The Shape of Space:
*The event has already taken place on this date: Mon, 02/06/2017
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1250 Thomas Gosnell Hall
When we look out on a clear night, the universe seems infinite, yet this infinity might be an illusion. During the first half of the presentation, computer games will introduce the concept of a “multiconnected universe.” Interactive 3D graphics will then take the viewer on a tour of several possible shapes for space. Finally, we'll see how satellite data provide tantalizing clues to the true shape of our universe. The only prerequisites for this talk are curiosity and imagination. For middle school and high school students, RIT undergrads and faculty, and all members of the broader Rochester community.
About the Speaker
Jeff Weeks fell in love with geometry in 12th grade when he read the book Flatland. While an undergraduate at Dartmouth College he bounced back and forth between math and physics, eventually settling on math and going on to study topology at Princeton University with Bill Thurston and his students, whose colored-chalk approach to mathematics Jeff loved. After teaching at Ithaca College, Jeff resigned to be a full-time dad for several years. From there he became a free-lance geometer, at first part-time, then full-time. He enjoyed extensive work with the Geometry Center and the NSF as well as smaller gigs for science museums and teaching at Middlebury College. In 1999 an unexpected phone call brought a MacArthur Fellowship: five years of unfettered work on the topology of the universe, along with time to develop educational materials for middle schools and high schools. With NSF support, Jeff is currently developing software that lets non-specialists explore beautiful and surprising worlds in two, three, and four dimensions.
Supported by the John Wiley Jones Science Endowment Fund
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