2012 Keynote Speaker - Reviel Netz

The Mathematics of the Archimedes Palimpsest

Abstract

The Archimedes Palimpsest is the greatest manuscript of science. Its multi-layered, ever-amazing history, tends to obscure that it is important, above all, for its contents: it is a witness to some of the seminal moments in the history of mathematics. Archimedes' work led the way to the calculus as well as to mathematical physics, and in this talk we will see an example of each. The two, taken together, led to the scientific revolution.

Biography

Reviel Netz, Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Stanford University, is one of the world's preeminent experts on the works of Archimedes. Author of several books on pre-modern mathematics, Dr. Netz is a member of the team of scholars involved in the research and restoration of the Archimedes Palimpsest and has been featured prominently in NOVA's Infinite Secrets: The Genius of Archimedes. The Northern California Undergraduate Mathematics Conference and the Department of Mathematics at California State University, Stanislaus is excited to have Dr. Netz join us on April 21, 2012!

Websites

Dr. Netz's Stanford University webpage

Infinite Secrets: The Genius of Archimedes (NOVA)

The Archimedes Palimpsest

Dr. Netz's books on Amazon.com