picture

    84

    Dr. Bingyun Sun, Department of Chemistry

    How do science and technology help us understand ourselves and shape our future?

    85

    April 14

     

    Dr. Daniel Katz, Department of Mathematics

    Error-Correcting Codes: From hard drives to cell phones to deep space

    picture

    86

    Dr. Erol Girt, Department of Physics

    Magnetic recording

    87

    May 12

     

    Dr. Stephen Choi, Department of Mathematics

    The music of primes

    picture

    88

    Dr. Sherryl Bisgrove, Department of Biological Sciences

    It's a green world - why watching plants grow is really quite exciting

    89


  • Fall 2012
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 13

    Dr. Peter Dukes, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Victoria

    Finite Geometries and the Set Game

    picture

    90

    Dr. Nancy Forde, Department of Physics

    How do our cells (do) work? How Physicists approach Biology

    91

    November 17

     

    Dr. Chiaka Drakes, Department of Mathematics

    Modelling Thinking

    picture

    92

    Dr. Bernard Crespi, Department of Biology

    Where Darwin meets Freud: What is mental illness, and where does it come from?

    93

    December 1

     

    Dr. Andrew King, Department of Mathematics

    Painting yourself into a corner: Graph colouring and optimization

    picture

    94

    Dr. George Agnes, Department of Chemistry

    Mimicry of Particulate Air Pollution in Vitro

    95


  • Spring 2013
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 9

    Dr. Kevin Doerksen, Department of Mathematics

    "And so on...": Induction, recursion, and iterating your way to infinity

    picture

    96

    Eric LeGresley, Department of Chemistry

    Serendipity: The Wanderings of a High School Student

    97

    April 6

     

    Dr. Fok-Shuen Leung, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    The Infinitude of Primes

    picture

    98

    Dr. Gail S. Anderson, School of Criminology

    Murder and Maggots

    99

    May 11

     

    Dr. Shonda Gosselin, Department of Mathematics, University of Winnipeg

    Tracking down a network intruder: The metric dimension of a graph

    picture

    100

    Dr. Walter Chica, IRAP Pacific - NRC Canada

    The Legacy of Albert Einstein Celebrity-Scientist, Paradoxical Genius

    101


  • Fall 2013
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 5

    Dr. Ralf Wittenberg, Department of Mathematic

    Functions and Chaos

    picture

    102

    Dr. Isabelle Côté, Department of Biology

    Lionfish: The ultimate invader

    103

    November 2

     

    Dr. Bojan Mohar, Department of Mathematics

    Combinatorics and randomness

    picture

    104

    Dr. Lisa Craig, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

    Microbial strategies and human defences in infectious disease

    105

    November 30

     

    Dr. Manfred Trummer, Department of Mathematics

    Computing with computers: Expecting the unexpected

    picture

    106

    Dr. Barbara Frisken, Department of Physics

    Colloids in Space!

    107


  • Spring 2014
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 8

    Dr. Indy Lagu, Department of Mathematics, Mount Royal University

    And the Winner is ...

    picture

    108

    Dr. Zabrina Brumme, Faculty of Health Sciences

    Pathogen genetic diversity: challenges and opportunities

    109

    April 5

     

    Dr. Jeremie Lumbroso, Department of Mathematics

    Counting data with coin flips

    picture

    110

    Dr. Erika Plettner, Department of Chemistry

    The sense of smell in insects and new pest control methods

    111

    May 10

     

    Dr. Shawn Desaulniers, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    Practical Applications of Theoretical Mathematics

    picture

    112

    Dr. Nabyl Merbouh, Department of Chemistry

    3D printing: From a digital model to a 3D object

    113


  • Fall 2014
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 18

    Dr. Leah Keshet, Mathematics Department, UBC

    Mathematics of flocks and swarms

    picture

    114

    Dr. Tim Swartz, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science

    Statistics in sport with an emphasis on soccer and hockey

    115

    November 15

     

    Dr. Nils Bruin, Department of Mathematics

    The harmony of numbers

    picture

    116

    Dr. Howard Trottier, Department of Physics

    Starry Nights @ 間眅埶AV: Astronomy outreach from campus to community

    117

    December 6

     

    Dr. Nicolas Fillion, Department of Philosophy

    A taste of infinity

    picture

    118

    Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

    Health Secrets of the Super-Seniors

    119


  • Spring 2015
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 14

    Dr. Krystal Guo, Department of Mathematics

    Graph Theory: Helping Map-makers and Tourists Since 1735

    picture

    120

    Dr. Richard Vaughan, School fo Computing Science

    "Intelligent" Interactions with Surprisingly Simple Robots

    121

    April 11

     

    Dr. Gordon Hamilton, Math Pickle

    Unsolved Problems, Great Games & Perplexing Puzzles

    picture

    122

    Dr. Will Cupples, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

    Mathematics of the kidney

    123

    May 9

     

    Dr. Richard Hoshino, Department of Mathematics, Quest University

    Inspiring Change through Mathematical Activism

    picture

    124

    Dr. Ivona Mladenovic, Department of Biology

    Cloning Humans - a Science Fiction or Not?

    125


  • Fall 2015
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    October 17

    Dr. Alejandro Erickson, School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, Durham University

    Make a mathematical discovery with tatami tiles

    picture

    126

    Prof. Joan Sharp, Department of Biological Sciences

    Life's origins and the nature of life on Earth - and elsewhere in the Universe

    127

    November 14

     

    Dr. Kseniya Garaschuk, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    The world according to Latin squares

    picture

    128

    Dr. Stephen Robinovitch, Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

    Defying gravity: the science of landing safely during a fall

    129

    December 5

     

    Dr. Nathan Ilten, Department of Mathematics

    Counting cleverly using group theory

    picture

    130

    Dr. Steven Dodge, Department of Physics

    A brief history of time-resolved spectroscopy

    131


  • Spring 2016
  • Date

    Speaker

    Title

    Poster

    #

    March 12

    Dr. Elyse Yeager, Department of Mathematics, UBC

    The Near Miss: Graphs that almost (but don't quite!) contain a given structure

    picture

    132

    Dr. Richard Frank, School of Criminology

    Exploring the criminal activities in the Dark Web

    133

    April 9

     

    Dr. Fiachra Knox, Department Of Mathematics

    Graph Eigenvalues: The Mathematics of Chain Letters

    picture

    134

    Dr. Sara Harris, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science, UBC

    The Change in Climate Change

    135

    May 7

     

    Dr. Ben Adcock, Department of Mathematics

    From time to frequency: How Fourier transforms changed the world

    picture

    136

    Dr. Cameron Morland, Department of Mathematics

    Totally Random, Perfectly Predictable Sequences

    137