Schedule and Abstracts

The 2026 schedule 

All times in CENTRAL TIME

ABSTRACTS

Speaker: Jayadev Athreya

Title: Bouncing Around: The Language of Billiards in Polygons

Abstract: How many ways can a billiard ball bounce around a polygonal table?  This seemingly simple question opens the door to some surprisingly deep mathematics.  It turns out we don’t know much about mathematical billiards in polygons, even though they are very simple models of Newtonian mechanics.

Performer: Corrine Yap

Title: Uniform Convergence

Play Description: Uniform Convergence is a one-woman play, written and performed by mathematician Corrine Yap. It juxtaposes the stories of two women trying to find their place in a white male-dominated academic world. The first is of historical Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya, who was lauded as a pioneer for women in science but only after years of struggle for recognition.  Her life’s journey is told through music and movement, in both Russian and English. The second is of a fictional Asian-American woman, known only as “Professor”, trying to cope with the prejudice she faces in the present. As she teaches an introductory real analysis class, she uses mathematical concepts to draw parallels to the race and gender conflicts she encounters in society today. 

Coming soon