Released - February 22, 2010

Topography of mountains topic of math lecture at Eureka

march 18 - 7:30 pm - Cerf Center

How the topography of mountains can lead to an understanding of mathematics will be the topic of the 56th annual William Thomas Jackson Lecture in Science at 7:30 p.m. March 18 in the Cerf Center at Eureka College.

The free presentation titled “Measuring Mountains with Mathematics” will be presented by David Metzler, a mathematics teacher at the Albuquerque Academy secondary school in Albuquerque, N.M. Metzler’s presentation will explore how topographic prominence, which is used in categorizing hills and mountains, can lead to a deeper understanding of math.

“Height of the summit, above sea level, is the usual number attached to a mountain, but that doesn't capture the amount of local relief, steepness or independence of the peak,” Metzler said. His presentation will draw on ideas from the mathematical fields of topology and analysis, some reaching back to mathematician Arthur Cayley and physicist James Clerk Maxwell in the 19th century, to explain how to measure the independence of a peak or the ruggedness of a region.

Metzler received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Rice University and a doctorate in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He formerly taught at Rice and at the University of Florida. He has given presentations on mathematics at universities and conferences and has appeared in a science segment on ABC's World News Tonight.

The Jackson Lecture was established to honor the late William Thomas Jackson, an alumnus of Eureka College who taught chemistry there for 36 years. For more information, contact Eureka College assistant professor of mathematics Prabhu Venkataraman at 467-6433.

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Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318