2023 Plenary Speakers

The Life, Legacy, and Lost Library books of Leonhard Euler

Gretchen Matthews

Gretchen Matthews is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Affiliated Faculty of the National Security Institute at Virginia Tech where she also serves as Director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) Southwest. Matthews earned her B.S. in mathematics from Oklahoma State University in 1995 and her Ph.D. in mathematics from Louisiana State University in 1999 and recently completed an M.B.A. at Virginia Tech. Her research program in applications of algebraic geometry and combinatorics to coding theory has received over 20 years of federal support by agencies such as NSF and NSA. She was designated a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics “for service to the profession in fostering collaborative research groups with junior faculty and postdocs; and for excellence in mentoring," among other contributions.

The power of polynomials

Polynomials over finite fields ensure accessibility of information, despite environments that cause data loss and distortion. While we are introduced to polynomials at an early age, perhaps first learning how to graph lines and then quadratics before being exposed to properties of higher degree polynomials, we do not see these phenomenal applications. Polynomials over finite fields have been employed to protect information in a variety of ways, starting with Reed-Solomon codes in the 1960s which are the basis for error correction in satellite communications, CDs, DVDs, and QR codes, among many other behind-the-scenes uses. In this talk, we consider the use of polynomials in distributed storage.

Dominic Klyve

Dominic Klyve (KLEE-vee) is a Professor of Mathematics at Central Washington University. He is the author of more than 60 papers in number theory, the history of mathematics and science, and applied statistics. His interdisciplinary works have appeared in journals ranging from Gastrointestinal Endoscopy to Shakespeare Quarterly. For the last six years, Klyve has served as a PI on $1.5 Million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop classroom materials to teach mathematics from Primary Historical Sources. During 2021, he took a leave of absence from his university to work in the role of “Lead Polymath” at Know Labs, a Seattle-based tech start-up. He was a 2014 winner of the MAA’s Alder Award, a national teaching award for young faculty who have a demonstrated impact within and beyond the classroom. He currently serves as Editor of the College Mathematics Journal.

The Life, Legacy, and Lost Library books of Leonhard Euler

In honor of Leonhard Euler’s birthday, this talk will examine his life and explore some of his major accomplishments in fields ranging from number theory to geometry. We will also tell stories of the speaker’s role in creating the online “Euler Archive”, and of the fascinating old books by Euler he discovered in several libraries.

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