View source for Madison Math Circle Spring 2016

[[Image:logo.png|right|440px]]

For the site in Spanish, visit [[Math Circle de Madison]]
=What is a Math Circle?=
The Madison Math Circle is a weekly series of mathematically based activities aimed at interested middle school and high school students. It is an outreach program organized by the UW Math Department.  Our goal is to provide a taste of exciting ideas in math and science. In the past we've had talks about plasma and weather in outer space, video game graphics, and encryption.  In the sessions, students (and parents) are often asked to explore problems on their own, with the presenter facilitating a discussion.  The talks are independent of one another, so new students are welcome at any point.

The level of the audience varies quite widely, including a mix of middle school and high school students, and the speakers generally address this by considering subjects that will be interesting for a wide range of students.
 

[[Image: MathCircle_2.jpg|500px]] [[Image: MathCircle_4.jpg|500px]] 


After each talk we'll have pizza provided by the Mathematics Department, and students will have an opportunity to mingle and chat with the speaker and with other participants, to ask questions about some of the topics that have been discussed, and also about college, careers in science, etc.

'''The Madison Math circle was featured in Wisconsin State Journal:''' [http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/school-spotlight-madison-math-circle-gives-young-students-a-taste/article_77f5c042-0b3d-11e1-ba5f-001cc4c03286.html check it out]!

=All right, I want to come!=

We have a weekly meeting, <b>Monday at 6pm in 3255 Helen C White Library</b>, during the school year.  <b>New students are welcome at any point! </b> There is no fee and the talks are independent of one another, so you can just show up any week, but we ask all participants to take a moment to register by following the link below:

 [https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0qPme0LEpUi4kZf '''Math Circle Registration Form''']

All of you information is kept private, and is only used by the Madison Math Circle organizer to help run the Circle. 

If you are a student, we hope you will tell other interested students about these talks, and speak with your parents or with your teacher about organizing a car pool to the UW campus. If you are a parent or a teacher, we hope you'll tell your students about these talks and organize a car pool to the UW (all talks take place in 3255 Helen C White Library, on the UW-Madison campus, right next to the Memorial Union).


==Directions and parking==
Our meetings are held on the 3rd floor of Helen C. White Hall in room 3255.

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[[File: Helencwhitemap.png|400px]]</div>

'''Parking.''' Parking on campus is rather limited.  Here is as list of some options:

*There is a parking garage in the basement of Helen C. White, with an hourly rate.  Enter from Park Street.
*A 0.5 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/cxTzJY these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/Gkx1C in Lot 26 along Observatory Drive].
*A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/yMJIRd these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/vs17X in Lot 34].  
*A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/yMJIRd these directions], 2 metered spots (25 minute max) [http://goo.gl/maps/ukTcu in front of Lathrop Hall].
*A 0.2 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/b8pdk2 these directions] 6 metered spots (25 minute max) around [http://goo.gl/maps/6EAnc the loop in front of Chadbourne Hall] .
*For more information, see the [http://transportation.wisc.edu/parking/parking.aspx UW-Madison Parking Info website].

==Email list==
The best way to keep up to date with the what is going is by signing up for our email list.  Send an empty email to join-mathcircle@lists.wisc.edu

==Contact the organizers==
The Madison Math Circle is organized by a group of three professors and three graduate students from the [http://www.math.wisc.edu Department of Mathematics] at the UW-Madison. If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, or so on, just email the '''organizers''' [mailto:mathcircleorganizers@lists.wisc.edu here]. We are always interested in feedback!
<center>
<gallery widths=480px heights=240px mode="packed">
File:de.jpg|[https://www.math.wisc.edu/~derman/ Prof. Daniel Erman]
File:pmwood.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~pmwood/ Prof. Phillip Matchett Wood]
File:Craciun.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~craciun/ Prof. Gheorghe Craciun]
</gallery>

<gallery widths=500px heights=250px mode="packed">
File:dj.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~djbruce/ DJ Bruce]
File:Ee.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~evaelduque/ Eva Elduque]
File:mrjulian.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~mrjulian/ Ryan Jullian]

</gallery>
</center>

==Donations==
Please consider donating to the Madison Math Circle. As noted in our [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Newsletter.pdf annual report], our main costs consist of pizza and occasional supplies for the speakers.  So far our costs have been covered by donations from the UW Mathematics Department as well as a generous gifts from a private donor. But our costs are rising, primarily because this year we expect to hold more meetings than in any previous year. In fact, this year, we expect to spend at least $2500 on pizza and supplies alone.

So please consider donating to support your math circle!  The easiest way to donate is to go to the link:

[http://www.math.wisc.edu/donate Online Donation Link]

There are instructions on that page for donating to the Math Department.  <b> Be sure and add a Gift Note saying that the donation is intended for the "Madison Math Circle"!</b>  The money goes into the Mathematics Department Annual Fund and is routed through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is convenient for record-keeping, etc.

Alternately, you can bring a check to one of the Math Circle Meetings.  If you write a check, be sure to make it payable to the "WFAA" and add the note "Math Circle Donation" on the check.  

Or you can just pay in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.

==Help us grow!==
If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow!  Students, parents, and teachers can help by:
*Posting our [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/MMC_Flyer_2016.pdf '''flyer'''] at schools or anywhere that might have interested students
*Discussing the Math Circle with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others
*Making an announcement about Math Circle at PTO meetings
*Donating to Math Circle
Contact the organizers if you have questions or your own ideas about how to help out.

=Meetings for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016=

<center>

Unless specified talks start at '''6pm in room 3255 of Helen C. White Library''', unless otherwise noted.

{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
|-
! colspan="3" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall 2015 
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
|-
| September 14, 2015 || David Sondak || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_14_2015 How to SEE Sound]
|-
| September 21, 2015 || Uri Andrews|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_21_2015  Guarding Mona Lisa] 
|-
| September 28, 2015 || Eva Elduque|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_28_2015  Pick's Theorem] 
|-
| October 5, 2015 || Jessica Lin|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_5_2015 The Math of Sudoku] 
|-
| October 12, 2015 || Ryan Julian || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_12_2015 Eight Dimensional Oranges] 
|-
| October 19, 2015 || <s>Keith Rush</s> || CANCELLED
|-
| October 26, 2015 || Megan Maguire || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_26_2015 Aperiodic tilings: Beyond your parents' bathroom floor] 
|-
| November 2, 2015 || Marko Budisic|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_2_2015 Mathematics of GPS satellites] 
|-
| November 9, 2015 || Tess Anderson || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_9_2015  Gold Coins and Goats] 
|-
| November 16, 2015 || DJ Bruce || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_16_2015 To Infinity And Beyond?] 
|-
| November 23, 2015 || Tullia Dymarz (Last meeting of fall) || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_23_2015 TBA] 
|-
! colspan="3" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Spring 2016
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
|-
| February 1, 2016 || Will Mitchell || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_1_2016 Are these networks the same?] 
|-
| February 8, 2016 || Lalit Jain || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_8_2016  Large amounts of small money] 
|-
| February 15, 2016 || Daniel Erman || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_15_2016  What is the biggest number?] 
|-
| February 22, 2016 || Soumya Sankar || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_22_2016 What would you do if you had only nickels and dimes? ] 
|-
| February 29, 2016 || Alexandra (Sashka) Kjuchukova || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_29_2016 How big is your infinity?] 
|-
| March 7, 2016 || Solly Parenti || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#March_7_2016 101-meter Dash] 
|-
| March 14, 2016 || Chiara Franceschini || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#March_14_2016 PRIME NUMBERS: Why (not only) mathematician care about them?] 
|-
| March 21, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) || 
|-
| March 28, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) || 
|-
| April 4, 2016 || Becky Eastham || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_4_2016 Become a Mastermind at Codebreaking and Logic Puzzles!] 
|-
| April 11, 2016 || Micky Soule Steinberg || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_11_2016 Groups: An Introduction] 
|-
| April 18, 2016 || Alisha Zachariah  || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_18_2016 The Power Tower] 
|-
| April 25, 2016 || Betsy Stovall || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_25_2016 N to N+1.  The art of induction. ] 
|-
| <span style="color:red">May 2, 2016 <br> (Celebration)</span> || Jen Beichman <br> [http://map.wisc.edu/s/xmsavhji Special Location: 9th Floor Van Vleck] || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#May_2_2016  Using Bubbles to Solve Math Problems.] 
|}

</center>

=High School Meetings=

We are experimenting with holding some Math Circle meetings directly at local high schools.  Our schedule for the fall is below.  If you are interesting in having us come to your high school, please contact us!

<center>

{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall 2015
|-
|-
! Date !! Location !! Speaker !! Topic !! Link for more info
|-
| September 28, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Daniel Erman || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_28_2015_2 How to Catch a (data) thief] ||
|-
| October 19, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Carolyn Abbott || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_19_2015 Donuts and Coffee Cups]  ||
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Spring 2016
|-
|-
! Date !! Location !! Speaker !! Topic !! Link for more info
|-
| February 22, 2016 || 2:45pm Memorial High || Jordan Ellenberg || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_22_2016 The Game of Set] ||
|-
| March 31, 2016 || 12:00pm West High || Daniel Erman || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#March_31_2016 How to Catch a (Data) Thief]  ||
|-
| April 18, 2016 || 2:45pm Memorial High || DJ Bruce || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_18_2016_2 To Infinity and Beyond]  ||
|-
| April 21, 2016 || 12:00pm West High || DJ Bruce || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#April_21_2016 Can you untie a know with a knot?]  ||
|-
| May 20, 2016 || 2:45pm East High || DJ Bruce || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#May_20_2016 Is any knot not the unknot?]  ||
|-
|}
</center>

=Useful Resources=
==Annual Reports==
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Newsletter.pdf  2013-2014 Annual Report]

== Archived Abstracts ==
[[Archived Math Circle Material]]

==Link for presenters (in progress)==
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations  Advice For Math Circle Presenters]

[http://www.mathcircles.org/content/lesson-plans Sample Lesson Plans]

[http://www.mathcircles.org/content/circle-box "Circle in a Box"]