Center for Computational Molecular Biology Distinguished Lecture
"The Symmetries of Things"
John Conway, Princeton University
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 4:00 P.M.
Room 241 Swig Boardroom (CIT 2nd Floor)
Every day we are surrounded by symmetric objects and patterns. From furniture to flooring, symmetry is the rule. In art, symmetry is pleasing to the eye, and the intricacies of extremely symmetric patterns can entrance an audience. In architecture, symmetric designs are attractive for yet another reason – repetition of a design element means re-use, which ultimately requires less planning and testing. In manufacturing, it is simpler, cheaper and more efficient to repeat a pattern at regular intervals. Even Nature has reasons to use symmetry in her work. John H. Conway and William Thurston adapted Murray MacBeath’s mathematical language for discussing symmetry. Now, the symmetries of a pattern can be defined by a single symbol that we call its signature. With some practice, almost anyone with some knowledge of high-school geometry can read this signature and identify the symmetries it describes.
John Conway is the John von Neumann Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University. He is one of the most influential mathematicians working in a wide variety are areas: combinatorial game theory, geometry, geometric topology, group theory, number theory, algebra, algorithmics and theoretical physics. He received numerous awards including the Berwick Prize and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was the first recipient of the Pólya Prize and won the Nemmers Prize in Mathematics. He is also known for the invention of the Game of Life.
Host: Sorin Istrail