Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, executive assistant; tele: 413-597-4277; email: [email protected]
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 5, 2018—Leo Goldmakher, assistant professor of mathematics, will present two Sigma Xi lectures at Williams College on Thursday, April 19, and Friday, April 20. Both talks will take place at 4:15 p.m. in Wege Auditorium, Thompson Chemistry building, and will be followed by a reception in the Science Atrium. The talks are free and open to the public.
On Thursday, April 19, Goldmakher will present “A Brief History of Primes.” In this talk, he will discuss human fascination with prime numbers. He will survey some of the greatest breakthroughs of the last 2,000 years, including a few recent theoretical advances and some connections to cryptography. His focus will be on the beauty of the ideas rather than on the technical details. All are welcome, regardless of prior mathematical training.
On Friday, April 20, Goldmakher will present “Structured Randomness in the Primes.” In this talk, he will examine primes as deterministic objects whose behavior can be remarkably well-predicted using random models. He will discuss cases where this can be proved rigorously, in particular describing recent progress on a few classical problems. The talk should be accessible to anyone with a grasp of quantitative math.
Goldmakher received an A.B. in mathematics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He taught at the University of Toronto before joining the Williams faculty in 2014.
Sigma Xi is a national society honoring and encouraging research in science since 1886. The Williams chapter was founded in 1969. It recognizes exceptional graduating students in the sciences each year. The Sigma Xi lecture is a semi-annual event.
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For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Communications 413-597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/map
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Published April 5, 2018
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