O

Last week we took a family trip to Eugene, Oregon to check out the university where Anthony will begin his grad work this fall.  It seems like a particularly good fit for Anthony, especially given that Eugene is known as "Track Town USA."

The closer we got to Eugene, the more ubiquitous the letter O became!

Fenton Hall - home of the math department:

Just down the path from Fenton is Deady ("dee-dee"), another math building, which is where Anthony's office will be.  It's a very old building - built between 1873 and 1876, and it does not have air-conditioning, so it's really awesome that Anthony's office will be in the basement!

I found a picture online of the campus from 1894 (looks like a football game - GO DUCKS!) with Deady Hall in the background (the tall, narrow building in the middle).  Clearly it's got quite some history!  This makes me wonder if it's haunted!  Do ghosts haunt schools, or do they stay away?

My favorite spot in Deady Hall was the 'reading room' for undergrads, which was named 'Hilbert Space.'  It has an attached closet full of board games, which is exactly as it should be!

Some other points of interest (to me!) on campus were this sculpture of Einstein sticking out his tongue, which I thought was a pretty classy building adornment!

And the office of physicist Richard Taylor, since I'm an unabashed mathematician and physicist groupie I sought out his office hoping to find him in.   Alas, he was out  .  .  .

Common Core

I was so please at an editorial I read today about Common Core (incoming educational standards in the USA).  The reason I was so pleased is that this editorial was so well balanced.  There is a lot of controversy surrounding Common Core, and it seems that those on both sides, pro and con, are just shouting past each other, not considering the same issues as they evaluate these standards.

The author of this editorial, Nan Austin, wrote it as a response after having watched "Stop Common Core."  Ms. Austin seems to feel positively towards Common Core, but the majority of her editorial presented the genuine concerns that people have about it and did so very fairly.  I loved her final take on things:

"Overall, I found myself alternating between sharing concerns and utter frustration as issues took on political overtones and veered away from classroom reality.  There are good reasons to be on watch as Common Core rolls out in our neighborhood schools, but I'm not convinced that the naysayers are looking at what matters."

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The full editorial can be found at this link.

Anthony's Graduation

On Saturday, May 24, 2014, Anthony graduated from Calvin College with a double major: Mathematics and Philosophy.  He heads to University of Oregon in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics.

 Calvin College Arena packed out for the ceremony:

Anthony being congratulated by President Michael Le Roy:

Each department has up a poster of all its grads.  Here are the posters from the philosophy and mathematics departments:

Lots of hugs and congratulations from family and friends:

Celebrating together with a very special friend, Brianna:

A sampling of pictures with some of his profs - first picture is of his research team from his freshman year (and since Professor Bolt has an Erdos Number of 8, Anthony and Rebekah now have Erdos Number 9, which is way cool!).

Good-bye to good old North Hall, home of Calvin's math department:

Leaving campus as an alumnus:

Directing Change

What a day!  Caleb and his film-making team from Enochs High School entered a student video contest called "Directing Change."  The contest was put on by "Each Mind Matters," and the categories were "Suicide Prevention" and "Ending the Silence."  More than 420 teams in the state submitted a video.  The Enochs team created a PSA on suicide prevention, and they won first place in their region, which meant they also advanced to state-level competition.

The started the day today at our county office of education to be recognized by the county school board and County Schools Superintendent Tom Chagnon.

That was an awesome way to start the day, but what was yet to come blew me away entirely.  I had no idea how big a deal this was!  It absolutely ended up being a red-carpet event!

Caleb headed up to Sacramento with his teacher, Neal Barlow, and his team.  David and I followed later.  The screening and awards were held at the Crest Theater.

 Here are actor Max Adler and producer/director/editor Bradley Buecker introducing the event.

And the Enochs team won second place in the state for their PSA "Perception."

Here's a video clip of them getting their award:

Bradley Buecker:

Caleb and team members Megan and Justin chatting with director (and future colleague?) Bradley Buecker:

In front of the state capitol building:

Here is their award-winning PSA:

Do the Lit

"Each time I hear someone say, 'Do the math,' I grit my teeth. The phrase reinforces how little awareness there is about the breadth and scope of the subject. Imagine, if you will, using 'Do the lit' as an exhortation to spell correctly."

As a mathematician, I can attest that my field is about ideas above anything else. Ideas that inform our existence, and permeate our universe and beyond, that can surprise and enthrall."

Prof. Manil Suri (NYT 9/15/13)

Turn an Envious Look

Fish in the Unruffled Lakes

    Fish in the unruffled lakes
    Their swarming colours wear,
    Swans in the winter air
    A white perfection have,
    And the great lion walks
    Through his innocent grove;
    Lion, fish and swan
    Act, and are gone
    Upon Time's toppling wave.

    We, till shadowed days are done,
    We must weep and sing
    Duty's conscious wrong,
    The Devil in the clock,
    The goodness carefully worn
    For atonement or for luck;
    We must lose our loves,
    On each beast and bird that moves
    Turn an envious look.

    Sighs for folly done and said
    Twist our narrow days,
    But I must bless, I must praise
    That you, my swan, who have
    All gifts that to the swan
    Impulsive Nature gave,
    The majesty and pride,
    Last night should add
    Your voluntary love.

W. H Auden

Confluence

I love it when one of my students gets inspired by the math and uses it creatively in another discipline.  The sculpture pictured here is by my Math 101 student Brisa who created it in such a way to evoke the Sierpinski Gasket fractal.