As the fall semester begins, the Faculty of Mathematics welcomes six first-year students who have already distinguished themselves academically as recipients of the coveted Schulich Leader Scholarship.
Entrepreneurs are the people who take chances with innovative ideas and business. They make things happen and break new ground.
In the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, the entrepreneurial spirit is in our DNA. Many of our programs link with entrepreneurship. And numerous startups have grown from the work of our students and professors.
Researchers in applied mathematics have made new discoveries on the hydrology of the Yucatan Peninsula. The research has implications for historical understandings of the Maya civilization, the archaeology of the Yucatan and for present-day climate science as well.
But for the second-year PhD student in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, the research is fully grounded and relevant. Van Dyk’s research finds practical application for one of the largest companies in the world, Amazon.
Movies are a cultural mirror that shows us who we are. They reflect our values and aspirations, but also our preconceived notions and assumptions. Movies about math and mathematicians are no different.
For example, many movies featuring mathematicians depict them as savants. The stereotypical savant character ranges from quirky genius to troubled outsider to dangerous deviant.
Mathematics is like a language.
Nowadays, it’s a language with the same symbols and meaning in every place it’s used. A multiplication sign is a multiplication sign everywhere, and everybody agrees on what a multiplication sign means.
But it wasn’t always so.
In the history of mathematics, Hypatia’s legend looms large. She was a woman mathematician in an era when women were not generally seen as academics. She has been called a martyr for truth and reason. And because of the context of her life and death, Hypatia continues to be one of the most enigmatic figures in mathematics.
July 10 is Nikola Tesla’s birthday. He was born 165 years ago. Tesla is one of the most enigmatic figures in the STEM world, and had he been alive today, he would be a massive fan of the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo.