Free public lecture at UPEI kicks off the Canadian Mathematical Society’s Meeting
Richard Nowakowski will talk games in a public lecture on Friday, June 5 at 5 pm as part of the Canadian Mathematical Society's Summer Meeting at the University of Prince Edward Island.
'Games in general have very nice mathematical formulas,' said Nowakowski. 'It may look like there are a number of possible moves, but mathematical analysis focuses on just a few.'
Chess and checkers are two games that Nowakowski studies, as he specializes in two-player games where the players move alternately, there are no random factors and the last player to move determines the winner.
Nowakowski is heavily involved with the CMS and mathematics in the Maritimes. He volunteers with Dalhousie Math Circles, a mathematics outreach program based out of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Dalhousie University, where he works as a research professor. Nowakowski also volunteered on a team of university markers across Canada who graded the Sun Life Financial Canadian Mathematics Challenge (COMC) in November 2014. He has worked with the CMS since the mid-1980s and is a former Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) Chair.
Nowakowski said he is happy to have the CMS Meeting back again in Atlantic Canada. The last CMS Meeting in the region was in Halifax for the 2013 Summer Meeting.
'It's nice to have the meetings rotate around the country,' said Nowakowski. 'You always get quite a few local people attending, so there should be a strong turn-out of Atlantic mathematicians.'
The public lecture will launch the 2015 Canadian Mathematical Society Summer Meeting. More than 300 mathematics professionals, students, and educators from Canada and around the world are expected to attend. Nowakowski's lecture takes place at the University of Prince Edward Island on Friday June 5 at 5 pm in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, 242 Don and Marion McDougall Hall, and is a free event. No mathematical background is required to appreciate the talk.
About Richard Nowakowski
Richard Nowakowski is a Research Professor at Dalhousie University, specializing in game theory and graph theory. In 2008, he was awarded the CMS Adrien Pouliot Award, which recognizes contributions to outreach and teaching and the 1995-1996 Dalhousie University Faculty of Science Teaching Award. More information about Richard can be found on his website: http://www.mscs.dal.ca/~rjn/Home.html
About the Canadian Mathematical Society
The CMS is the national mathematics organization that promotes the advancement, discovery, learning and application of mathematics. The Society's activities cover the whole spectrum of mathematics including: scientific meetings, research publications, and the promotion of excellence in mathematics education at all levels. The CMS annually sponsors mathematics awards and prizes that recognize outstanding achievements.
