Welcome to the TAMU Math Circle!

The Texas A&M Math Circle is an outreach activity that brings 5th - 12th grade students into direct contact with mathematical professionals in an informal setting to work on fun and interesting topics in mathematics. The goal is to help students become passionate about math.  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.

This year's meetings:

For the Fall 2024 semester, we will have Saturday meetings on 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/26, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, and 12/7.

• There are two types of sessions being offered:

            1:00 - 3:00 Discovery Activity

            3:00 - 4:00 Problem Solving

• Each is offered at three levels:

            Beginner (for those on Pre-Algebra and below)

            Intermediate (for those on Algebra 1 and Geometry)

            Advanced (for those on Algebra 2 and above)

• All 6 groups are meeting in person with the exception of the Advanced Problem Solving group, which will be meeting in a hybrid form, both in-person and on-line via Zoom. For information on attending the Advanced Problem Solving group via Zoom, please contact Dr. Kun Wang <kwang@tamu.edu>.

• The in-person events will take place on the first floor of the Blocker building. Drop-off and pick-up will be in Room 128.

Program for This Week:

November 9, 2024

Discovery Learning: Beginner Group (in Pre-Algebra and below)

Speaker: Dr. Nataliya Goncharuk, Texas A&M University

Title: Fractals

Abstract: Trees and broccoli, snowflakes and mountain ranges -- fractals are all around us! We will draw and investigate several fractals and compute their dimension (disclaimer: it will not be integer).

Discovery Learning: Intermediate Group (in Algebra I or above)

Speaker: Dr. Xin Liu, Texas A&M University

Title: Knights and knaves

Abstract: In this activity, the student has to be a judge in an island of knights and knaves. The only information that is known to the judge is that knights always tell the truth and knaves always lie. After hearing what the (1,2,or 3) persons say, the judge has to distinguish the knights and knaves. This activity is to learn about basic logic.

Discovery Learning: Advanced Group (in Algebra II or above)

Speaker: Dr. Frank Sottile, Texas A&M University

Title: The Five Color Theorem

Abstract: Doodling on a map of England in 1852, Francis Guthrie noticed that only four colors were needed to color the counties. He conjectured that any map could be colored with only four colors. Several mathematicians tried and failed to prove this; notably in 1879 Kempe published a proof and only in 1890 was the flaw found by Heawood. This four color conjecture evaded a proof until 1972, when Appel and Haken gave a proof that required a computer. While there is as yet no Human readable proof, Kempe's argument suffices to prove that five color suffice, and this gives a flavor of known proofs of the four color theorem. I will sketch this history and prove the five color theorem, and then discuss the coloring theorem for other surfaces (torus, projective plane, Klein bottle...), time permitting.

Problem-Solving: Beginner Group (in Pre-Algebra and below)

Instructors: Dr. Kun Wang (Texas A&M), Dr. Xin Liu  (Texas A&M),  Dr. Simone Cecchini (Texas A&M), Dr. Runjie Hu (Texas A&M), Rozlyn Graham (Texas A&M)

Problem-Solving: Intermediate Group (in Algebra I or above)

Instructors: Dr. Bo Zhu (Texas A&M), Dr. Suhan Zhong (Texas A&M), Dr. Zhizhang Xie (Texas A&M), and Xiaoyu Su (Texas A&M), Jake Song (Texas A&M)

Problem-Solving: Advanced Group (in Algebra II or above)

Instructors: Dr. Samson Zhou (Texas A&M), Dr. Sherry Gong (Texas A&M), Dr. Qiaochu Ma(Texas A&M), and Andrew Yu (Harvard University)

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