WiM Winter Lecture

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

The Mathematics of Rubik's Cube

Can you solve a Rubik’s cube? What can mathematics tell us about solving Rubik’s cube?

On Wednesday, January 27th at 3:30 pm in MC 5501 (formerly MC 5158), the Women in Math Winter Lecture will be delivered by Matilde Lalin, Associate Professor at the University of Montréal. All are welcome to the talk; the title and abstract are below.

Following the lecture meet Matilde and network with your fellow female peers, faculty and staff at a complimentary wine and cheese reception held in the Burgundy Room at the University Club.

ML
Abstract: How many positions does Rubik's cube have? If one disassembles Rubik's cube and puts it back together again randomly, will it be solvable? What is God's number? Come and explore the mathematics of one of the most popular puzzles in history!

Biography: Professor Matilde Lalin attended the Universidad de Buenos Aires at Argentina as an undergraduate student. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2005 at the University of Texas at Austin, under the supervision of Prof. Rodriguez-Villegas. She was a member at the Institute for Advanced Study and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia before moving to the University of Alberta as an Assistant Professor in 2007. She moved to the Universite of Montreal in 2010 and has been promoted to an Associate Professor since 2012. Her research interest is in number theory, with special focus on special values of L-functions, Mahler measure and their associated problems. 

All are welcome! No registration is required.

Click here to view Winter Lecture Poster