Colgate Professor Mark Rhodes Will Speak on “What is a Ring” Today

Mark Rhodes, visiting assistant professor of mathematics at Colgate University, will speak on “What is a Ring” noon today in Pardee Hall room 227.

The talk is part of the Mathematical Adventures and Diversions series sponsored by the math department. Free lunch will be provided.

Rhodes has written an algorithm titled “An Algorithm for the Computation of Adjoints of Monomial Ideals in Polynomial Rings.” He specializes in the connection between zero sets of polynomials and algebraic constructions called commutative rings.

“In this talk, I will make some straightforward observations concerning the set of zero points of the polynomial in two variables y2:x3:x2,” he says. “These observations will lead us to discover a fundamental correspondence between this geometric object and an algebraic one called a coordinate ring. In general, the connection between these objects allows one to study the individual points on a curve algebraically.”

Rhodes received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SUNY-Binghamton and Ph.D. from New Mexico State University.

Mathematical Adventures and Diversions talks are on mathematical topics and applications often not encountered in mathematics courses. They are open to the Lafayette community and assume no special mathematical preparation on the part of the audience.

Other MAAD talks this semester have included:

• Bradley Edge, acting instructor in mathematics at Randolph Macon Women’s College, “Pushdown Automata and Decision Problems: An Example of 20th Century Mathematics” (see related story);
• John Donnelly, SUNY-Binghampton, “Counting Binary Trees”;
• Jonathan Hatch, University of Delaware, “Hidden Monsters in the Plane”;
• Gary Gordon, professor of mathematics at Lafayette, “Gears that Turn and Archimedian Solids” (see related story).