Welcome to the

TAMU Math Circle!

Welcome to the TAMU Math Circle!

The Texas A&M Math Circle is a weekly outreach activity in the Fall and Spring semesters that bring together 5th - 12th graders for a fun afternoon of mathematics and problem solving. Students work directly with math professionals in an informal, interactive setting to learn about interesting topics in mathematics and to develop problem solving skills and techniques. The goal is to help students become passionate about math and think about topics that are not necessarily covered in the standard curriculum. Our instructors range from professors and graduate students at Texas A&M to experts from industry, all of whom are eager to share with students their passion for mathematics and its applications.

Math Circle dates for 2025-2026

Saturday meetings in Spring 2026: 1/31, 2/7, 2/21, 2/28, 3/21, 4/11, 4/18, and 4/25.

Our next Math Circle for Spring 2026 will be on February 21st, 02/21

Saturday meetings in Fall 2025: 9/13, 9/20, 9/27, 10/4, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, and 12/6.

The Math Circle schedule is as follows:

1:00 - 1:10: Drop off in BLOC 128

1:00 - 1:30: Fun Math Games

1:30 - 3:00: Discovery Session (by group)

3:00 - 4:00: Problem Solving Session (by group)

4:00 - 4:15: Pick up

Each week's activity is offered at three levels:

Leibniz (Green): Pre-Algebra and below

Noether (Blue): Algebra 1 and Geometry

Hilbert (Red): Algebra 2 and above

Please visit our Registration page to register your student(s).

Registration for Math Circle is open for Spring 2026

Program for the week of : February 21, 2026

Discovery Session

Green Group

Mark Shiliaev

Undergraduate student in Mathematics

The a+b+ab problem

Write down the numbers from 1 to 100. Randomly select 2 numbers from the list, say a and b, and cross them off, but add to the list the number a+b+ab. You now have 99 numbers. Repeat this process until you have only 1 number left. What are all possible final numbers?

Blue Group

Dr. Phil Yasskin

Associate Professor in Mathematics

What is "i" good for?

You all know that i is the square root of minus one. But what else is it good for? What is the cube root of minus one? What is the cube root of plus one? All of this will try to justify the graphical form of a complex number and the polar form of a complex number.

Red Group

David Manuel

Instructional Professor in Mathematics

Gerrymandering: using math to win elections

Every so often local and state officials are allowed to change the boundaries of voting districts to reflect changes in the population. But a widespread technique called "gerrymandering" involves strategically drawing these boundaries so that members of the ruling party can be re-elected, even if most of the voters in their region vote against them. We'll explore how gerrymandering works, draw our own voting district maps, and investigate mathematical techniques so that we can choose drawing districts that are fair for everyone.