Math in the Media - E8!

And finally some constructive news from MathWorld: The structure of E8 is now understood? Well, at least it is now understandable, at least in theory. For another (and better) perspective, look here....

Actually, it is more advisable to look here, and here....

And congrats to the Atlas team (I knew Jeffrey Adams (on the left, in shorts) from my grad student days at Maryland)!

And by the way, if you think math is anything but cool, stare for a while at the following "picture" of E8 :

Math Club News - Putnam Training

The first workout for next year's Putnam exam in December is tonight, March 5, 7pm in Krieger 308. Bring pencil, paper, and a full stomach for this up-to-a-2-hour session. The topic: The Pigeonhole Principle.

See this post below for more information on these workouts in general, and who to talk to about them.

Putnam Training Sessions

Heard of the Putnam Exam?

Want to try but feel you don't want to enter a race without training? The Mathematics Club here at Hopkins is setting up training sessions to help potential Putnam contestants prepare for the exam.

The first workout is titled "The Pigeonhole Principle": The idea that if you need to put more than n objects into n holes, then at least one hole will have more than one object in it. Simple, eh? This general counting principle sits behind many clever proofs to many simply stated but tricky problems.

The Math Club will be hosting many of these workouts, and will base these on mathematical principles and techniques, rather than grabbing random problems to address.

Talk to the Math Club President, Kihyuk Hong at the JHU email address khong4, for the times, places, future training topics, and indeed anything else pertaining to the Putnam.

Incidentally, the Math Department offers a course in Putnam training every fall. Talk to me if you are interested.