BARD COLLEGE MATH PROGRAM HOSTS LECTURE ON MATHEMATICS IN THE GAME OF SET®

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—On Wednesday, April 18 at 7:30 pm in the Multipurpose Room of the Bertelsmann Campus Center, Bard College’s Mathematics Program hosts a talk by guest speaker Elizabeth McMahon, professor of mathematics at Lafayette College. McMahon will deliver the lecture “Game, SET®, Math! Mathematics in the Game of SET®.” This event, intended for a general audience, is free and open to the public.

The card game SET® is a popular award-winning game played with a special deck of 81 cards. Through combinatorics, probability, linear algebra, and geometry, a player can learn a lot about the game. In this talk, McMahon will explore some of the things we can learn about the game by looking at the mathematics behind it. Furthermore, by using the game to help with visualization, this lecture also explores how the game of SET® can deepen one’s understanding of mathematics. To learn more about the game or to practice playing before the talk, go to www.setgame.com for the rules and the Daily Puzzle.

Elizabeth McMahon is professor of mathematics at Lafayette College. She earned an A.B. from Mount Holyoke College, an M.S. in mathematics at the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally trained in non-commutative ring theory, her current research interests are in combinatorics, finite geometry, and Cayley graphs. She has held visiting positions at numerous institutions, including the Isaac Newton Institute in Cambridge, U.K., and the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science at Rutgers University. She has been recognized for her teaching through several awards, including the James P. Crawford EPADEL Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America in 2005.                                                                       

This event was last updated on 04-11-2012

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