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Calendar Archive

2023

January 4–7, 2023:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Boston, MA

          The program includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • AMS Special Session, “History of Mathematics,” co-organized by Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), Adrian Rice (Randolph Macon College), Deborah Kent (St Andrews Univ.), and Danny Otero (Xavier Univ.).
  • AMS Special Session, “Current Directions in the Philosophy of Mathematics,” co-organized by Bonnie Gold (Monmouth Univ.) and Kevin Iga (Pepperdine Univ.).
  • AMS Special Session, “The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Past, Present, and Future,” co-organized by Jacqueline M. Dewar (Loyola Marymount Univ.), Thomas Banchoff (Brown Univ.), Curtis D. Bennett (Cal State Univ., Long Beach), Brian Katz (Cal State Univ., Long Beach), Lewis Ludwig (Denison Univ.), and Larissa Schroeder (Univ. of Nebraska Omaha).
  • AWM Special Session, “Celebrating the Mathematical Contributions of the AWM,” co-organized by Michelle Manes (Univ. of Hawaii), Kathryn Leonard (AWM), Ami Radunskaya (Pomona College), and Donatella Danielli (Ariz. State Univ.).
  • POM SIGMAA Guest Lecture by Russell Marcus (Hamilton College).
  • JMM Panel, “Hidden Figures Revealed: Reflections from Research on Black Mathematicians,” co-organized by Ranthony A. C. Edmonds (Ohio State Univ.) and David Goldberg (Math Alliance/Purdue Univ.).
  • Wikipedia Edit-A-Thons for Black Mathematicians and Women Mathematicians.


January 9, 2023:  Atzlander Seminar 
This talk will take place virtually.

          The Atzlander group of archaeologists will host Ximena Catepillán, Professor Emerita, College of Science & Technology, Millersville University, for the talk “Maya Numbers and Computations” at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT. Access the presentation with this Zoom link.


January 19, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. In the January talk Maryam Vulis, St John's University, Norwalk Community College and CCNY, will present Ukrainian Mathematicians in the Soviet Ukraine. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


January 30, 2023:  Forum for the History of the Mathematical Sciences, History of Science Society
This discussion will take place virtually.

          This special interest group is launching a reading discussion group by considering “On a Collection of Geometrical Riddles and Their Role in the Shaping of Four to Six ‘Algebras,’” from Jens Höyrup's (2019). People from different career levels and research interests are encouraged to attend. Contact Elizabeth Hunter for the reading and Zoom information.


February 16, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. In the February talk Ezra Brown, Virginia Tech, will present A tour of the birth and early development of finite geometries, combinatorial designs, and normed algebras. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


February 17–18, 2023:  How Ed Did It: A Celebration of the Legacy of Historian of Mathematics Ed Sandifer
This conference will take place virtually.

         A conference in honor of Ed Sandifer and his contributions to the history of mathematics. The sessions will run on Friday evening, 6:00–9:15 pm ET, and Saturday afternoon, 12:00–4 pm ET. Speakers include: Robert Bradley, Richard Cleary, Larwrence D’Antonio, Stacy Langton, Dominic Klyve, Erik Tou, Bill Dunham, M. W. Alexander, Niccoló Guicciardini, Kim Plofker, Craig Fraser, Chuck Rocca, and Jordan Bell. Contact Amy Shell-Gellasch or Lawrence D’Antonio for details and Zoom information.


February 21, 2023:  HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Marjorie Senechal (Smith College) will speak on “Josephine Mehlberg (1905–1969), Mathematician,” at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET. Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


February 25, 2023:  Research in ProgressBritish Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), Oxford, England

          Annual all-day meeting that provides an opportunity for research students in any area of the history of mathematics to present their work to a friendly and supportive audience. Isobel Falconer (St Andrews) will be the keynote speaker. The meeting will be held in person at The Queen's College, Oxford, England.


February 28, 2023:  MAA Distinguished Lecture Series, Mathematical Association of America
This talk will take place virtually. A recording of the lecture is available here.

          Karen Hunger Parshall speaks on “How World War II Shaped the American Mathematical Community.” Sign up for an email reminder here.


March 7, 2023:  Unexpected Mathematical Lives Series, The London Mathematical Society
This talk will be held in a hybrid format. A recording of the lecture is available here.

          Sarah Hart, Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, will present “The Mathematical Life of Sir Christopher Wren.”


March 10, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Tom Archibald, Professor of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University, who will speak on the topic Hermite and Analysis beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


March 16, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. In the March talk Annalisa Crannell, Franklin and Marshall College, will present Drawing conclusions from drawing a square. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


April 5, 2023:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm ET in Room HHE214 Business Building and preceded by coffee at 3:30 pm in Room 414 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Larry D’Antonio of Ramapo College will speak on “Mary Winston, an American in Göttingen.” The presentation will be simulcast on Zoom. Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further details about attending in person or virtually.


April 20, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. In the April talk David Richeson, Dickenson College, will present A Romance of Many (and Fractional) Dimensions. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


April 21–22, 2023:  Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Black Hills State University

          A special session on “The History of Mathematics and What it Can Teach Us” will be organized by Janet Heine Barnett and George Heine.


April 27, 2023:  Linda Hall Library After Hours 
This program will take place virtually. A recording of the lecture is available here.

          Margaret Landis (University of Colorado, 2022 Honey & Wax Prize winner) joins Jason W. Dean (Linda Hall Library) at 6:30 pm CT to explore Maria Mitchell’s print legacy and how it reflects issues that astronomers and space scientists are still dealing with today. Register here. Previous events in the After Hours series may be viewed here.


May 3, 2023:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm ET in Room HHE214 Business Building and preceded by coffee at 3:30 pm in Room 414 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Bill Dunham of Bryn Mawr College will speak on “A Tale of Two Series.” The presentation will be simulcast on Zoom. Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further details about attending in person or virtually.


May 5, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Patricia Blanchette, Professor of Philosopy at Notre Dame University, who will speak on the topic Conceptual Analysis and Logic in the Foundations of Mathematics beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For meeting details contact Nicolas Fillion.


May 16, 2023:  Unexpected Mathematical Lives Series, The London Mathematical Society
This talk will be held in a hybrid format. A recording of the event is available here.

          Sarah Hart, Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, will present “The Mathematical Life of Florence Nightingale.”


May 21, 2023:  Gathering4Gardner
This talk will be held in a virtual format.

          Carla Cardoso, University of Lisbon, will present Cardano, the Physician and Mathematician, in His Role as a Gambler in the 16th Century. The talk will begin at Noon ET. More information can be found here.


May 28–30, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

          The Society’s Annual Meeting will take place on the Keele campus of York University in Toronto as part of Congress 2023 of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. CSHPM will hold a general session, for papers on any topic relevant to the history and philosophy of mathematics, and a special session on Underrepresented Mathematics, which is intended to complement the Congress theme of Reckonings and Re-Imaginings. The Kenneth O. May Lecture serves as the keynote lecture of the special session and will be given by Tod Shockey of the University of Toledo. For further information contact Andrew Perry or Amy Ackerberg-Hastings.

June 2, 2023:  HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Colm Mulcahy (Professor Emeritus, Spelman College) will speak on “ The Annals of Irish Mathematics: Trying to Track Four Centuries of Mathematical Activity” at 9 am PT/12 pm ET. The Zoom link is here. Contact Ximena Catepillan or Jemma Lorenat for details.


June 6, 2023:  Unexpected Mathematical Lives Series, The London Mathematical Society
This talk will be held in a hybrid format. A recording of the lecture is available here.

          Sarah Hart, Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, will present “Alan Turing: Pioneer of Mathematical Biology.”


June 8–9, 2023:  Women in Science: Achievements and Barriers, The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia
This conference will be held in a hybrid format.

          Inspired by its 2023 exhibition Women in Science, the American Philosophical Society is organizing two international conferences that will explore the history of women in science, the present state of science and society, and the opportunities to create a more inclusive and diverse practice of science. The program committee is now accepting proposals for the first conference on “Women in Science: Achievements and Barriers.” The conference will be held in person at the Society in Philadelphia and will also be livestreamed. Contact Adrianna Link for details.


July 1, 2023:  Summer Meeting – Royal Observatory Greenwich, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)

          The day will include a short talk and Q&A with historian of George Biddell Airy and the Observatory, Dr. Daniel Belteki, followed by plenty of time to explore the museum and walk the meridian line. Tickets include entrance to the museum and cost £18 for members, £28 for non-members, £9 for children, and £5 for students.


July 21, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Mélanie Frappier, University of King's College, who will speak on the topic ‘Minding the Gap’: Sophie Germain and the relation between mathematics, philosophy of mind, and gender equality, beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


August 2–5, 2023:  MAA MathFest, Tampa, Florida

          MathFest 2023, the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled to be held at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. The history-related events include the following:

  • AMS-MAA Joint Invited Address, “Oswald Veblen: Success through Collaboration,” Sloan Evans Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Aug. 3, 9–9:50am, Ballroom B/C. A recording of the lecture is available here.
  • HOM SIGMAA Annual Lecture, “Expect the Unexpected: Pioneers Who Promoted Women in Math and Science,” Della Dumbaugh (Univ. of Richmond and American Mathematical Monthly), Aug. 4, 6–7:30pm, Note: The Invited Lecture will begin after the adjournment of the HOM SIGMAA Business Meeting. .
  • Invited Paper Session, “Mathematics is Not Done in a Vacuum: Collaborations in the History of Mathematics,” organized by Sloan Evans Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Aug.4, 4–5:50pm, Ballroom A. A recording of the session is available here.
  • Themed Contributed Paper Session, “Ethnomathematics: Culture Meets Mathematics in the Classroom,” sponsored by HOM SIGMAA and organized by Ximena Catepillán (Millersville Univ.), Cynthia J. Huffman (Pittsburg State Univ.), and Amy Shell-Gellasch (Univ. of Michigan), Aug. 4, 8–9:15am, Room 121.
  • Panel Session, “The Convergence of History and Pedagogy in Mathematics,” sponsored by MAA Convergence and organized by Amy Ackerberg-Hastings and Janet Heine Barnett (co-editors, MAA Convergence), Aug. 4, 9–10:20am, Room 122/123.
  • Workshop, “Inspiring Great Classroom Discussions by Teaching with Primary Historical Sources,” sponsored by HOM SIGMAA and organized by Abe Edwards (Michigan State Univ.), Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.), Dominic Klyve (Central Washington Univ.), and Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ. Pueblo). This session will feature materials from TRIUMPHS.
  • Town Hall, “What is a History of Mathematics Course For?,” organized by Gregory McColm (Univ. of South Florida), Fernando Burgos (Univ. of South Florida), Fernando Gouvȇa (Colby College), Mile Krajcevsky (Univ. of South Florida), and Ruthmae Sears (Univ. of South Florida), Aug. 5, 8-8:50am, Room 122/123.
  • Special Mathematical Session, “Read the Masters! Cauchy's Limits,” sponsored by HOM SIGMAA, the ORESME Reading Group, the Arithmos Reading Group, the Euler Society, and TRIUMPHS, and organized by Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.), Aug. 5, 8–8:50am, Room 122/123, Update: This session will take place on Saturday afternoon, following the Martin Gardner Lecture.


August 30, 2023:  6th Irish History of Mathematics Conference, Maynooth University 

          The 6th Irish History of Mathematics (IHoM6) Conference will take place at Maynooth University on Wednesday, August 30. Titles and abstracts of accepted talks may be read here. There will be no registration fee, but registration is compulsory and will close on Friday, June 23. The conference will be immediately followed at Maynooth by another conference on the history and philosophy of mathematics and science, Consonances I: Mathematics, Language, and the Moral Sense of Nature, which will run August 30–September 1.


August 30–September 1, 2023:  Consonances I: Mathematics, Language, and the Moral Sense of Nature Conference, Maynooth University 

          Drawing upon the Maynooth alumnus and Irish philosopher of science Ernan McMullin’s idea of consonance (1981*), this multi-disciplinary conference explores the interplay between mathematized logic, language, morality, and understandings of nature in premodern and modern eras from Western and Global perspectives. The conference is sponsored by the British Society for the History of Mathematics, the Society for Renaissance Studies, and the International Commission on the History of Mathematics. Any queries in relation to the conference can be sent to consonancesconference@gmail.com.


September 15–17, 2023:  Novembertagung 2023, University of Rijeka, Croatia 

          The Novembertagung on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics is an annual international conference aimed at PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. This year's keynote lectures will be given by Zvonimir Sikic (University of Zagreb), Karine Chemla (CNRS, SPHere), George Schiemer (University of Vienna), and Silvia de Toffoli (IUSS Pavia). Early career researchers (both pre- and post-doctoral) are invited to submit abstracts relevant to Interactions Between History and Philosophy of Mathematics, suitable for a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Abstracts should be in English, no longer than 300 words, and submitted by August 1 as a pdf file prepared for blind review to novembertagung2023@gmail.com.


September 21, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place in a hybrid format (both Zoom and in-person options are available).

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the September talk Lawrence D'Antonio, Ramapo College, will present Edmond Halley, Samuel Pepys, and the “Historia Piscium”. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


September 22, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series (now in partnership with HOM SIGMAA) will feature Jessie Hall, University of Toronto, who will speak on the topic Computing machines and the implementation of abstract automata, beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php). Read the speaker’s related CSHPM Notes column here.


September 22–23, 2023:  International Symposium on Newton & Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica Geneva Edition ([1739-1742]1822), Oxford University

          Hosted by the History of Physics and Applied Science & Technologies Team (HOPAST), IEMN, CNRS-University of Lille, France; Institute of Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnology Centre (IEMN), CNRS-University of Lille, France; Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage (DIUM), University of Udine, Italy; and the British Society for the History of Mathematics to commemorate the bicentennial of the reprint of this Mathematical Treasure.


September 30–October 1, 2023:  29th International Meeting of Collectors and Researchers of Slide Rules and Historic Computing Instruments, Oughtred Society
The conference will take place virtually.

          In preparation for the 400th anniversary of the invention of the slide rule, collectors and researchers around the world will gather to exchange information. On both days, sessions will begin at 9:00 am PDT/12:00 pm EDT and end at 1:00 pm PDT/4:00 pm EDT. The second day will end with an auction. Please send requests to speak by September 15. Contact Bob De Cesaris for the Zoom link and further details.


October 3–4, 2023:  Black Heroes of Mathematics
This conference will be held in a hybrid format.

          A joint meeting of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), ICTP-East African Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-EAIFR), Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS), Isaac Newton Institute (INI), London Mathematical Society (LMS), and Mathematical Association (MA). Talks will combine technical material and testimonials.


October 4, 2023:  A Tour of MAA Convergence, FUNDAPROMAT
The webinar will take place virtually.

          The 30th webinar in English of the Panamanian Foundation for the Promotion of Mathematics (FUNDAPROMAT) will feature the resources available from Convergence, which range . The one-hour tour is guided by co-editor Amy Ackerberg-Hastings and editor-elect Daniel E. Otero and begins at 5:00 pm Panamanian Time, 6:00 pm EDT. Register at https://tinyurl.com/math-english30.


October 5–6, 2023:  Women in Science: Opportunities, The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia
This conference will be held in a hybrid format.

          Continuing its programming related to the exhibition, Pursuit & Persistence: 300 Years of Women in Science, the American Philosophical Society is organizing an international conference reflecting on the past, present, and future opportunities for women in science. The conference especially aims to examine this topic from interdisciplinary and global perspectives. The conference will be both in person and livestreamed. Paper proposals and a CV are due via Interfolio by June 12. Contact Adrianna Link for details.


October 18, 2023:  Astronomy and the Forging of Mathematical Communities, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
This conference will be held in a hybrid format.

          The speakers will be Deborah Kent, Eva Kaufholz-Soldat, and Laure Miolo. The afternoon will also include an award ceremony for winners of the Schools and Undergraduate Essay Prizes.


October 19, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place in a hybrid format (both Zoom and in-person options are available).

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the October talk Benjamin B. Olshin, Bryn Mawr College, will present Leonardo da Vinci and the Deconstruction of Perpetual Motion. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


October 23, 2023:  HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          In collaboration with the Claremont Seminar, Louis Beaugris (Kean University) will speak on “A mathematician and all his functions: The untold story of Lucien Hibbert.” The talk will begin at 3:00 pm PT, 6:00 pm ET. Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom or in-person details.

October 27, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series (now in partnership with HOM SIGMAA) will feature Bernd Buldt, Purdue University. In the first part of a two-part series, he will address the history of topology. The colloquium begins at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


November 1, 2023:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          Maria Zack of Point Loma Nazarene University will speak on “Blaise Pascal's Cycloidial Contest.” In June of 1658, using the pseudonym of Amos Dettonville, Pascal issued a challenge offering 40 pistoles to the first person who could solve a collection of six problems about the standard cycloid. The contestants had a few short months to complete their work and submit their solutions by October 1, 1658 to the mathematician Pierre de Carcavi. This talk will discuss the web of people connected to this contest, some of their solutions, and Pascal’s own writings including an accusation of plagiarism! The talk is scheduled at 4:00pm ET in Room 107 Science Building and will be preceded by coffee at 3:45pm in Room 422 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. The presentation will be simulcast on Zoom. Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further details about attending in person or virtually.


November 9, 2023:  A Real Story of Enigma. Polish Mathematicians in Cryptology, The Polish Library and the Kościuszko Foundation, Washington, DC
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          As part of the Elephant and the Polish Question lecture series, the institutions present Roman Sznajder (Bowie State) at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, November 9. In person, the talk will be held at 2025 O St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Click here for the Zoom link.


November 9–12, 2023:  Annual Meeting, History of Science Society, Portland, Oregon

          This year’s conference theme is “Shifting Standards, Creating Change.” The session sponsored by the Forum on the History of the Mathematical Sciences is “Exclusion, Adaptation, and Expansion: Defining Standards in Mathematics and Its History.” Additionally, Yu Shan Chen of Harvard University will speak on “Abacus Numeracy in Early Modern and Modern Japan,” and Sebastian Fernandez-Mulligan of Yale University will speak on “Formulating Freedom: Quantitative Measures of Liberalism in the Cold War.”


November 10, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series (now in partnership with HOM SIGMAA) will feature Bernd Buldt, Purdue University. In the second part of a two-part series, he will address the philosophical foundations of topology. The colloquium begins at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


November 13, 2023:  HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          In collaboration with the Claremont Seminar, Kris Palmieri (University of Chicago) will speak on "True Grit: Writing the History of Women at Yerkes Observatory, 1895–1950.” The talk will begin at 3:00 pm PT, 6:00 pm ET. Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom or in-person details.


November 16, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place in a hybrid format (both Zoom and in-person options are available).

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the November talk Benjamin B. Olshin, Bryn Mawr College, will present Early Circular Maps: An Example of Perspectographic Imaging? All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


November 20, 2023:  HOM SIGMAA Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Julia Tomasson (Columbia University) will speak on “Inventing the ‘Islamic Golden Age’: Orientalism and the History of Mathematics” at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET. The Zoom link is here. Contact Ximena Catepillan or Jemma Lorenat for details.


December 1–4, 2023: Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Montréal

         The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics is sponsoring a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics on December 2 and possibly December 3 at CMS’s in-person Winter Meeting. Abstract submissions on any topics within history or philosophy of mathematics are welcome until October 23; contact Nic Fillion. Presentations will be 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for the Q&A. Submissions in French will be considered, although speakers should expect most presentations to be in English. The session will include invited presentations by Jean-Pierre Marquis (Université de Montréal) and Greg Lavers (Concordia).


December 7, 2023:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova University
This talk will be held in a hybrid format.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet both in person and virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. In the December talk Maryam Vulis, St John's University, Norwalk Community College and CCNY, will present The History of Markov Chains. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for parking or Zoom details.


December 9, 2023:  Christmas Meeting, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)

          BSHM members are invited to present short talks (probably 15 mins + 5 mins questions). If you would like to offer a talk, please submit a title and 100-word abstract to brigitte.stenhouse@open.ac.uk.


December 15, 2023:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series (now in partnership with HOM SIGMAA) will feature Colin McLarty, Case Western Reserve University, speaking on Let's talk about *some* mathematics. The colloquium begins at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).

2022

January 12, 2022:  HOM SIGMAA Guest Lecture
The talk will take place virtually. It was previously scheduled as the HOM SIGMAA JMM Guest Lecture in Seattle.

          Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College) will speak on “Beyond the strength of a woman’s physical power: Mathematics, Machines, and the Mind of Ada Lovelace.” Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


January 20, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The January seminar talk will be presented by Marina Vulis, who will speak on “Sophia Yanovskaya (1896–1966) and Soviet Mathematical Logic.” All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


January 25– 26, 2022:  Research in Progress, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)

         This annual meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics provides an opportunity for research students in any area of the history of mathematics to present their work to a friendly and supportive audience.


January 28, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Robert Bradley, Professor of Mathematics at Adelphi University, who will speak on the topic "The Marquis' Beak'" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


February 2, 2022:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Lecture Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Clemency Montelle (University of Canterbury), Kim Plofker (Union College), and Glen Van Brummelen (Trinity Western University) will speak on “The sine of one degree and its history.” Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


February 2–6, 2022:  Twelfth ERME Congress, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
This conference will take place virtually.

         CERME-12, the Twelfth Biennial Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), is hosted this year by the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.


February 17, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The February seminar talk will be presented by Julian Gould of the University of Pennsylvania, who will speak on the history of mathematics under the Third Reich. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


February 25, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Gillman Payette, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Calgary, who will give a talk titled "A view of logic from applied mathematics" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


February 26, 2022:  Mathematics: Inclusive or Exclusive? Putting colour, culture and context into the curriculum, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
This conference will take place virtually.

         A joint meeting with the BSHM, LMS, IMA, ICMS, RSS, SIGMA, ORS. The goal of this meeting is to encourage discussion in the UKHE mathematics community on these topics, as well as to identify effective interventions.


March 2, 2022:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Lecture Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Edray Herber Goins (Pomona College) will speak on “MADDER: Mathematicians of the African Diaspora Database's Ensemble of Researchers.” Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


March 17, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The March seminar talk will be presented by William Dunham, Truman Koehler Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, of Muhlenberg College, who will speak on “The Math Matriarchs of Bryn Mawr's Mathematical History.” All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


April 1, 2022:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Jeffrey Oaks, University of Indianapolis, who will speak on the topic “How to Think Like a Medieval Algebraist” beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


April 6, 2022:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233 Science Building and preceded by coffee at 3:45 pm in Room 410 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Walter Meyer (Adelphi University) will speak on "The History of College Algebra, Part 1: 1894-1909, The Smooth and the Rough".
          This talk is a report of the work of the Cajori Two Group: Walter Meyer (Adelphi University), Tom Bannon (Adelphi University), Larry D’Antonio (Ramapo State College), Michael George (Borough of Manhattan Community College), Joseph Malkevitch (Columbia Teachers College), Howard Sporn (Queensborough Community College), Patrick Wallach (Queensborough Community College) and Rochelle W. Meyer (Nassau Community College).
          Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for details.


April 6–9, 2022:  Joint Mathematics Meetings, Seattle, Washington
This conference will take place virtually.

         The “largest mathematics conference in the world" includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • AMS Special Session on History of Mathematics, co-organized by Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Deborah Kent (St Andrews Univ.), Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.)
  • “Making Math more Accessible: Venturing into Public Arenas,” organized by Lauren Siegel (Math Happens Foundation)
  • Association for Women in Mathematics Special Session on Celebrating the Mathematical Contributions of the AWM, co-organized by Donatella Danielli (Arizona State Univ.), Kathryn Leonard (Occidental College), Michelle Manes (Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa), and Ami Radunskaya (Pomona College)


April 9, 2022:  Meeting in Memory of Peter Neumann, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), The Queen's College, Oxford

         A day of talks that either touch upon aspects of Peter Neumann's work, or that are on topics that would have interested him. Peter M. Neumann O.B.E., was a former President and longstanding contributor to the BSHM. The meeting is planned to start at 09.45 and finish with a drinks reception at 17.30.


April 21, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The April seminar talk will be presented by David Derbes (retired), University of Chicago Lab School, who will speak on “Mark Kac’s First Publication, On a new way of solving equations of the third degree.” All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


May 3, 2022: Gresham Lecture: Oxford’s Savilian Professors of Geometry: 400 Years On, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
A recording of the lecture may be viewed here.

          Robin Wilson outlines the history of this renowned chair that was founded in 1619.


May 4, 2022:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm ET in Room 233 Science Building and preceded by coffee at 3:45 pm in Room 410 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Dan Curtin of Northern Kentucky University will speak on “A minus times a minus is minus, says Cardano. Why?”. The presentation will be simulcast on Zoom. Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further details about attending in person or virtually.


May 4, 2022:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Lecture Series
The talk will take place virtually.

         Abe Edwards (Michigan State University) will speak on “The Italian Job: Bonaventura Cavalieri's Geometria Indivisibilibus and calculus in early 17th-century Italy.” The talk will begin at 4PM Pacific/7PM Eastern. Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


May 13–15, 2022:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Annual Meeting
This conference will take place virtually.

          The CSHPM will be holding its 2022 Annual Meeting online in conjunction with the 2022 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The theme of the special session will be “original sources in the history and philosophy of mathematics.” Additional information will be posted on the CSHPM website as it becomes available.


May 14, 2022:  History of Analysis, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), Birkbeck College, London  

          A one-day BSHM conference on the history of mathematical analysis, held at Birkbeck (University of London). The 2022 event will look at the history of mathematical analysis. There will be speakers on a range of topics from the "prehistory" of analysis through to the 20th century. Speakers include Jeremy Gray, Niccolò Guicciardini, Bridget Stenhouse, and Kenneth Falconer.


May 18–21, 2022:   Conference on History of Mathematics and Teaching of Mathematics, Miskolc, Hungary
This conference will take place virtually.

         Hosted by the servers of the University of Miskolc, the aim of this conference is to present aspects of the History of Mathematics, including its impact on the Teaching of Mathematics, to provide a forum to meet each other, and to give an opportunity for young researchers to present their results on the history of mathematics. We invite our colleagues, students, graduate students, and other researchers to take part in the meeting. Each participant will be given the possibility of presenting his/her contribution as a short (15–20 minutes) talk. Refereed papers will be published in the post-conference volume. The deadline for submission is May 5, 2022. Contact Péter Körtesi for details.


June 18, 2022:  Sedleian Professors, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), Weston Library, Oxford

         A one-day meeting to commemorate 400 years of the Sedleian Professorship in Natural Philosophy.


June 19, 2022:  ‘Cosmic Harmonies’: A Symposium Celebrating the Life, Science, Music, and Legacy of William Herschel (1738–1822), University of York, England

         Commemorates the bicentennial of the musician and astronomer’s death with a focus on the ways that science and music interconnect. Includes a public keynote lecture by Tom McLeish, a panel discussion on Herschel’s legacies, and a concert of Herschel’s music.


July 2, 2022:  History of Mathematics and FlightBritish Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
Rescheduled from September 2020 and from September 2021.

          All day meeting at the Concorde Conference Center, Manchester Airport, Manchester, England. Includes an optional tour of the Concorde flight deck.


July 6–14, 2022:  Virtual International Congress of Mathematics (ICM 2022)
This congress will take place virtually.

          The ICM 2022 program includes a total of 20 Sections. Of particular relevance to the study of the history of mathematics are:

  • Monday, July 11, 9:00–9:30: ICHM May Prize Lecture 1, Professor Christine Proust.
  • Monday, July 11, 9:30–10:00: ICHM May Prize Lecture 2, Professor Sonja Brentjes.
  • Tuesday July 12, 14:15–16:15: (Section 20) “Historical studies of all of the mathematical sciences in all periods and all cultural settings.”
  • Wednesday, July 13, 9:00–9:30: ICHM Montucla Prize Lecture 1, Dr Brigitte Stenhouse.
  • Wednesday, July 13, 9:30–10:00: ICHM Montucla Prize Lecture 2, Dr François Le.


July 18–22, 2022:  Ninth European Summer University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education, Fisciano (SA), Italy

          Sponsored by the International Study Group on Relations between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM), this collection of intensive courses is scheduled at the University of Salerno. Read the first announcement here. Abstracts and proposals for all types of activities are due to esu9.sa@gmail.com by November 30, 2021 (extended deadline).

         The deadline for submitting a proposal to present at either of the contributed paper sessions listed above is April 30, 2022.


July 22, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Ximena Catepillán, Professor (Emeritus) of Mathematics at Millersville University, who will speak on the topic "Ethnomathematics and Kinship Systems'" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


August 3–6, 2022:  MAA MathFest, Philadelphia, PA

          MathFest 2022, the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, PA. The history-related events include the following:

  • HOM SIGMAA Business Meeting and Guest Lecture by Christine Stevens, Professor Emerita, Saint Louis University.
  • HOM SIGMAA Workshop: “Learning from History: Teaching with Primary Source Projects in Your Mathematics Classroom.” Organized by Abe Edwards (Michigan State University), Dominic Klyve (Central Washington University), Danny Otero (Xavier University), and Michael Saciolo (St. Edwards University).
  • Contributed Paper Session: “Complex Analysis: History, Pedagogy, Innovation, and Research.” Organized by: Russell Howell (Westmont College, howell@westmont.edu) and Mike Brilleslyper (Florida Polytechnic University, mbrilleslyper@floridapoly.edu).
  • Panel Session: “The Art of Publishing in MAA Journals [like Convergence!].” Panelists: Della Dumbaugh (American Mathematical Monthly), Dominic Klyve (College Math Journal), Amy Ackerberg-Hastings (Convergence), Allison Henrich (MAA FOCUS), Tom Edgar (Math Horizons), Deanna Haunsperger (Math Values Blog), Jason Rosenhouse (Mathematics Magazine).


August 6, 2022: Gathering4Gardner
This talk will be held in a virtual format.

          Jason Rosenhouse, James Madison University, will present The History and Future of Logic Puzzles. The talk will begin at 2pm ET. More information can be found here.


September 9–10, 2022:  Reappraising the ‘Art of Counting’. An international symposium to celebrate 500 years of Cuthbert Tunstall’s De arte supputandi libri quattuor, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), University of Durham 

          A meeting to commemorate the 500th birthday of Cuthbert Tunstall's De arte supputandi libri quattuor (1522), the first printed work published in England devoted exclusively to mathematics. 

September 15, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the September talk Karen Parshall, Commonwealth Professor of History and Mathematics, University of Virginia, will present American Mathematicians and World War II. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


September 16, 2022:  Women in Astronomy, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
This conference has a virtual component.

         A joint meeting with the London Mathematical Society and the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications that celebrates women in astronomy in general and the bequest to the LMS of a rare book of astronomical tables, Urania Propitia, by Maria Cunitz from BSHM and LMS Member AEL Davies. Urania Propitia was published in 1650 and fewer than 25 physical copies are known to exist.


September 16–17, 2020:   ORESME Reading Group Meeting, Cincinnati, OH area

          This 43rd semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group, will be held at Xavier University.  Our focus this time is the work of Emil Artin (1898–1962), the Austrian-born algebraist who studied at Göttingen with Emmy Noether and Helmut Hasse, fled from Nazi persecution to the US in the 1930s, guided the dissertations of Serge Lang, John Tate and Tim O’Meara at Princeton in the early 1950s, and in 1958 returned to his professorship at Hamburg, where he worked with other doctoral students, including Hans Zassenhaus and Max Zorn. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


September 19–23, 2022:  ICHME-7 Seventh International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education, University of Mainz, Germany

          The conference host is Prof. Dr. Ysette Weiss, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Institut für Mathematik, Mainz, Germany. We are calling for papers for this seventh Conference, presenting original research on the history of mathematics education. See the conference website at: https://ichme7.uni-mainz.de. The main thematic issues of the Conference will be:

  1.  to compare recent research on the history of mathematics education at the international level;
  2.  to highlight and analyse the interrelations between the history of mathematics and the history of mathematics education;
  3.  to explore new methods of research, interpretation, and evaluation of sources;
  4.  to enrich the history of education with a comparative approach to the mathematical contents taught;
  5.  to take into account the sociological context to analyse the educational and professional scope of mathematics education;
  6.  to analyse the dissemination of conceptions and reforms in mathematical education internationally.


September 23, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Teresa Kouri of Old Dominion University, who will speak on the topic “Stebbing and Common Sense” beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


September 23–24, 2022:  48th Annual Miami University Mathematics Conference, Oxford, Ohio
Rescheduled from September 2020.

          The theme of this year's meeting is History of Mathematics, and keynote speakers will be David Richeson (Dickinson College) and Glen Van Brummelen (Trinity Western University, Canada). The conference will include the 47th Annual Pi Mu Epsilon Student Conference. To register for or learn more about the conference, visit the Annual Mathematics Conference website. You may request information by email at AnnualFallMathConf@miamioh.edu (Conference co-directors: Jane Keiser & Doug Ward).


September 28, 2022:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Andrés Navas (Universidad de Santiago de Chile) will speak on “Khajuraho's magic square is a hypercube.” Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


October 4–5, 2022:  Black Heroes of Mathematics, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
This conference will take place virtually.

         A joint meeting with the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, the Isaac Newton Institute, the London Mathematical Society, and the Mathematical Association.


October 5, 2022:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This colloquium may also be viewed virtually.

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233 Science Building and preceded by coffee at 3:45 pm in Room 410 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Sian Zelbo (Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Brearley School) will speak on “A Re-examination of the Nineteenth Century French Influence on American Mathematics Education through Textbook Author Charles Davies.”
          Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further information, including Zoom details.


October 19, 2022: Gresham Lecture: Ideas of Proof in Mathematics, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
Recordings of the lectures may be viewed here (Oosterhoff), here (Tanswell), and here (Keller).

          This is the BSHM's annual Gresham afternoon, comprising the Gresham Lecture, preceded by two supporting lectures. Visit the website to register and to watch previous lectures.
Speakers and Titles:

  • Richard Oosterhoff (Edinburgh), The Invention of Proof in the Renaissance
  • Fenner Tanswell (Loughborough), How Mathematical Proofs Are Like Recipes
  • Agathe Keller (University of Paris-Diderot), The Gresham Lecture: Let’s Decolonize the History of Mathematical Proofs!


October 20, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the October talk Tom Archibald, Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, will present Justifying abstraction? Examples from Integration Theory to 1940. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


October 28, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Richard Zach of the University of Calgary, who will speak on the topic “Hilbert's program and infinity” beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


November 2, 2022:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This colloquium may also be viewed virtually.

          The colloquium meets at 4:00 pm in Room 107 Science Building and is preceded by coffee at 3:45 pm in Room 414 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. This month’s speaker is Alexander Karp (Teachers College, Columbia University), on the topic “Exploring personal archives: Mark Vygodsky and the History of Mathematics Education.”
          Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further information, including Zoom details.


November 10, 2022: MAA Virtual Distinguished Lecture Series, Mathematical Association of America
This lecture will take place virtually. A recording may be viewed here.

         In this 7:00 pm EST lecture, “Every Paper Tells a Story: Mathematics at the Monthly,” Editor Della Dumbaugh (University of Richmond) will discuss the wide array of mathematics—and insights about mathematics—featured in the journal throughout its 128-year history. She will also offer tips for publishing in the Monthly today. Sign up for an email reminder here.


November 10, 2022: After Hours with Historiae Coelestis, Linda Hall Library, Kansas City, Missouri
This program will take place virtually. A recording may be viewed here.

         Leading scholar of book history Adrian Johns (University of Chicago) joins LHL’s Vice President for Special Collections Jason W. Dean to share the remarkable story of the production of the 1712 Historiae Coelestis Libri Duo through the material evidence found in the Library’s copy of the 1712 edition, as well as the later, authorized, 1725 edition. Author John Flamsteed, then the British Astronomer Royal, attempted to burn all copies of the book in 1716 since members of the Royal Society, including Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley, had sent it to press before he was ready. Johns and Dean will also discuss the in-progress work of Emma Louise Hill to prepare a census of the approximately 15 remaining copies of the 1712 edition. The program begins at 8:00 pm EST, 7:00 pm CST. Registration is free and available here.


November 17, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the November talk Ximena Catepillán, Professor Emerita, Millersville University, will present Maya Calendar Computations. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


November 17–20, 2022:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois

          The meeting theme is “Sustainability, Regeneration, and Resiliency,” and in-person and virtual options will be offered. The paper session sponsored by the Forum on the History of Mathematical Sciences is titled “Transmissions and Traditions of Mathematics” and features talks by Elizabeth Hunter, Julia Tomasson, and Alex Garnick.


November 18, 2022: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's online colloquium series will feature Jean-Charles Pelland, who will speak on the topic "Which Numeral is that? On notational privilege" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time, 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


December 3, 2022:   AGM and Christmas Meeting, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM),
This meeting will take place virtually.

          The BSHM's annual Christmas meeting will take place online this year, following successful online meetings in the past two years.The AGM will be held during the lunch break in the meeting.


December 7, 2022:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
This colloquium may also be viewed virtually.

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 107 Science Building and preceded by coffee at 3:45 pm in Room 410 Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Walter Meyer (Adelphi University) will speak on “The History of College Algebra 1910–1930: A Surge of New Ideas.”
          Contact Pat Allaire or Rob Bradley for further information, including Zoom details.


December 7–10, 2022:  Quadrennial International Conference on Ethnomathematics (ISGEm)
This conference will take place virtually.

         Sponsored by the The International Study Group for Ethnomathematics, the seventh quadrennial International Conference on Ethnomathematics (ICEM-7) will be hosted jointly by academic institutions in the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. This year’s theme is: Ethnomathematics: Embracing Diverse Knowledge Systems for Social Justice and Peace.


December 8, 2022:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. In the December talk Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, Co-editor of MAA Convergence, will present HoM Toolbox: Historiography and Methodology for Mathematicians. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


December 16, 2022: In(-)visibility of women in science. Historical perspectives, Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES), International Union of History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPST)
This program will take place virtually. A recording of the event may be viewed here.

         Launched in 2022, the SCGES Webinar Series is a monthly event that highlights various topics of interest around the focus tasks of the Committee. This webinar considers the historical invisibility of women in science and how historians of science have developed strategies to make them visible. Speakers include: Patricia Fara (University of Cambridge), “Tomorrow Began Yesterday: Why History Matters”; Brigitte Stenhouse (University of Toronto & The Open University), “Navigating Gendered Barriers to Scientific Knowledge Through Spousal Cooperation: Mrs and Mr Mary Somerville”; and Indianara Lima Silva (State University of Feira de Santana): “Visibility of Women in Science, for an Anti-oppressive World.” The event will be held online at 4–6 PM CET, 10 AM–12 PM EST. Register and find more information here.


December 21, 2022: John Buridan’s Self-Referential Paradoxes, Gathering4Gardner 
This talk will take place virtually.

          Tony Mann (Univ. of Greenwich) will discuss the remarkable analysis of self-referential paradoxes by the 14th-century philosopher, John Buridan. A direct link to the Zoom room is here. Previous presentations may be found on the organization’s YouTube channel.

2021

January 6–9, 2021:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Washington, DC
This meeting will take place virtually.

          The program includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • AMS Special Session, “History of Mathematics,” co-organized by Adrian Rice (Randolph Macon College), Deborah Kent (Drake Univ.), Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), and Danny Otero (Xavier Univ.).
  • HOM SIGMAA Reception, Business Meeting, and Guest Lecture by Danny Otero (Xavier Univ.), “Jakob Bernoulli’s Treatise on Infinite Series”.
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session, “The Philosophy of Mathematics, in Memory of Reuben Hersh,” co-organized by Sally Cockburn (Hamilton College), Kevin Iga (Pepperdine Univ.), and Tom Morley (Georgia Tech, emeritus).
  • AMS Special Session, “The Legacy of Dick Askey,” co-organized by Howard S. Cohl (NIST), Mourad E.H. Ismail (Univ. of Central Florida), and George E. Andrews (Penn State Univ.)
  • AMS Special Session, “Creative Teaching Methods That Lead to Student Learning,” co-organized by Michael A. Radin (Rochester Inst. of Tech.), Natali Hritonenko (Prairie View A & M Univ.), and Ellina Grigorieva (Texas Woman’s Univ.)
  • AMS Special Session, “Knotty Problems in Geometry: Special Session in Memory of Mark E. Kidwell,” co-organized by Will Traves (USNA) and Kerry Luse (Trinity Washington Univ.)
  • AMS-NAM Joint Special Session, “Celebrating the Mathematical Legacy of Dr. James A. Donaldson,” co-organized by Naiomi Cameron (Spellman College), Talitha Washington (Clark Atlanta Univ.), Caleb Ashley (Univ. of Michigan), and Bourama Toni (Howard Univ.)
  • AMS Invited Address by Ryan Hynd (Univ. of Penn.), “The Hamilton-Jacobi equation, past and present.”


January 15, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The January 15 session will feature Dora Musielak, University of Texas at Arlington,  who will speak on the topic, “Prime Mystery: Sophie Germain and Fermat’s Last Theorem,” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


January 21, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The January seminar talk will be presented by Marina Vulis, who will discuss the life and career of Zygmunt Janiszewski (1888–1920). All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


January 30, 2021:  ARITHMOS Meeting
This meeting will take place virtually.

          We will finish E271, which we began at the previous session, 2–4 pm. For Zoom details contact Rob Bradley, bradley@adelphi.edu.


February 18, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The February seminar talk, titled The Cycloid, A Very Popular Curve, will be presented by Professor Maria Zack, Professor and Chair, Mathematics, Information and Computer Science, Point Loma University. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details. 


February 19, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The February 19 session will feature David Waszek, McGill University,  who will speak on the topic, “Notational differences, exploration and discovery in mathematics,” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


February 27, 2021:  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), Research in Progress
This meeting will take place virtually.

          Clemency Montelle, University of Canterbury (New Zealand), will be the keynote speaker. See the event page for updated information.


February 27, 2021:  Mathematics at the Intersection of Art, Culture, and History: In Celebration of The Mathematical Intelligencer and Marjorie Senechal, Conference 
This conference will take place virtually.

          Karen Parshall and Sergei Tabachnikov, the organizers and hosts, are especially looking forward to celebrating together with you the legacy of the Intelligencer and Marjorie Senechal's great tenure as the Magazine's Editor-in-Chief. The conference begins at 10 am ET. For information and Zoom details click on the event above.


March 2, 2021: Launch of the Symposium Governing Science and Technology. What was at Stake for Women? (From the late 19th to the early 21st Century) 
This symposium will take place virtually.

          This symposium will take place through Zoom beginning at 3pm and until 5:30pm (Paris time). To register, please write before March 1st to the following address, gst2020@sciencesconf.org, with copy to ilemonon@gmail.com This meeting will officially launch the symposium that will take place on July 1–2, 2021, with seven panels conceived as spaces for research and discussion.


March 3, 2021:   HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Speaker: Rob Bradley is professor of mathematics at Adelphi University. He's the president of the Euler Society and one of the founding members of HOM-SIGMAA. With Ed Sandifer and Sal Petrilli, he authored L'Hôpital's Analyse Des Infiniments Petits: An Annotated Translation with Source Material by Johann Bernoulli (2015).

          Abstract: Anyone who has studied Calculus knows the name l'Hôpital (or l'Hospital), because of the rule for evaluating indeterminate forms that bears his name. Those who have dug a little deeper may know that it was actually Johann Bernoulli who discovered l'Hôpital's Rule. In fact, l'Hôpital's mathematical output was fairly modest, but his place in the history of mathematics was secured when he published the first calculus textbook in 1696, Analyse des infiniment petits. Bernoulli, who was quarrelsome and often involved in priority disputes, outlived l'Hôpital by 44 years. During that time, he would tell anyone who would listen that it was he who had written l'Hôpital's book. Historians of the 18th and 19th centuries were divided on who should be credited for authoring the Analyse. Priority was finally resolved in 1921, when a copy of one of Bernoulli's manuscripts was discovered in the libraries of the University of Basel. As so often happens, the truth is somewhat complicated.
Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


March 6, 2021:  ARITHMOS Meeting
Rescheduled from February 27, 2021. This meeting will take place virtually.

          We will read Euler’s Bridges of Konigsberg paper (E53). The Latin original is on the Euler Archive and an English translation is included in Newman’s World of Mathematics, 2–4 pm. For Zoom details contact Rob Bradley, bradley@adelphi.edu.


March 12, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The March 12 session will feature Lauren Siegel, MathHappens Foundation, who will speak on the topic, “Primary sources and mathematical artifacts can inspire creative presentations for outreach projects,” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


March 19, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The March seminar talk, titled 'Which shall be regarded as the best?': Axiom Systems and American Mathematics, will be presented by Ellen Abrams of Cornell University. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details. 


April 7, 2021:   HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Speaker: Deborah Kent is a Reader in History of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews.

          Abstract: Nineteenth-century mathematician and physicist Peter Guthrie Tait (1831–1901) is widely known for his collaborations with Maxwell, Hamilton, and Thomson. Less familiar are his extensive aerodynamical studies. In the 1890s, Tait published over a dozen papers on the path of a rotating spherical projectile. Tait's classic work on the trajectory of golf balls was experimentally tested on the course at St Andrews with the help of his son, celebrated amateur golfer Freddie Tait. P.G. Tait realized that the combination of a dimpled surface and backspin created lift that allowed the ball to exceed the maximum expected distance.
Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


April 15, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the spring semester, with one speaker each month. The April seminar talk will be presented by Brenda Davison of Simon Fraser University, who will discuss George Stokes’s work on the pendulum. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


April 20, 2021: Bohemian Logical & Philosophical Café
This talk will take place virtually.

          This seminar offers a framework for webinars in emerging topics in philosophy and logic. The next presentation, at 4 pm CET (Prague time; 10 am Eastern), will be by Jeremy Avigad of Carnegie Mellon University on the topic, “Methodology and Metaphysics in Dedekind’s theory of ideals.” Visit the website for joining information.


April 27, 2021: Gresham Lecture: Where Do Mathematical Symbols Come From?
This talk will take place virtually.

          The sixth of a series of six lectures presented by Professor Sarah Hart, currently Gresham Professor of Geometry and President of the BSHM, explores how the introduction of new notation has paved the way for new leaps in understanding, and considers some mathematical quirks of language. Visit the website to register and to watch previous lectures.


April 29–30, 2021:  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), Marriages, Couples, and the Making of Mathematical Careers
This workshop will take place virtually.

          This online workshop proposes to explore the role of marriage and other domestic partnerships in the lived practice and constructed memory of mathematics.

May 5, 2021:   HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Speaker: Jessica Otis is an Assistant Professor of History and Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

          Abstract: During the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many English account-keepers replaced their existing object-based and literate arithmetical practices with Arabic numerals. This was not a straightforward process of replacement; early modern men and women considered the material characteristics of symbolic systems when making decisions about whether or not to trust a system to perform either of the conceptually distinct functions of recording and calculation. . . . This talk examines both the incentives and disincentives to Arabic numeral adoption in detail, in order to move beyond modern assumptions about the inherent superiority of Arabic numerals, particularly in the fraught arena of financial transactions, where trust in numbers was vital.
Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


May 7, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The May 7 session will feature Emmylou Haffner (Laboratoire de mathématiques d'Orsay & Fondation Jacques Hadamard), who will speak on the topic, “What we can learn from Dedekind's drafts and how to navigate such a corpus.” CSHPM colloquia begin at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


May 14, 2021:  LMS Spitalfields History of Mathematics Meeting
This meeting will take place virtually.

          A half-day of presentations (2:00 PM–5:30 PM BST) to launch the Educational Times Digital Archive, organized jointly by University College London Special Collections and the London Mathematical Society. The registration link is here. The database was recently profiled in Convergence.


May 15, 2021:  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), History of Decision Mathematics Conference 
Rescheduled from May 2020.

          An all day conference that will be held at Birkbeck College, London. See the website at History of Decision Mathematics.


May 21, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The May 21 session will feature Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), who will speak on the topic, “‘To advance mathematics’: evidence for women’s intellectual ambition in the Bryn Mawr graduate program and abroad.” CSHPM colloquia begin at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


June 2, 2021:   HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Spring Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Speaker: V. Frederick Rickey and Marion (Wendy) Alexander

          Abstract: It is well known that Euler proved the irrationality of e in his first paper on continued fractions, "De fractionibus continuis dissertatio" (E71), which was written in 1737 and published in 1744. But have you ever seen that proof? We doubt it. It was only published in E71 and Euler omitted several significant details that his contemporaries would have known about but that we don't. Although hindered by lack of library access we have found half a dozen papers that claim to elucidate Euler's proof, but none of them do. Rosanna Cretney's 2014 paper, "The origins of Euler's early work on continued fractions," Historia Mathematica 41 (2014), 139–156, provided crucial details. Cretney showed how Euler (in an 1731 letter to Goldbach, E729) used ideas from Daniel Bernoulli's 1724 Exercitationes to create a simple infinite continued fraction function for e. This provided the first proof that e is irrational.
Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


June 18, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The June 18 session will feature David Bellhouse, Western University (emeritus),  who will speak on the topic, “William Playfair’s Statistical Graphs,” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


July 1–2, 2021: Symposium Governing Science and Technology: What was at Stake for Women? (From the late 19th to the early 21st Century)
This meeting will take place virtually.

          The symposium will have seven panels conceived as spaces for research and discussion. See the event page at https://gst2020.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/2 for updated information.


July 11–18, 2021:  14th Quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-14), Shanghai, China
This congress will take place in hybrid mode.

          The ICME-14 program includes a total of 62 Topic Study Groups (TSGs). Of particular relevance to the study of the history of mathematics are these:

  • TSG 27, “The Role of the History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education”
  • TSG 55, “The History of the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics”

         See also the HPM satellite meeting (July 19, 2021, entry below).


July 12–15, 2021:  Quinquennial BSHM-CSHPM/SCHPM Joint Meeting, St Andrews, Scotland
Rescheduled from July 2020. In January 2021 it was announced that this conference will take place virtually.

           Hosted by the Univ. of St Andrews, with the theme "People, Places, Practices". Approximately every five years, a conference is held jointly by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and its sister society, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (Société canadienne d'histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques) (CSHPM/SCHPM). Free registration and a draft programme are available here until July 9.


July 19, 2021:  10th Quadrennial HPM meeting, Macao, China
Rescheduled from July 2020. In June 2021 it was announced that this conference will take place virtually.

          HPM 2020, scheduled at the Univ. of Macau in SAR Macao, China, is the 10th quadrennial meeting of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics—the HPM Group. It is a satellite conference of ICME-14 in Shanghai, China (see July 11–18, 2021, entry, above). The official languages of HPM 2020 are English and Chinese. Due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will consist of one day of plenary lectures presented in partnership with the British Society for the History of Mathematics. Registration and further information are available at the link above as well as on the BSHM website.


July 19–23, 2021:  Objects of Understanding: Historical Perspectives on Material Artefacts and Practices in Science Education, Flensburg, Germany
Rescheduled from June 2020.

          The conference will discuss objects that were explicitly designed for the purpose of science education such as teaching demonstrations and students’ experiments, models and collections of specimens, as well as the relationship between teaching and research instruments and collections, and the practices associated with them. It is sponsored by the Scientific Instrument Commission (SIC), the International History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching Group (IHPST), the International Committee for University Museums and Collections (UMAC) and Universeum, the European Academic Heritage Network. Proposals for individual papers of about 20 minutes and for posters are welcomed; submit abstracts of no more than 250 words to OoU-conference@uni-flensburg.de by October 15, 2020.


July 20–24, 2021:  ICHME-7 Seventh International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education 
This conference has been postponed to 09/19–09/23/2022.

          The conference host is Prof. Dr. Ysette Weiss, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Institut für Mathematik, Mainz, Germany.


July 25–31, 2021:  26th International Congress of History of Science and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic

          Scheduled at Charles University in Prague, this gathering is organized by the Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST) of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST). The theme of this year’s Congress is “Giants and Dwarfs in Science, Technology and Medicine”. The deadlines for submission of proposals are Apr. 30, 2020, for complete symposia, and Nov. 30, 2020, for stand-alone abstracts.


July 26–29, 2021:  Nexus 20/21, Kaiserslautern, Germany
This meeting will take place virtually.

          The 14th international, interdisciplinary, biennial Nexus Conference on the Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics is hosted by the Faculty of Architecture at the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (FATUK) and sponsored by Kim Williams Books. The program includes numerous talks on the mathematics of historic architecture.


August 4–7, 2021:  MAA MathFest, Mountain Daylight Time
This meeting will take place virtually.

          MathFest is the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America. The program will include a contributed paper session on Ethnomathematics, Culture Meets Mathematics in the Classroom, sponsored by HOM SIGMAA; a panel on The Art of Publishing in MAA Journals; and a lecture by Bonita Saunders, “Complex Functions, Mesh Generation, and Hidden Figures in the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions.” The deadline to submit abstracts for contributed paper sessions and poster sessions is May 21, 2021. Register here.


August 25–28, 2021:  Talking Maths in PublicBritish Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
The conference will take place virtually.

          Talking Maths in Public is a conference which runs in the UK every two years, for people who work in, or otherwise participate in, communicating mathematics to the public.


September 9–10, 16–17, 2021:  Thomas Harriot in Global and Local Contexts,  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)
The conference will take place virtually.

          A conference organized by the Thomas Harriot Seminar to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of Thomas Harriot's death in 1621. Hosted by the Warburg Institute.


September 11, 2021:  History of Mathematics and Flight, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) 
Rescheduled from September 2020. This meeting has been postponed (again) to July 2, 2022. See entry below.

          All day meeting at the Concorde Conference Center, Manchester Airport, Manchester, England. Includes an optional tour of the Concorde flight deck.


September 16, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar continues to meet virtually on Zoom, with one speaker each month. The September seminar talk, “The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra: History in Pictures,” will be presented by Dan Velleman of Amherst College. All talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


September 17, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The September 17 session will feature James Robert Brown, (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto), who will speak on “Mathematical Evidence.” CSHPM colloquia begin at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


September 24–25, 2021:  48th Annual Miami University Mathematics Conference, Oxford, Ohio
Rescheduled from September 2020. This conference has been postponed (again) to Fall 2022. Further information will be posted when available.

          The theme of this year's meeting is History of Mathematics, and keynote speakers will be David Richeson (Dickinson College) and Glen Van Brummelen (Trinity Western University, Canada). The conference will include the 47th Annual Pi Mu Epsilon Student Conference.


September 27–28, 2021:  Mathematics without Borders: The Centennial of the International Mathematical Union, Strasbourg, France
Rescheduled from September 2020.

          The IMU was officially established on September 20, 1920, just before the International Congress of Mathematicians in Strasbourg. A live webcast of this celebration will be available.


October 5–6, 2021:  Black Heroes of Mathematics, London Mathematical Society
The conference will take place virtually.

          “The vision of this conference is to celebrate the inspirational contributions of Black role models to the field of mathematics and mathematics education.”


October 18, 2021: The Maths of Perspective in Art, Museum of London
The lecture will be live-streamed as well as delivered in person.

          This lecture on the discovery of the rules of perspective and the mathematics behind them is the first of a series of six lectures on “Geometry: The Mathematics of Art,” given by Professor Sarah Hart, Gresham Professor of Geometry and BSHM President.


October 20, 2021:  Gresham Lecture: Non-Western Mathematics, Museum of London

          The event will include talks by Anuj Misra, “Sanskrit Mathematics in the Language of Poetry”; Manuel Medrano, “Knot Just Numbers: Mathematics and More in Andean Khipu Strings”; and Karine Chemla, “Histories of Numbers.”


October 21, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar continues to meet virtually on Zoom, with one speaker each month. The October seminar talk, “Stanislaw Lesniewski, Logician Extraordinaire,” will be presented by Fred Rickey. All talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


October 22, 2021:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The October 22 session will feature Zoe Ashton (The Ohio State University), who will speak on the topic, “Each Another’s Audience: A Rhetorical Account of Rigor.” CSHPM colloquia begin at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


November 3, 2021:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Fall Lecture Series
The talk will take place virtually.

          Noah Aydin (Kenyon College) will speak on “A Mathematician’s Journey into History of Mathematics: Impacts, Reflections, and Lessons,” on how he developed a research interest in the history of mathematics and science in the Islamic world. Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


November 11, 2021:  Thomas Harriot LectureBritish Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)

          Larry E. Tise will deliver the lecture, “Thomas Harriot and the Creation of America's First Illustrated Colouring Book,” in the Champneys Room of Oriel College, Oxford, at 5 pm.


November 18, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar continues to meet virtually on Zoom, with one speaker each month. The November seminar talk, on the axiomatic contributions of Mario Pieri and Alfred Tarski, will be presented by James T. Smith of San Francisco State University. All talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


November 18–21, 2021:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana
This conference will take place virtually.

          History of mathematics and the exact sciences on the program of this joint conference with the Society for the History of Technology includes sessions on Ancient Greece and Rome, Medieval; Another Vast Machine: Data, Models, and Simulations in the Human Sciences; Gender and Work in the Mathematical Sciences; Health and Computation Before the Internet; Libraries and Mathematics: Rethinking “the mathematician’s laboratory”; Naturalness as an Epistemic Virtue: Case Studies from the History of Mathematics; and Standardization and Measurement from the Ancient World to the Early 20th Century.


December 1, 2021:  HOM SIGMAA First Wednesdays Fall Virtual Speaker Series
The talk will take place virtually at 4 pm PST/7 pm EST.

          Speaker: Cynthia Huffman is a University Professor of mathematics at Pittsburg State University, and is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of HOM SIGMAA. She is also an accomplished handbell soloist.

          Abstract: Change ringing, the ringing of church tower bells in permutations at important events such as weddings and funerals, dates back to 1610. By 1670, authors of change ringing compositions seemed to be aware of the concept of a coset; at least 150 years before mathematicians were beginning to formalize group theory. In this presentation, we will look at some of the connections between change ringing and group theory. A live demonstration of ringing cosets on handbells will be included (along with a musical surprise).
Contact Jemma Lorenat for Zoom details.


December 5–7, 2021:  Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting
The conference will take place virtually.

          The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics is sponsoring a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics. Speakers are listed here, a panel on women in mathematical history is described here, and registration information is found here.


December 9, 2021:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar continues to meet virtually on Zoom, with one speaker each month. The December seminar talk, “Clairaut’s Quatre Problèmes sur de Nouvelles Courbes” will be presented by Colin McKinney of Wabash College and is based on the translation found here in Convergence. All talks begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.

2020


2019–2020:  “Mathematics in the 21st Century” Lecture Series, London, England

          Gresham College Professor Chris Budd speaks about the applications of math in modern life:

  • October 8, 2019, “The Maths of Future Computing”
  • November 12, 2019, “Maths and Voting”
  • January 7, 2020, “Can Maths Save The Whales and Cure Cancer?”
  • February 11, 2020, “Great Mathematical Myths”
  • March 10, 2020, “The Art of Maths”
  • April 28, 2020, “Equations That Have Changed the World”


January 3–6, 2020:  epiSTEME 8, Mumbai, India

          The Eighth International Conference to Review Research in Science, TEchnology and Mathematics Education (epiSTEME 8) is the latest in a series of biennial meetings scheduled at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). One of the three strands of the conference is “Historical, Philosophical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of STME: Implications for Education”. The deadline for submission of papers is June 15, 2019.


January 8–9, 2020:  British Academy workshop, Edinburgh, Scotland

           This interdisciplinary workshop, sponsored by the British Academy and scheduled at the University of Edinburgh, is titled, "Universals' Locales: The International and Global History and Sociology of Modern Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences." Early-career scholars interested in the history or sociology of the modern theoretical and mathematical sciences are invited to explore the methods and implications of studying the local and global scales of seemingly universal knowledge. Conversations will be guided by Martina Merz (Alpen-Adria-Universität, Austria), Tatiana Roque (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), David Aubin (Sorbonne Université), and Ursula Martin (Edinburgh and Oxford Universities). Travel, accommodation, and meals during the workshop are funded for accepted participants. Applications are due by September 20, 2019 (use the link above). For any questions or expressions of interest, contact Michael J. Barany at the Univ. of Edinburgh.


January 13–15, 2020:  Tribute to Kurt Gödel 2020, Brno, Czech Republic

           This international conference is organized by the Brno Observatory and Planetarium, the Kurt Gödel Society in Brno, and Masaryk University.


January 15–18, 2020: AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Denver, CO

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" is scheduled this year at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, three sessions co-organized by Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.), and Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College).
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session, “A History of Mathematics in the United States and Canada: A Session in Honor of Math Historian David Zitarelli”, co-organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.) and Toke Knudsen (SUNY-Oneonta).
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on History or Philosophy of Mathematics, co-organized by Cathy Erbes (Hiram College), Holley Friedlander (Dickinson College), and Steven McKay (Brigham Young Univ.).
  • MAA Invited Paper Session on Creating Spaces for Mathematics.
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on Mathematics and Technology, History, and Logic.
  • MAA Invited Address by Della Dumbaugh (Univ. of Richmond), “Prospering Through Mathematics”.
  • AMS Special Session on Current Areas of Interest in the Mathematical Sciences of Medieval Islam, co-organized by Emelie A. Kenney (Siena College), Mohammad Javaheri (Siena College), and Mohammad K. Azarian (Univ. of Evansville).
  • Workshop, “Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Source Projects”, organized by the TRIUMPHS team (TRansforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources). This NSF-funded team of mathematicians is designing classroom modules called Primary Source Projects (PSPs) that can be used to teach topics across the standard undergraduate mathematics curriculum through the reading and study of primary historical sources (in English translation).
  • HOM SIGMAA Reception, Business Meeting, and Guest Lecture by June Barrow-Green (The Open Univ.), “The Historical Representation of Women in Mathematics”.


January 23, 2020:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Maryam Vulis (St. John’s Univ. in NY and Norwalk Community College in CT) will speak on The Lvov School of Mathematics, which officially existed from 1919 to 1939. This talk will discuss the works of the Polish mathematicians and the establishment of the Lvov School as a natural outcome of the development of mathematics prior to 1918, when Poland finally regained independence. Often called the school of functional analysis, the Lvov School of Mathematics left an invaluable legacy, and the contributions are numerous; this talk will address those of mathematicians who worked with Stefan Banach, Stanislaw Ulam, Marc Kac, Stanislaw Mazur, Hugo Steinhaus, and Kazimierz Kuratowski. The school came to an end with the 1939 annexation of Lvov, Poland to the USSR and the German occupation during WWII; sadly, many mathematicians from Lvov did not survive the war.


February 21–22, 2020:   ORESME Reading Group Meeting, Cincinnati, OH area

          This 42nd semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group, scheduled at Northern Kentucky Univ., will take up the first few lectures from Augustin-Louis Cauchy’s famous Résumé des leçons … sur le calcul infinitésimal, his 1823 calculus course at l’École Royale Polytechnique, wherein he presented his definition of a limit for the first time and used it to define both continuity and the notion of a derivative. There is a new English translation of this: Chapters 1-3 in Dennis M. Cates, Cauchy’s Calcul Infinitésimal: An Annotated English Translation (Springer, 2019). ORESME meetings feature discussion of important works in the history of mathematics, usually concentrating on a single author; the readings can be downloaded from the ORESME website. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


February 29, 2020:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual full-day meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held in Shulman Auditorium, Queen's College, Univ. of Oxford, will be research students in the history of mathematics and a keynote speaker.


March 5, 2020:  Engineering: Archimedes of Syracuse, London, England

          Scheduled at Barnard's Inn Hall at Gresham College, Edith Hall (Visiting Professor of Classics) discusses how Archimedes became the founder of statics and hydrostatics. By applying his discoveries to practical problems and physical phenomena, he demonstrated how levers work and created unprecedented war machines such as "Archimedes’ claw" and "heat-ray".


March 6–7, 2020:  Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, San Juan Islands, Washington

          The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual rugged but scenic location. Paper proposal deadline: Jan. 17, 2020.


March 31, 2020:  Deadline for 2020 HOM SIGMAA Student Paper Contest
The deadline was extended to April 15, 2020.

          Entries to the 17th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Paper Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Amy Shell-Gellasch by Tuesday, March 31, 2020. For more information, contact Amy Shell-Gellasch.


April 20, 2020:  The World of Isaac Newton, London, England
This lecture has been postponed; a rescheduled date will be announced in due course.

          Scheduled at Barnard's Inn Hall at Gresham College, Raymond Flood and Robin Wilson present an illustrated lecture covering Newton's life and his mathematical and scientific labors in the context of 17th-Century England, featuring his childhood in Lincolnshire, his university career in Cambridge, and his later life in London as Master of the Royal Mint and President of the Royal Society. This event marks the launch of a new Pitkin Guide on Isaac Newton, to be published in early 2020.


April 24–25, 2020:  24th Annual Recreational Mathematics Conference, South Lake Tahoe, CA
This conference has been canceled.

         This annual conference, organized by the California Mathematics Council of Community Colleges, always includes talks on historical topics.


May 16, 2020:  History of Decision Mathematics, London, England
This conference has been canceled; it is likely to take place in May 2021.

          This all-day conference at Birkbeck College, London, features about half a dozen speakers. The conference is organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) with support from the Dept. of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, Univ. of London.


May 17, 2020: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session was held online.

          The group will meet via web conference at 2:00 pm EDT to read Leibniz' Nova methodus pro maximas et minimas, which is available in the original Latin, in English translation, and even in a French translation. Contact Rob Bradley.


May 20–24, 2020:   Biennial Conference on History of Mathematics and Teaching of Mathematics, Miskolc, Hungary
This conference has been canceled; its organizers are working on organizing a virtual conference with published Proceedings to take its place.

         Hosted by the Univ. of Miskolc, whose campus lies next to Miskolc-Tapolca (a spa famous for its thermal cave-bath), this conference aims to present aspects of the history of mathematics— including its impact on the teaching of mathematics— to provide a forum to meet one another, and to give an opportunity for young researchers to present their findings in the history of mathematics. Educators, students, graduate students, and other researchers are invited to take part in the meeting. Each participant will be given the possibility of presenting his/her contribution as a short (15-20 minutes) talk or a poster. Refereed papers will be published in the conference volume. The deadline for submission of abstracts of proposed talks is Mar. 15, 2020.


May 30 – June 1, 2020:  CSHPS/SCHPS Annual Meeting, London, Ontario, Canada
This year's Congress has been canceled.

          The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science  / La Société Canadienne d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences (CSHPS/SCHPS) is scheduled at Western University in conjunction with the 2020 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.


June 13, 2020: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will be held online.

          The group will meet via web conference at 2:00 pm EDT to read Leibniz's De geometria recondita et analysi indivisibilium atque infinitorum, concerning the integral calculus and the fundamental theorem of calculus, which is available in the original Latin, in French translation, and in French translation.The meeting will be held on Zoom.  Contact Rob Bradley


July 5–11, 2020:  Eighth Quadrennial European Congress of Mathematics, Portorož, Slovenia
This conference has been postponed to June 20–26, 2021.

          This quadrennial Congress of the European Mathematical Society is scheduled at the St. Bernardin Convention Centre in Portorož, Slovenia.


July 6, 2020: Mathematics in Times of Crisis, Online Conference

           Sponsored by the British Society for the History of Mathematics, this online conference will use a mix of specially recorded presentations and live discussion sessions using Zoom. If you would like to give a presentation, please email Isobel Falconer (ijf3@st-andrews.ac.uk). Presentations may be of any length between 10 minutes and 40 minutes. Guidance on how to record your presentation will be provided. The "Crisis" might be mathematical (e.g. Cantor's realization that there were different types of infinity), economic (e.g. a financial crash), health (e.g. Newton self-isolating in an orchard), political (e.g. transition between Chinese dynasties), warfare, or any other type that occurs to you. The interesting thing is how mathematics or mathematicians caused, responded or developed during the crisis.


July 6–8, 2020: Quinquennial BSHM-CSHPM/SCHPM Joint Meeting, St Andrews, Scotland
This meeting has been postponed to July 12–14, 2021.

           Scheduled at the Univ. of St Andrews, this year with the theme "People, Places, Practices". Every five years, a conference is held jointly by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and its sister society, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (Société canadienne d'histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques) (CSHPM/SCHPM). The deadline to submit a proposal for a paper is November 30, 2019. Co-located with the Eleventh Conference on Mathematical Cultures and Practices on July 8–10 (q.v. below).


July 8–10, 2020: Eleventh Conference on Mathematical Cultures and Practices, St Andrews, Scotland
This conference has been postponed until July 10–12, 2021.

           Scheduled at the Univ. of St Andrews, this is a meeting of scholars from mathematics, philosophy, mathematics education, sociology, anthropology, automated reasoning, and history of mathematics. The participants are interested in cultural aspects of mathematical research practice, and in developing a view of the discipline based on empirical observations of the practices of mathematicians, taking into account the fact that cultures and practices of mathematics vary over time, space, and research community. The broad themes explored at the meeting include local mathematical cultures and styles; values in mathematics; the social nature of mathematical knowledge production; materiality of mathematics; and technological innovations. Co-located with the Quinquennial BSHM-CSHPM/SCHPM Joint Meeting on July 6–8 (q.v. above).


July 12–19, 2020: 14th Quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-14), Shanghai, China
This meeting has been postponed to July 1118, 2021.

         The ICME-14 program includes a total of 62 Topic Study Groups (TSGs). Of particular relevance to the study of the history of mathematics are these:

  • TSG 27, “The Role of the History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education”, co-chaired by Kathleen M. Clark (Florida State Univ.) and Constantinos Tzanakis (Univ. of Crete, Greece)
  • TSG 55, “The History of the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics”, co-chaired by Wagner Rodrigues Valente (Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil) and Alexander Karp (Columbia Univ.)

         The first-round window for submission of papers and posters to TSGs is Jun. 1 – Sep. 15, 2019.

         See also the HPM satellite meeting (July 21–25, 2020 entry, below).


July 18, 2020: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will be held online.

          The group will meet via web conference at 2:00 pm EDT to read Leibniz's 1693 paper in which he gives his proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus: Supplementum geometriae dimensoriae. The article is available in many places in the original Latin.  There is an English translation of a critical passage in Struik's A Source Book in Mathematics, 1200-1800 (p. 282-284). Ian Bruce has a full English translation at http://www.17centurymaths.com/contents/Leibniz/ae13.pdf. A French translation by Paremntier is also available. The meeting will be held on Zoom. Contact Rob Bradley.


July 20–23, 2020:  Nexus 2020, Kaiserslautern, Germany
This conference has been postponed to July 26–29, 2021.

          The 14th international, interdisciplinary, biennial Nexus Conference on the Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics is hosted by the Faculty of Architecture at the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (FATUK) and sponsored by Kim Williams Books. Nexus 2020 is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between architecture and mathematics.Submissions of presentation proposals are accepted only in the period Nov. 1-29, 2019.


July 21–25, 2020:  10th quadrennial HPM meeting, Macao, China
This meeting has been postponed to July 2024, 2021.

          HPM 2020, scheduled at the Univ. of Macau in SAR Macao, China, is the10th quadrennial meeting of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics— the HPM Group. It is a satellite conference of ICME-14 in Shanghai, China (see July 12-19, 2020 entry, above). The official languages of HPM 2020 are English and Chinese. The program includes plenary lectures, panels, workshops, and parallel sessions where participants present research reports, as well as poster exhibitions and exhibits of books and other didactical material. To submit a proposal for a research report, workshop, and/or poster, register for an account and submit the proposal via Microsoft CMT, and submit an abstract of at most 500 words no later than October 31, 2019.


July 29 – August 1, 2020:  MAA MathFest, Philadelphia, PA
This conference has been canceled.

          MathFest, the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.The program will include a "Read the Masters" session (co-sponsored by the Euler Society, ORESME, HoM SIGMAA, ARITHMOS and TRIUMPHS) that will begin with a short overview lecture by Rob Bradley, followed by an open reading session of a portion of Cauchy's Calcul Infinitésimal, . The deadline to propose SIGMAA sessions is Jan. 31, 2020; to submit abstracts for contributed paper sessions, poster sessions, panels, workshops, and town halls is May 15, 2020; and for early-bird conference registration is May 15, 2020. Discounted rates at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown are available until July 13, based on availability.


August 1–5, 2020:  Bridges Conference, Helsinki and Espoo, Finland
This conference will take place virtually. Proceedings of accepted papers will be published so that authors have their work officially recognized as reviewed and published. 

         Scheduled this year at Aalto Univ. and the Univ. of Helsinki, "Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture" is the world’s largest interdisciplinary conference on mathematics and art. This annual conference is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between the arts and mathematics. The submission deadline is February 1, 2020 for regular papers, and March 1, 2020 for short or workshop papers.


August 7, 2020: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
All sessions of this colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's bi-weekly online colloquium series will feature Brenda Davison, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at Simon Fraser University, who will speak on the topic "Divergent series and Numeric Computation" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada). Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or home page (http://www.cshpm.org/).


August 8, 2020: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will take place virtually.

          The group will meet via web conference at 2:00 pm EDT to read portions of Isaac Barrow's Geometrical Lectures, in Child's English translation. The meeting will be held on Zoom. Contact Rob Bradley.


August 21, 2020: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Virtual Annual General Meeting
This meeting will take place virtually.

          The short agenda for this year's Annual General Meeting will include announcement of election results, review of the society's finances, a discussion of the 2021 meeting with the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and a few other updates. The business meeting itself will take from 10:00–10:45 am PDT, followed by a 15-minute break before the start of the CSHPM Online Colloquium talk (described below). For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or home page (http://www.cshpm.org/).


August 21, 2020: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM's bi-weekly online colloquium series will feature Jamie Tappenden, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who will speak on the topic "Frege on Computation and Deduction: Herbart, Fischer and 'Aggregative, Mechanical Thinking'" beginning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time. Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM  members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


August 22, 2020: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will take place virtually.

          The group will meet via web conference at 2:00 pm EDT to read Isaac Barrow's treatment of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus in lectures 8-10 of his Geometrical Lectures, in the 1735 English translation by Edmund Stone. Stone's translation can be found here. The meeting will be held on Zoom. Contact Rob Bradley.


August 31 – September 3, 2020:  International Conference of the European Society for History of Science, Bologna, Italy
This conference will take place virtually.

         The ninth biennial International Conference of the European Society for History of Science (ESHS) is hosted by the Centre for the History of Universities and Science at the University of Bologna (CIS) and by the Italian Society for the History of Science (SISS). The conference theme is “Visual, Material and Sensory Cultures of Science”.


September 4, 2020: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          This session of CSHPM's bi-weekly online colloquium series will feature Jean-Pierre Marquis, Professor of Philosophy at the Université de Montréal, who will speak on the topic "On Mathematical Style" beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


September 12–13, 2020:  Virtual International Meeting 2020 (slide rules), Cambridge, Massachusetts
This meeting will take place virtually.

          This gathering of slide rule collectors and scholars will be held via Zoom, with days running from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm PDT. Events include attendee introductions, presentations, and an auction. Despite the deadline on the website, free registrations will be accepted up to the day before the conference by contacting Jim Bready or Bob De Cesaris.


September 14–18, 2020: XXXIX Scientific Instrument Symposium, London, England
This symposium will take place virtually.

          This conference has been converted to a virtual event for which registration will be free. Information on registration and the program will be available soon. The organizers report, "Paper presentations will be pre-recorded and available to view via the Science Museum website at your convenience during conference week. Live sessions (Q&As for the presentations, 'tours', and social time) will be held between 12.00 – 18.00 London time, to enable maximum participation across different time zones. The SIC AGM is likely to be held on Wednesday 16 September."  The theme is "Spaces for instruments".


September 17, 2020:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. The September talk will be presented by Laura Turner of Monmouth College, on E. V. Huntington. All seminar talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


September 25, 2020:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
The talk will take place virtually.

          This session of CSHPM's bi-weekly online colloquium series will feature Valérie Lynn Therrien, PhD Candidate in Philosophy at McGill University, who will speak on the topic "On Counting as Mathematical Progress: Kuratowski-Zorn's Lemma and the Path Not Taken" beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


September 25–26, 2020:  48th Annual Miami University Mathematics Conference, Oxford, Ohio
This meeting has been postponed to September 2425, 2021.

          The theme of this year's meeting is History of Mathematics, and keynote speakers will be David Richeson (Dickinson College) and Glen van Brummelen (Trinity Western University, Canada). The conference will include the 47th Annual Pi Mu Epsilon Student Conference.


September 26, 2020:   ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will take place virtually. 

          The group will meet via Zoom at 2 pm EDT to read from  Euler's Arithmetic Theorems; (E271). Contact Rob Bradley for details.


October 8, 2020:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. The speaker for October is Chris Rorres, on "Olympic Starting Lines, Pistons, and Black Holes". All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


October 14–16, 2020:  Seventh Biennial René Descartes Lectures, Tilburg, Netherlands

          Scheduled at the Tilburg Center for Moral Philosophy, Epistemology, and Philosophy of Science at the University of Tilburg, this meeting features three successive daily lectures by Philip Kitcher (Columbia Univ.) focused on the topic “Pragmatic Naturalism: Progress in Science, Mathematics and Values”, accompanied by invited commentary and related workshops.


October 21, 2020:  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) Gresham Meeting—Maths & Money: From Gold to Bitcoin
This meeting will take place virtually.

          Lectures will be live-streamed, beginning at 11am ET, from Barnard’s Inn Hall, using a system which allows for questions from the online audience. Links will be provided on the BSHM website nearer the time. There may be an opportunity for a limited in-person audience at Barnard's Inn Hall. This will be confirmed at a later date.


October 23, 2020:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          This series of Online Colloquia is continuing into the Autumn. The October 23 session will feature David Orenstein and Michael Barany speaking on the topic, “Debate on the 1924 Toronto International Mathematical Congress” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.
 

October 26–27, 2020:  British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM)  Black Heroes of Mathematics Conference
This conference will take place virtually.

          Talks will be a mixture of technical content and personal testimonials. Confirmed speakers include Edray Goins (Pomona College),  Nkechi Agwu (CUNY, Tannie Liverpool (University of Bristol and Angela Tabiri (AIMS Ghana). At this conference all pre-recorded talks will be available during the first session each day. The questions and discussion sessions will be hosted in real time during the second session each day.


October 27, 2020:   British Society for the History of Mathematics (BHSM)  2020 Thomas Harriot Lecture, Oriel College, Oxford
This talk (rescheduled from May 2020) will take place in person.

          Larry E. Tise of East Carolina University will speak on “Thomas Harriot and the Creation of America’s First Illustrated Coloring Book”.


November 14, 2020:   ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting
This reading session will take place virtually. 

          The group will meet via Zoom at 2 pm EDT to read from  Euler's "De fractionibus continuis dissertatio"; (E71). The orginal Latin paper, as well as a German translation, can be found on the Euler Archive. Contact Rob Bradley for details.


November 19, 2020:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. The November seminar talk will be presented by John McCleary of Vassar College. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


November 27, 2020:   Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          The November 27 session will feature Silvia De Toffoli, Postdoc Philosophy at Princeton University,  who will speak on the topic, “A Fallibilist Account of Mathematical Justification,” beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). For regular updates on the programme, and joining instructions, see the News section of the CSHPM website http://www.cshpm.org/ or follow the Society on Facebook.


December 4–5, 2020:   Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) Winter Meeting, Special Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics
This conference will take place virtually.

          The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized a session featuring ten talks on various aspects of history and philosophy.


December 5, 2020:   Christmas Meeting and AGM, British Society for the History of Mathematics (BHSM)

          This meeting will combine pre-recorded sessions with live Q&A online. The AGM will take place during the meeting as a live online session.


December 10, 2020:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM)
This talk will take place virtually.

          The PASHoM seminar will meet virtually on Zoom for the fall semester, with one speaker each month. The December seminar talk will be presented by Larry D'Antonio of Ramapo College. All talks will begin at 6:30 pm ET. Contact Alan Gluchoff for Zoom details.


December 11, 2020:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

          This session of CSHPM’s online colloquium series will feature Nikita Agarwal, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, who will speak on the topic “Life and works of Maryam Mirzakhani – The Master Artist of Curved Surfaces" beginning at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10–$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).


December 18, 2020:  Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Online Colloquium
This colloquium will take place virtually.

         This session of CSHPM’s online colloquium series will feature Andrew Aberdein, Florida Institute of Technology, who will speak on the topic “Straight from the Book: Erdős and the aesthetics of proof" beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Colloquium sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. For Zoom meeting details, visit the society's public Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm) or calendar page (http://www.cshpm.org/meeting/CSHPMOnlineColloquium.php).

 

2019

January 16-19, 2019:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, MD

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" is scheduled this year at the Baltimore Convention Center, Hilton Baltimore, and Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel. It includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • Minicourse #10: Object Based Learning and the Smithsonian Learning Lab, led by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.)
  • AMS Invited Address by Karen Parshall (Univ. of Virginia), “The Roaring Twenties in American Mathematics”
  • AMS-MAA-ICHM Special Session on History of Mathematics, co-organized by Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.), and Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Good Math from Bad: Crackpots, Cranks and Progress, co-organized by Elizabeth T. Brown (James Madison Univ.) and Samuel R. Kaplan (Univ. of North Carolina Asheville)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Ethnomathematics: Ideas and Innovations in the Classroom, co-organized by Janet Beery (Univ. of Redlands), Antonia Cardwell (Millersville University. of Pennsylvania), Ximena Catepillan (Millersville University. of Pennsylvania), and Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.)
  • HOM SIGMAA Reception, Business Meeting, and Guest Lecture by Karen Parshall (Univ. of Virginia), “Crossing the Pond: European Mathematicians in 1920s America”

        There are also individual talks related to mathematics history and its uses in teaching in these sessions:

  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Humanistic Mathematics, co-organized by Gizem Karaali (Pomona College) and Eric Marland (Appalachian State Univ.)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Philosophy of Mathematics, co-organized by Jeffrey Buechner (Rutgers Univ.—Newark) and Bonnie Gold (Monmouth Univ.).


February 6, 2019:  IREM Seminar, “Euclid’s Elements in Service of Renaissance Algebra: How Did Guillaume Gosselin Demonstrate the ‘Rule of Signs’?”, Paris, France

         Scheduled at 2:00 pm at l’Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, this seminar is led by historian of mathematics Odile Kouteynikoff of the Science, Philosophy, History (SPHERE) Research Unit within the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


February 6–10, 2019:  Eleventh ERME Congress, Utrecht, the Netherlands

         CERME-11, the Eleventh Biennial Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), is hosted this year by the Freudenthal Group, in collaboration with the Freudenthal Institute, of Utrecht University. It will be preceded by a YERME day for young researchers. The CERME meetings include:<br/>

  • a plenary address on the relation between history and pedagogy in mathematics education, delivered by Kathleen Clark (Florida State Univ.)
  • a Thematic Working Group (TWG 12) on History in Mathematics Education, led by Renaud Chorlay (Univ. Paris Diderot). The deadline for “early bird” paper submission, Jul. 15, 2018, affords the opportunity for early feedback and support, but the final submission deadline is Sep. 15, 2018.


February 21, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Harold Edwards (New York Univ., Emeritus) will speak on “Are Complex Numbers as Important as Modern Mathematics Makes Them?”. He characterizes this talk in the following terms: “Familiarity with the field of complex numbers is regarded as the cornerstone of a modern mathematical education. Yet many of the important works of Gauss, Abel, and Galois made no use at all of complex numbers. In most cases, I prefer the originals to the modern expositions of these works, because the originals are more constructive and make clearer the ideas that inspired them. Whether we prefer the originals or the modern versions, it is essential for historians of mathematics to understand that the originals are NOT attempts, awkward and only partially successful, to understand the modern versions. I will try to show the importance of this principle by explaining what I see as the virtues of these early works done without using complex numbers.”


February 23, 2019:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual full-day meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held in Shulman Auditorium, Queen's College, Univ. of Oxford, will be research students in the history of mathematics and a keynote speaker.


February 26, 2019 CANCELLED :  Scott Williams on Untold Stories of Black Mathematicians, Washington, DC

         Part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at the MAA Carriage House in Washington, DC, this event is free, but you must register via the Eventbrite link above. Dr. Scott Williams in a mathematician, poet, and artist blacksmith. He spent most of his career as a research mathematician at the State Univ. of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo. As a topologist, he often interacted with former students of Robert L. Moore. In spite of Moore’s outright racist actions, his student, John Kline, was the advisor of Dudley Woodard and William Claytor, the second and third African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. Williams often wondered about other Black mathematicians which led him to create the highly visible website “Mathematicians of the African Diaspora.” Dr. Talitha Washington of Howard Univ. will lead a conversation with Williams who will share the intimate untold stories of African Americans who persevered through racial obstacles to become successful mathematicians.


March 6, 2019:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 104, Hagedorn Hall, Adelphi Univ. Rob Bradley (Adelphi Univ.) speaks on "Servois on Numerical Integration".


March 13, 2019:  IREM Seminar, “Why Did Dedekind Really Want to Create the Numbers?”, Paris, France

         This seminar, led by historian of mathematics Philippe Séguin (Université de Nancy), is scheduled at 2:00 pm at l’Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by the late Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


March 21, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Paul R. Wolfson (West Chester Univ., Emeritus) will speak on “How Did Riemann Arrive at His Curvature?”. With one lecture delivered to the philosophical faculty of the Univ. of Göttingen in 1854, Bernhard Riemann created the rich subject that we now call Riemannian geometry. Since most of the audience were not mathematicians, his lecture described results and their implications without many formulas or calculations and with only sketches of arguments. This, and the paucity of related documents, makes it difficult to see how Riemann arrived at his results. To reconstruct the development of Riemann’s ideas, therefore, historians have had to resort to speculation. Gauss’s work on the intrinsic geometry of a surface certainly inspired Riemann, but historians have suggested varied explanations of the leap from the Gaussian curvature of a surface to the Riemannian curvature of an n-dimensional manifold. Prof. Wolfson will briefly touch on some of those explanations and then offer a reconstruction of his own that may at least supplement these other explanations.


March 21, 2019:  London Mathematical Society Meeting, London, England

          The meeting, scheduled at De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London, features talks by two historians of mathematics: June Barrow-Green (The Open University) and Jeremy Gray (The Open University and the University of Warwick). The subject of Dr. Barrow-Green’s lecture is to be announced later. Dr. Gray will be delivering the Hirst Lecture, "Jesse Douglas, Minimal Surfaces, and the First Fields Medal" (the Hirst Prize and Lectureship for the History of Mathematics is awarded jointly by the London Mathematical Society and the British Society for the History of Mathematics in recognition of original and innovative work in the history of mathematics). Jesse Douglas received one of the first two Fields Medals in 1936 for his work on minimal surfaces: he was the first person to solve the Plateau problem for discs spanning an arbitrary contour, and to generalise the problem successfully to surfaces of arbitrary topological type. Yet his work provoked a long-running and painful battle with Tibor Radó and Richard Courant, and today it is not easy to find out what Douglas actually did, or much about his life. Dr. Gray’s lecture is based on joint work with Mario Micallef (University of Warwick).


March 23, 2019:  Deadline for 2019 HOM SIGMAA Student Essay Contest

          Entries to the 16th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Writing Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Amy Shell-Gellasch by Saturday, March 23, 2019. For more information, contact Amy Shell-Gellasch.


March 28-30, 2019:  MAA Oklahoma – Arkansas Section Spring Meeting, Tahlequah, OK

          The Spring meeting of the Oklahoma – Arkansas Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Northeastern State Univ., includes two brief history-related talks by Nicholas Zoller (Southern Nazarene Univ.): “Teaching Mathematics with Primary Historical Sources” and “Johann and Jacob Bernoulli, Leibniz, Newton, and the Curious History of the Brachistochrone”.


April 3, 2019:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233, Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Inna Tokar (City College of New York) speaks on "History of Mathematics Education for Gifted Students in the Former Soviet Union".


April 5-6, 2019:  MAA Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Durango, CO

          The Spring meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Fort Lewis College, includes a Special Session in History of Math.


April 5-6, 2019:  MAA Indiana Section Spring Meeting, Indianapolis, IN

          The Spring meeting of the Indiana Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Univ. of Indianapolis, includes invited speaker Alissa Crans (Loyola Marymount Univ.) on "Cracking the Cubic: Cardano, Controversy, and Creasing".


April 5-6, 2019:  MAA Michigan Section Spring Meeting, Detroit, MI

          The Spring meeting of the Michigan Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Univ. of Detroit Mercy, includes three history-related presentations:

  • Contributed Talk by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.), “Object Based Learning: Using the Smithsonian Collections to Enhance Mathematics Education”
  • Friday Banquet Plenary by James Sellers (Penn State Univ.), “On Euler's Partition Theorem Relating Odd-Part Partitions and Distinct-Part Partitions”
  • Local Invited Talk by Prasad Venugopal (Univ. of Detroit Mercy), “From Craniometry to Cybernetics: Teaching the History of Race in Science & Mathematics”.


April 6, 2019:  Ohio NExT program, Akron, OH

          The Ohio NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) program, scheduled in Student Union Room 316 at the Univ. of Akron immediately following the MAA Ohio Section Annual Spring meeting, includes a presentation by Adam Parker (Wittenberg Univ.), “Using Primary Sources in Your Classroom”.


April 10, 2019:  IREM Seminar, “Descartes: How Many Divisions?”, Paris, France

         This seminar, led by Bruno Gagneux (IREM - Université Paris 7), is scheduled at 2:00 pm at l’Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. It analyzes how Descartes, in La Géométrie (1637), used division to resolve certain problems such as in reducing polynomial equations, and the subsequent uses of division among certain of his successors such as Van Schooten, Rabuel, Mercator, and Newton. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by the late Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


April 10-13, 2019:  “Cultures of Scientific Practice in Ancient Mathematical Sciences: Historical and Historiographic Approaches”, Paris, France

         Scheduled at the Université de Paris Diderot. Inspired by the European Research Council-funded project on Mathematical Sciences in the Ancient World (SAW), this roughly biennial international gathering examines (1) ancient mathematical cultures, in the various social contexts in which mathematical practices can be documented (including economic activities and activities in the astral sciences), especially in Mesopotamia, China, and South Asia, and (2) the history of the historiographies of ancient mathematics.


April 12-13, 2019:  MAA MD-DC-VA Section Spring Meeting, Frederick, MD

          The Spring meeting of the MD-DC-VA Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Hood College and Frederick Community College, includes a workshop presented by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.), “Smithsonian Learning Lab: A Hands-on Workshop”.


April 12-13, 2019:  MAA Intermountain Section Spring Meeting, Cedar City, UT

          The Spring meeting of the Intermountain Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Southern Utah Univ., includes invited speaker Troy Goodsell (Brigham Young Univ.-Idaho) on “The Role of Leonhard Euler in the Age of Enlightenment”.


April 15-16, 2019:  “H. T. Colebrooke and the Historiography of Mathematics and Astral Sciences in Sanskrit”, Paris, France

         This conference is scheduled at the Université de Paris Diderot and is organized by two scholars there, Karine Chemla and Agathe Keller. Marking two centuries since the 1817 publication of Henry Thomas Colebrooke’s Algebra, with Arithmetic and Mensuration, from the Sanscrit of Brahmegupta and Bhàscara, the conference concentrates on Colebrooke’s historiography of mathematics and astral sciences. It addresses the broader contexts and social environments in which Colebrooke’s interest took shape; the ensuing impact, in Europe and beyond, of his 1817 publication for the writing of the history of mathematics not only in India, but also worldwide; how Colebrooke translated and worked with Sanskrit sources; how his work is situated within the larger context of 18th and 19th century interest in “Oriental mathematics and astronomy”; and the relation between his early interest in mathematics and astral sciences and his other Indological interests.


April 25, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 there will be a talk TBA.


April 26-27, 2019:  23rd Annual Recreational Mathematics Conference, South Lake Tahoe, CA

         This annual conference is organized by the California Mathematics Council of Community Colleges. This year’s program, scheduled at Lake Tahoe Community College, includes talks on Charles Dodgson, Indian mathematics, and other topics.


May 1, 2019:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233, Science Building, Adelphi Univ. Eisso Atzema (Univ. of Maine) speaks on "Ferdinand Engel (1805-1866) and His Models of the Fresnel Wave Surface". The talk discusses the early history of the visualization of mathematical surfaces and the manufacturing of physical models for such surfaces, culminating in a discussion of the work of Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand Engel, especially his prize-winning plaster models of the Fresnel Wave Surface still on display at the Univ. of Mississippi.


May 5-9, 2019:  Fifteenth quadrennial Inter-American Conference on Mathematics Education (CIAEM-15), Medellín, Colombia


May 15, 2019:  IREM Seminar, “Classroom Experimentation in Using the History of Mathematics: Stakes and Constraints of Taking the Historical Discipline into Account”, Paris, France

         This seminar, led by Charlotte De Varent of the Science, Philosophy, History (SPHERE) Research Unit within the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, is scheduled at 2:00 pm at l’Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. The seminar considers the results of an experiment in which a class studied the units of measurement used in calculating square areas in a Paleo-Babylonian cuneiform tablet. The seminar broaches issues relative to new challenges in the transmission of the history of science and relative to “symmetrical” interdisciplinarity between mathematics and history. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by the late Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


May 18, 2019:  The History of Recreational Mathematics, London, England

          This all-day conference at Birkbeck College, London, features a number of speakers including renowned puzzlemeister David Singmaster (now-retired professor of mathematics at London South Bank Univ., England). The conference is organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) with support from the Dept. of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, Univ. of London.


May 23, 2019: Thomas Harriot Lecture, Oxford, England

         This annual lecture celebrates the life and times of the mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621). The lecture this year, scheduled at Champneys Room, Oriel College, Oxford, is by Felipe Fernández-Armesto (Univ. of Notre Dame), “Both to Love and Fear Us— How to Found an Empire in Harriot’s Day”.


May 29, 2019:  IREM Seminar, “Introduction to Reading Michel Serfati”, Paris, France

         This seminar, led by Bruno Gagneux (IREM - Université Paris 7), is scheduled at 2:00 pm at l’Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. The session is a tribute to the late Michel Serfati (d. Sep. 30, 2018) of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot. Serfati played a leading role in bringing to life in France the disciplines of History and Epistemology of Mathematics, especially through his Seminar on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, which he founded and animated for more than 25 years. This session will focus especially on his representative book The Symbolic Revolution (2005), and secondarily on his last book, Leibniz and the Invention of Mathematical Transcendence (2018), published a few days before his death.


May 30 – June 1, 2019:  The First Biennial International Congress on the History of Science in Education (1CIHCE), Vila Real, Portugal

          Scheduled at the Aula Magna, in the Geosciences Building, this conference is jointly organized by the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), the University of Porto (UP), the University of Coimbra (UC), and the University of S. Paulo (USP). It aims to bring together researchers, professors, and students interested in the history and teaching of biology, geology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, as well as educational sciences, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, biochemistry, anthropology, astronomy, psychology, economics, sociology, ecology, molecular biology and nanosciences, among others. The focus is on the importance of the history of science for success in learning, and strategies for the implementation of the history of science in teaching. In addition to works focused on teaching, education, pedagogy, and popularization, it also welcomes reflections and studies of a more general, disciplinary or interdisciplinary nature, in the history of culture, technology and industry, as well as epistemological, historiographic, biographical, or prosopographic. Other topics relevant to the history of science and teaching, such as gender studies, science teaching in a foreign language and, in general, the various aspects of the interactions between science, technology and the humanities, are also encouraged.


June 2-4, 2019: Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada

          Featuring the Kenneth O. May Lecture by Alexander Jones on "Sexagesimal Mathematics in Babylonian and Greek Mathematics and Astronomy" and a special session on History of Mathematical Astronomy, the conference also will include talks on a variety of subjects in history and philosophy of mathematics. Deadline for submission of abstracts is Feb. 1, 2019. The conference will be held at the University of British Columbia in conjunction with the CFHSS.


June 3-4, 2019:  Reading the Classics of Science: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives, Oxford, England

         This conference is organized jointly by the University of Oxford; the Mathematical Research Institute of Oberwolfach, Germany; and the Science, Philosophy, History (SPHERE) Research Unit within the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. The multidisciplinary conference aims to deepen understanding of how classics and canonical texts were perceived qua texts, by relying on scientific sources, and to study the forms and editions through which these specific types of text were presented to users. The goal is also to observe the various readings and interpretations that actors operating in different contexts made of these texts, using evidence ranging from marginalia left by readers to systematic commentaries about the texts. In particular, the conference is rooted in three projects that have been and are still developed at Oxford and Paris. Oxford project “Reading Euclid” deals with early modern English modes of reading of a classical work of mathematics, Euclid’s Elements, in its early modern editions. Paris-based project “Mathematical Canons and Commentaries” has aimed at understanding why and how mathematical activity in the ancient world has taken the shape of writing commentaries on canonical texts and which approaches to these canonical texts the commentaries testified to. Finally, Sally Humphreys has long developed a comparative and anthropological approach to ancient Greek classics; and has organized two comparative projects: Cultures of Scholarship (Univ. of Michigan Press, 1997) and Modernity’s Classics (Springer, 2013).


June 10, 2019:  Introduction to Arabic Scientific Manuscripts, London, England

         This is a one-day course scheduled at Senate House, University of London, and taught by Dr. Bink Hallum, Curator of Arabic Scientific Manuscripts, The British Library. It will provide a practical, hands-on introduction for students beginning research with Arabic scientific manuscripts. The main aim is to familiarize students with some of the major features and obstacles specific to scientific manuscripts, while giving practical experience in interpreting a variety of Arabic scientific manuscripts representing a wide range of periods, locations and scientific topics (examples will be chosen from amongst astronomy/astrology, geometry/optics, mechanics, arithmetic, chemistry/alchemy, medicine, divination, and agriculture). No prior experience with manuscripts is assumed, but students should have at least basic Arabic proficiency. This course is part of the London International Palaeography Summer School (LIPSS) organized by the Institute of English Studies, Univ. of London. Questions can be directed to Summer School administrator Georgia Reeves.


June 13-16, 2019:  The Role of Institutions in the History of Modern Science, Brno, Czech Republic

          This conference, part of the interdisciplinary workshop series Math and Society, is organized by the Dept. of Mathematics at Masaryk University in Brno and the Dept. of Mathematics and Descriptive Geometry at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, in co-operation with the Brno branches of the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists and the Czech Society for History of Science and Technology. How do institutions play a role in the development of mathematics, given that mathematicians can often reach good results just with pen and paper? Princeton, emerging as the center of mathematical research in the 1930s, is the most familiar example: When Eduard Čech returned from Princeton in 1936, the sense of community fascinated him so much that it inspired him to found Topological Seminar in Brno, believing he could achieve the same quality of mathematical research by following the bright example of Princeton. Research in pure mathematics as well as in applied mathematics and the sciences in the 20th century was shaped by such universities as well as by state institutions (such as the Bureau d’Longitude, the National Bureau of Standards, and the Masaryk Academy of Labour) as well as private firms such as insurance companies. This meeting aims to explore the expectations woven into such institutions. Looking at mathematics from this point of view sheds new light on the role of mathematics and mathematicians in modern society. The meeting traditionally strives to support interdisciplinary debate and explore various approaches to history of mathematics and the history of science.


June 17, 2019:  Diversifying the Curriculum, Oxford, England

          This one-day workshop at the Oxford Mathematical Institute focuses on the use of history in the teaching of mathematics, with a particular view to the ways in which this might be used to increase the diversity of the figures who are presented.


June 18-21, 2019:  Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences, Montreal, Canada

         This conference, held at McGill Univ., includes historical and intercultural dimensions of studying mathematics. The submission deadline for proposals is Feb. 15, 2019.


June 22, 2019:  The Mathematics of Populations, Oxford, England

         This all-day meeting, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), is scheduled at Rewley House in Oxford. The meeting examines how mathematics was developed for dealing with populations of various types over the past 400 years, tracing studies of life expectancy, concerns about exponential growth, and mathematical models in epidemiology— all tools now important for bioscience.


July 3, 2019:  Lecture on Paul Erdős, New York, NY

          Joel H. Spencer (New York Univ.) presents a talk, “Erdős Magic: Theorems, Conjectures, Lifestyle, and The Book”, twice (afternoon and evening) at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in Manhattan. Part of “Math Encounters”, MoMath’s popular public presentation series, which is free but registration is required.


July 16-20, 2019:  Bridges Conference, Linz, Austria

         Scheduled this year at the Johannes Kepler University & Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture is the world’s largest interdisciplinary conference on mathematics and art. This annual conference is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between the arts and mathematics. The submission deadline is February 1, 2019 for regular papers, and March 1, 2019 for short or workshop papers.


July 30, 2019:  Lecture on the Epitome Almagesti, Kansas City, MO

           Henry Zepeda (Wyoming Catholic College) presents a talk, “The Apex of Ptolemaic Astronomy: The Epitome Almagesti of Peurbach and Regiomontanus”, at 3-4 pm CDT in Linda Hall Library, situated on the Volker Campus of the Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City. The Epytoma in Almagestum Ptolemei, a reworking of Ptolemy’s astronomical masterpiece the Almagest, was written in the early 1460s by Georg Peurbach and Johannes Regiomontanus, two of the most important figures of 15th-Century astronomy. The copy held by the Linda Hall Library was printed in Venice in 1496. While it built upon earlier medieval commentaries on the Almagest, the Epitome Almagesti (as it is usually called) is remarkable for its depth of comprehension of even the most technical aspects of Ptolemy’s astronomy, its clear explanations, and its incorporation of new discoveries made by its authors and by Arabic astronomers. This work, which had circulated in manuscript form for 35 years before it was printed, became the textbook by which students of astronomy learned the intricacies of Ptolemy’s geocentric astronomy. In his writings challenging the Ptolemaic system, Copernicus often referred to this book, which contained proofs that were fundamental to his development of a heliocentric system. Dr. Zepeda recounts the drama-filled story of how and why this book was written and discusses its contents, sources, and influence. The event is free and open to the public; however, e-tickets are required at Eventbrite. Those unable to attend the lecture in person can watch a live broadcast from the Library’s Facebook page or via Livestream.


July 31 - August 3, 2019:  MAA MathFest, Cincinnati, OH

          MathFest 2019, the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. The history-related events include the following:

  • Contributed Paper Session, “Understanding Mathematics Through its History”. Organized by Erik R. Tou (Univ. of Washington-Tacoma). Sponsored by The Euler Society.
  • Contributed Paper Session, “History of Mathematics in a Math Circle”. Organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Eastern Michigan Univ.) and Philip B. Yasskin (Texas A&M Univ.). Co-sponsored by the MAA Special Interest Groups on Math Circles for Students and Teachers (SIGMAA MCST) and History of Mathematics (SIGMAA HOM).
  • Original Reading Event. Co-sponsored by the reading groups ARITHMOS and ORESME, by TRIUMPHS, by the MAA Special Interest Group on History of Mathematics (SIGMAA HOM), and by the Euler Society.

         The deadline for submitting a proposal to present at either of the contributed paper sessions listed above is April 30, 2019.


August 1-2, 2019:  History of Mathematics Conference, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

          This joint Fifth Biennial Irish History of Mathematics Conference (IHoM5) and British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) Conference is scheduled at Maynooth Univ.


August 8, 2019:   Lecture on Analog Computing in History, Kansas City, MO

           Corey Maley (Assoc. Prof. of Philosophy, Univ. of Kansas) presents a talk, “Analog Computation in a Digital World: Understanding the Place of a Bygone Technology in Contemporary Science”, at 7-8 pm CDT in Linda Hall Library, situated on the Volker Campus of the Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City. Analog computers were once the dominant computing machines in engineering and science but have now been almost completely replaced by digital computers. While there are practical reasons for preferring digital computers over analog, there are theoretical reasons to rehabilitate our understanding of analog computation. Neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, for example, routinely explain the workings of our minds by appealing to the computations that the brain performs. But, because these computations seem to be analog, rather than digital, we need to know more about what “analog” means. While the history of digital computation is well-understood, the history of analog computation has received very little attention. Dr. Maley discusses how research into the history of analog computers allows us to understand computation in a non-digital way, and shows how this broader understanding of computation helps make sense of contemporary claims about the computational nature of the mind and brain. The event is free and open to the public; however, e-tickets are required at Eventbrite. Those unable to attend the lecture in person can watch a live broadcast from the Library’s Facebook page or via Livestream.


September 10-11, 2019:  Scott Williams on Untold Stories of Black Mathematicians, Washington, DC

         (Rescheduled from February 26, 2019.) Part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at the MAA Carriage House in Washington, DC, this event is offered twice (on consecutive nights) and is free of charge, but you must register via the Eventbrite link above. Dr. Scott Williams in a mathematician, poet, and artist blacksmith. He spent most of his career as a research mathematician at the State Univ. of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo. As a topologist, he often interacted with former students of Robert L. Moore. In spite of Moore’s outright racist actions, his student, John Kline, was the advisor of Dudley Woodard and William Claytor, the second and third African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. Williams often wondered about other Black mathematicians which led him to create the highly visible website “Mathematicians of the African Diaspora.” Dr. Talitha Washington of Howard Univ. will lead a conversation with Williams who will share the intimate untold stories of African Americans who persevered through racial obstacles to become successful mathematicians.


September 13-15, 2019:  Union College Mathematics Conference, Schenectady, NY

          Includes a session on the History of Mathematics organized by Kim Plofker (Union College) whose theme is "mathematical notebooks" in the broadest sense: mathematical documents created for personal use rather than dissemination to a wider audience. The form of the documents ranges from cuneiform tablets to modern annotations or drafts of publications.


September 14-15, 2019:  American Mathematical Society Central Section Meeting, Madison, WI

          The schedule includes a special session on “Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics”, organized by Rebecca Vinsonhaler, Emily Redman, and Brittany Shields from the Americas Section of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM-Americas). E-mail one of the organizers if you are interested in giving a talk (15 mins. followed by 5 mins. for questions and discussion).


September 15-18, 2019:  Stokes200 Symposium, Cambridge, England

         This conference at Pembroke College, Univ. of Cambridge, marks the bicentennial of the birth of Sir George Stokes, a towering figure in physics and applied mathematics. He was born in Ireland and spent all of his career at Cambridge, where he served as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1849 until his death in 1903. Organized by Pembroke, the Institute of Physics (London), and the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), the Stokes200 symposium brings together an international group of experts whose work today is based upon the work of Stokes. It explores both the modern research fields that have sprung from Stokes’s work in physics and mathematics, along with the history of how we have got from his work to where we are now.


September 16-19, 2019:  Mathematics Textbook Research and Development, Paderborn, Germany

         The Third International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development is scheduled at the Univ. of Paderborn. One of the conference themes is Historical Perspectives on Textbooks.


September 16-20, 2019:  Sixth Biennial International Conference on the History of Mathematical Education (ICHME 6), Marseille, France

          Scheduled at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathématiques (CIRM). The submission deadline for abstracts of proposed contributions is March 31, 2019.


September 18-19, 2019:  HISTELCON 2019, Glasgow, Scotland

          The IEEE Society has organized its sixth biennial HISTory of ELectrotechnology CONference (HISTELCON) to take place at the Technology and Innovation Centre, Strathclyde University. The primary theme this year is historic computers. As with previous HISTELCONs, the conference will include invited keynote lectures as well as submitted, reviewed contributions. The submission deadline for proposed papers is March 4, 2019.


September 19, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 David Perry (National Security Agency) will speak on “The Cracking of Enigma”. Although most people have heard of Alan Turing and his colleagues at Bletchley Park successfully breaking the Enigma, it is less well known that the Polish Cipher Bureau broke the Enigma during the 1930s, using the mathematics of permutations in a way that had not been anticipated. Because of this story, code making and codebreaking became the purview of mathematicians thereafter. This talk will provide the details of what Marian Rejewski and his colleagues did to crack the Enigma.


October 2, 2019:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233, Science Building, Adelphi University. Rob Bradley (Adelphi Univ.) speaks on "Series: Convergent, Divergent ... Whatever!". A few years ago, the more mathy corners of the Internet were in a tizzy over the assertion that 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ... = -1/12, a result which is actually used in string theory. Of course, this series is not convergent in the usual sense, so in what sense does this identity hold? This talk, accessible to anyone who has taken two semesters of calculus, investigates some of the early uses of divergent series, especially by Leonhard Euler (1707-1783). It goes on to examine the introduction of the modern definition of convergent and divergent series by Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789-1857) in 1821; the ideas of Ernesto Cesaro (1859-1906) and Niels Heinrik Abel (1802-1829) that extended the notion of convergence; and concludes with an examination of a tour de force by Euler and Cauchy: an elementary proof of the convergence of the binomial series.


October 7-11, 2019:  Third World Congress on Formal Methods (FM’19), Porto, Portugal

          Scheduled at the Alfandega Porto Congress Centre. As part of the congress, there will be an all-day History of Formal Methods (HFM) workshop on Oct. 11. Its theme is the history of formal methods in computing, where 'formal methods' refers to mathematical or logical techniques for modelling, specifying, and reasoning about aspects of computing. The aim is to bring together historians of computing, technology, and science with practitioners in the field of formal methods to reflect on the discipline’s history. The workshop is intended to be of interest to current researchers in formal methods and to be accessible to people without any historical background. The invited speaker is Mark Priestley (Lecturer in Software Engineering, Univ. of Westminster, retired), now an independent scholar of the history and philosophy of computing with a particular interest in the early history of programming. Proposed papers for the workshop are invited at the HFM website, with a submission deadline of April 30, 2019.


October 16, 2019:  Study Days in Honor of Michel Serfati, Paris, France

          The first of two days of study in honor of the late Michel Serfati (d. Sep. 30, 2018); see also Oct. 30 listing, below. Serfati, of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot, played a leading role in bringing to life in France the disciplines of History and Epistemology of Mathematics, especially through his Seminar on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, which he founded and animated for more than 25 years. The study days are scheduled at the Institut Henri Poincaré (11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 5e) and co-organized by IREM Paris, Société d’Etudes Leibniziennes de Langue Française, Centre des Philosophies Modernes de la Sorbonne, and ANR Mathesis. Scheduled speakers for Oct. 16 include Dominique Descotes (Univ. Clermont Auvergne), “Une Extension du Vocabulaire Technique des Indivisibles: Le Problème du Temps de la Grâce”; Sébastien Maronne (Univ. Paul Sabatier), “Les Compas Cartésiens”; and Claire Schwartz (Univ. Paris Ouest), “Leibniz et la Modernité Mathématique”.


October 18-19, 2019:  MAA North Central Section Fall Meeting, Moorhead, MN

          The Fall meeting of the North Central Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Concordia College, includes an Invited Address by James Sellers (Univ. of Minnesota Duluth and MAA Secretary), “Revisiting what Euler and the Bernoullis Knew About Convergent Infinite Series”. All too often in first-year calculus classes, conversations about infinite series stop with discussions about convergence or divergence. Such interactions are, unfortunately, not often illuminating or intriguing. Interestingly enough, Jacob and Johann Bernoulli and Leonhard Euler (and their contemporaries in the early 18th Century) knew quite a bit about how to find the exact values of numerous families of convergent infinite series. In this talk, which is accessible to anyone interested in mathematics, Dr. Sellers shows two sets of exact results in this vein.


October 23, 2019:  Gresham College Lecture, “Mathematical Expeditions”, London, England

          This free public event, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), consists of three lectures in sequence and is scheduled at 4-7 pm at the Museum of London Lecture Theatre. The event marks the centenary of the eclipse expeditions that provided evidence for Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Tickets are not required.


October 24, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Shelley Costa (Swarthmore College and West Chester Univ.)-- who spent the first six months of 2019 in Kyoto, Japan-- will speak on “Sangaku: The Exchange of Geometrical Problem-Solving in 18th- and 19th-C. Japan”. Among the many cultural practices that were refined during the Edo period (1603-1867), Japanese abstract mathematics is not one of the most familiar. The talk provides a glimpse of some powerful techniques and problem-solving conventions unique to Japanese mathematics, with a focus on how the ways they were shared were in keeping with ancient Japanese culture. In particular, it summarizes the marvelous work done to date on historicizing the practice of sharing geometrical problems via wooden prayer boards — sangaku — displayed to the public at shrines and temples. Dr. Costa brings to bear her own work on public problem-solving exchange in early 18th-C. Europe and introduces questions about the roles of economics, social expectations, gender, and faith in the mathematical exchanges of each cultural tradition.


October 25-26, 2019:  MAA Ohio Section Fall Meeting, Portsmouth, OH

          The Fall meeting of the Ohio Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at Shawnee State Univ. It includes the following sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching:

  • Invited Address, “The ENIAC’s 1949 Determination of Pi”, by Brian J. Shelburne (Wittenberg Univ.)
  • Invited Address, “Revisiting what Euler and the Bernoullis Knew About Convergent Infinite Series”, by James Sellers (Univ. of Minnesota Duluth and MAA Secretary)
  • Workshop, “The Powerfully Scintillating Pedagogy of Primary Source Projects: Reading the Masters to Stimulate Student Learning and Transform Your Teaching”, conducted by Daniel E. Otero (Xavier Univ.) and Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ.).


October 30, 2019:  Study Days in Honor of Michel Serfati, Paris, France

          The second of two days of study in honor of the late Michel Serfati (d. Sep. 30, 2018); see also Oct. 16 listing, above. Serfati, of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot, played a leading role in bringing to life in France the disciplines of History and Epistemology of Mathematics, especially through his Seminar on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, which he founded and animated for more than 25 years. The study days are scheduled at the Institut Henri Poincaré (11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 5e) and co-organized by IREM Paris, Société d’Etudes Leibniziennes de Langue Française, Centre des Philosophies Modernes de la Sorbonne, and ANR Mathesis. Scheduled speakers for Oct. 30 include Siegmund Probst and Regina Stuber (Leibniz Archive, Hanover) on “Questions et Problèmes Concernant la Nouvelle Édition des Cogitationes Privatae de Descartes dans l’Édition de Leibniz: Un Rapport Intermédiaire”; David Crippa (Institute of Philosophy at the Czech Academy of Sciences), “Autour de Leibniz et la Notion de Transcendance Mathématique”; and a roundtable discussion with Simon Decaens (Henri Poincaré Archives and CNRS), Catherine Goldstein (Mathematics Institute of Jussieu–Paris Rive Gauche [IMJ-PRG]), and David Rabouin (CNRS, SPHere, and ANR Mathesis).


October 31 - November 2, 2019:  30th Annual Novembertagung on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics, Strasbourg, France

           This annual international conference is aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral students in the history of mathematics and related fields. It provides an opportunity for them to present and discuss their research in an informal and safe environment, share experiences and advice, and establish new contacts. The conference’s theme this year is “ Mathematical Cultures, Values and Norms”. The meeting is scheduled at the Institut de Recherche Mathématique Avancée (IRMA) of the University of Strasbourg. Keynote talks will be given by June Barrow-Green (Open University, England) and Roy Wagner (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland).


RESCHEDULED FROM October 4-5
November 1-2, 2019:   ORESME Reading Group Meeting, Cincinnati, OH area

          This 41st semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group, scheduled at Xavier University, will take up Euler’s Institutiones Calculi Differentialis (1755), specifically Chapters III (“On the infinite and the infinitely small”) and IV (“On the nature of differentials of each order”) in Blanton’s English translation (Foundations of Differential Calculus; Springer, 2000). ORESME meetings feature discussion of important works in the history of mathematics, usually concentrating on a single author; the readings can be downloaded from the ORESME website. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


November 6, 2019:  “Tales of Impossibility: The Problems of Antiquity”, New York, NY

           David Richeson (Dickinson College and Editor of Math Horizons) presents a talk, “Tales of Impossibility: The Problems of Antiquity”, twice (4 pm and 6 pm) at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in Manhattan. While it is comforting to believe the greeting-card sentiment that “Nothing is impossible!”— it’s the American dream, after all— there are some impossible things. Ancient Greek geometers and future generations of mathematicians tried and failed to square circles, trisect angles, double cubes, and construct regular polygons using only a compass and straightedge. Join Dr. Richeson to try your hand at some of these unusual geometric construction techniques. But get ready to fail— after 2000 years, all four of these “problems of antiquity” have been proved to be mathematically impossible! Part of MoMath’s popular public presentation series “Math Encounters”, which is free but registration is required using the link given above.


November 6, 2019:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at 4:00 pm in Room 233, Science Building, Adelphi University. Glen Van Brummelen (Quest Univ./ Institute for Advanced Study) speaks on "The Forgotten Man: Astronomy in the Transformative 15th Century". The history of mathematics is partly a record of what happened. However, we know a lot less than we think, because— uncomfortably more than we might expect— over the decades the history of mathematics has also been a record of what we care about. This talk explores one episode that illustrates the "forgotten" history of mathematics, in early 15th-Century mathematical astronomy. The forgotten man is Giovanni Bianchini, the CFO from Ferrara who turned his eye away from bookkeeping and toward the heavens. His unusual path to academia provoked a number of revolutions, including among others the birth of the European tangent function. Overlooked in the shadow cast by his now more illustrious successor Regiomontanus, Bianchini’s role in the history of mathematics and science fully deserves a resurrection.


November 6-8, 2019:  Varga 100, Budapest, Hungary

          This conference, “Connecting Tamás Varga’s Legacy and Current Research in Mathematics Education”, is scheduled at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Hungarian mathematics educator, researcher, and reform leader Tamás Varga. The deadline for submission of a presentation abstract is April 30, 2019.


November 8-9, 2019:  MAA Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section Fall Meeting, Norfolk, VA

          The Fall meeting of the Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Norfolk State Univ., includes a Banquet Address by David Clark (Randolph-Macon College), “Samurai, Kissing Circles, and the Geometry of Shinto Shrines”. During the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868), Japan was almost completely isolated from the West, including the products of the Western revolutions in math and science. At the same time, the Japanese witnessed a cultural renaissance in the visual and performing arts, music, fashion, ceremony … and mathematics. New problems and solutions appeared in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines across the Japanese landscape. In this talk, Dr. Clark will explore how wasan (wa = Japanese, san = mathematics) became so delicately folded into 18th-Century Japanese culture.


November 21, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at 7:00 Brittany Shields (Univ. of Pennsylvania) will speak on “Engineering Education for ‘Vital War Industries’: Mathematical Foundations in the US Engineering, Science and Management War Training Program during the Second World War”. The US Office of Education trained over 1.8 million citizens during the Second World War in emergency courses through the Engineering, Science and Management War Training Program. Spanning the duration of the war, the program established regional administrators to oversee the development and implementation of courses understood to be of vital importance to defense related industries. Over 200 colleges and universities participated in this robust program. This talk explores how the mathematical sciences fit into the larger engineering training program with a focus on the northeastern region of the US.


November 23, 2019:   Savilian Professors of Geometry: The First 400 Years, Oxford, England

          This all-day conference, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) to mark the quadricentenary of the founding of Oxford University’s Savilian Professors of Geometry, comprises seven lectures about the Savilian professors and their life, labours and legacy. The meeting is scheduled at the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In addition, the Bodleian will have a display in the Weston library from November to February to mark this anniversary.


December 4, 2019:  “Double Vision: Explorations of Alternative Math from History”, New York, NY

           Glen Van Brummelen (Quest Univ./ Institute for Advanced Study) presents a talk, “Double Vision: Explorations of Alternative Math from History”, twice (4 pm and 7 pm) at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in Manhattan. Is there only one path to mathematics, or can we find different ways to explore the world around us? Throughout history, in different times and in different cultures, human creativity has found countless ways to investigate the same realities. Join Dr. Van Brummelen as we delve into several ancient ways of thinking in geometry, all but forgotten today. Ancient Chinese and Greek sages will help us realize that we really can change the way that we see! Part of MoMath’s popular public presentation series “Math Encounters”, which is free but registration is required using the link given above.


December 7, 2019:  BSHM Christmas Meeting, Coventry, England

          This year’s annual full-day Christmas meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) is scheduled at the Univ. of Warwick and is an eclectic mix of interesting historical mathematical issues.


December 12, 2019:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Due to parking procedures at Villanova, those attending the meeting need to fill out a form; please get information from Alan Gluchoff. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at about 6:30-6:45 Karen Parshall (Univ. of Virginia) will speak on “Growing Research-Level Mathematics in 1930s America?: An Historical Paradox”. World War I had marked a break in business as usual within the American mathematical research community. In its aftermath, there was a strong sense of entering into “a new era in the development of our science.” And then the stock market crashed. Would it be possible in such newly straitened times to sustain into the 1930s the momentum that American mathematicians had managed to build in the 1920s? This talk will explore the contours of an answer to that question.


December 19-20, 2019:   The Mathematical Book Trade in the Early Modern World, Oxford, England

           This workshop, scheduled at All Souls College, considers issues related to mathematical books as a distinct specialization for certain early modern print shops, and as works of special interest to certain readers and institutions. Mathematical tables, geometrical diagrams and the new algebraic notation made for a distinct appearance on the page and, for many of those involved in their production and use, a distinct class of book. Primers, textbooks and practical manuals as well as new editions of the mathematical classics and works containing new mathematics issued from the presses in large numbers and were purchased, collected, used, and in many cases re-sold, sometimes repeatedly. In what ways was the advertisement, sale and subsequent re-circulation of mathematical books distinctive? What was the place of mathematical books in the activity of book collectors and connoisseurs? Were there distinctive issues in respect of pricing or of re-use of mathematical print? How did the actual use of mathematical books relate to the stratification of the market attempted by some producers and sellers of those books? Proposals for papers, including an abstract of no more than 250 words and a brief CV, should be e-mailed to Benjamin Wardhaugh by September 15, 2019.

 

2018

 

January 10-13, 2018: AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, CA

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" will include, among others, the following presentations and sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • AMS Special Sessions on History of Mathematics, I, II, III, and IV, organized by Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College), Clemency Montelle (Univ. of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand), Daniel Otero (Xavier Univ.), and Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College)
  • AMS Contributed Paper Session on History of Math
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on History or Philosophy of Mathematics
  • MAA Minicourse: Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Source Projects
  • AMS Retiring Presidential Address, Robert L. Bryant (Duke Univ.), “The Concept of Holonomy: Its History and Recent Developments”
  • HOM SIGMAA Guest Lecture, Joseph W. Dauben (City Univ. of New York), “The History of Chinese Mathematics: 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the IHNS (CAS), Beijing”
  • HOM SIGMAA Reception and Business Meeting.

        There are also individual talks related to mathematics history and its uses in teaching in these sessions: MAA Contributed Session on Discrete Mathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Ideas and Innovations in Teaching; MAA Contributed Session on Innovative and Effective Ways to Teach Linear Algebra; MAA Contributed Session on Innovative Teaching Practices in Number Theory; MAA Contributed Session on Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning; MAA Session on Technology and Applications for Teaching Mathematics and Statistics, I;  AMS Special Session on Open and Accessible Problems for Undergraduate Research, I; and MAA Session on Humanistic Mathematics, I and II.


January 18, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 V. Frederick Rickey (West Point Military Academy) will speak on “Professor Bolesław Sobociński and Logic at Notre Dame”. Bolesław Sobociński (1906–1980) received his Ph.D. in 1938 under the direction of Jan Łukasiewicz (1878–1960) and then served as assistant to Stanisław Leśniewski (1886–1939). This close contact with the two founders of the Warsaw School of Logic determined the course of his research. He played an important role in the Polish underground during WW II, escaped to Brussels where he worked for several years and then emigrated to the US. After a few years in St. Paul, MN, he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame. He founded the Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic and edited it for 19 years. Dr. Rickey will discuss his interesting life and make some remarks about his contributions to logic.


February 7, 2018:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Lawrence A. D’Antonio (Ramapo College) speaks on "Newton’s Headache: How High the Moon?". Newton remarked to Halley that lunar theory gave him a headache. In particular the calculation of the motion of the lunar apse frustrated Newton. The lunar apse, an endpoint of the major axis of the ellipse defining the lunar orbit, rotates approximately 3 degrees per month, but Newton’s calculations showed only half of this amount, leading him to say that the problem was "too complicated and cluttered with approximations." This talk examines the work of Newton on the problem and the later solutions of Clairaut, Euler, and d’Alembert. [Postponed to April due to inclement weather]


February 7, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

         Liliane Alfonsi (Université Paris Sud) leads this seminar on “The Diffusion of 18th-Century Mathematics in Instructional Manuals: From ‘Why?’ to ‘How?’”. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


February 9-10, 2018:   Florida-MAA and FTYCMA Joint Meeting, Davie, FL

          The annual joint meeting of the Florida Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America and the Florida Two-Year College Mathematical Assn. (FTYCMA), scheduled this year at Florida Atlantic Univ.-Davie Campus, includes a talk by C. Altay Özgener (State College of Florida and Pres. of Florida Two-Year College Math. Assn.), “A Historical Account of the Pair Correlation for the Zeros of the Riemann Zeta Function”, considering the contributions of Hilbert and Pólya, H. L. Montgomery, and Freeman Dyson.


February 15, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Roman Sznajder (Bowie State Univ., Maryland) will speak “On Known and Less-known Relations of Leonhard Euler with Poland”. Euler’s contacts with French, German, Russian, and Swiss scientists have been widely known, while relations with Poland, then one of the largest European countries, are still in oblivion. This lecture will focus on research contacts of Leonhard Euler with Polish scientists of his era, mainly with those from the city of Gdańsk (then Danzig). Euler was the most prolific mathematician of all times, the most outstanding mathematician of the 18th century, and one of the best ever; the complete edition of his manuscripts is still in process. Findings presented at this talk are either unknown or little-known to a general mathematical audience.


February 17, 2018:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual full-day meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held in Shulman Auditorium, Queen's College, Univ. of Oxford, will be research students in the history of mathematics and keynote speaker Catherine Goldstein (Institut de mathématiques de Jussieu-Paris Rive gauche).


February 24, 2018:  MAA Golden Section Spring Meeting, Hayward, CA

          The annual Spring meeting of the Golden Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at California State Univ., East Bay, includes a talk by Susan Jane Colley (Oberlin College and Editor, American Mathematical Monthly), “Counting Curves: Tales from the Enumerative Crypt”. This talk takes up Steiner’s problem (1848) of determining how many conics are simultaneously tangent to five others. It will review some of the history surrounding the problem and some of the ingredients needed to solve it, then speed ahead to modern times and briefly sketch Colley’s joint work with Gary Kennedy (Ohio State Univ.) and Lars Ernström (Ericsson Research) that uses mathematical techniques inspired by ideas in string theory to address some analogous questions about “higher-order” contact of plane curves.


February 24, 2018:  “Spinning, Stalling and Falling Apart: Flight and World War I”, Belfast, Northern Ireland

         To be held at 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in The Old Museum, Belfast, this lecture is organized by The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) in conjunction with the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and the Northern Ireland Science Festival. The birth of fixed-wing, powered flight in the first decade of the 20th Century brought with it the potential of significant, unintended fatalities on the aircraft’s return to Earth. Tony Royle, historian of mathematics and former airline captain, presents stories from the eventful lives of some of the men and women involved: the nature of the contemporary mathematical and engineering debates surrounding flight, and the practical steps taken in Britain to create safer aircraft prior to, and during, WW1. Admission is free of charge, but requires a reservation; use the weblink above.


February 24, 2018:  Public Talk on Euler's Equation, London, England

          This public lecture, “Euler's Equation: 'The Most Beautiful Theorem in Mathematics’”, is presented at 6-7 p.m. in Barnard’s Inn Hall, London, by Robin Wilson (Emeritus Professor of Geometry, Gresham College). Euler’s pioneering equation links the five most important constants in the subject: 1, 0, π, e, and i. Central to both mathematics and physics, it has also featured in a criminal court case, on a postage stamp, and appeared twice in “The Simpsons”. So what is this equation – and why is it pioneering? No reservations are required for this lecture. It will be run on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Doors will open thirty minutes before the start of the lecture.


March 3-4, 2018:  Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, San Juan Islands, Washington

          The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual rugged but scenic location. Paper proposal deadline: Jan. 19, 2018. Registration deadline: Feb. 26, 2018.


March 3-4, 2018: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting #57, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State Univ. to continue reading Newton's The Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series in the 1736 English translation by John Colson. ARITHMOS meets three or more times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


March 7, 2018:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Maritza Branker (Niagara Univ.) speaks on "Complex Numbers through the Eyes of Cauchy and Hamilton". Mathematicians were extraordinarily resistant to the idea of complex numbers. This talk focuses on two of the compelling proponents, William Rowan Hamilton and Augustin-Louis Cauchy, contrasting their presentation and use of complex numbers.


March 7, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

         Michel Serfati (IREM) leads this seminar on “Leibniz and the Harmony of the Harmonic Triangle”. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


March 15, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Christopher J. Phillips (Carnegie Mellon Univ.) will speak on“The New Math and Mid-Century American Politics”. The new math changed the way Americans think about mathematics. The mathematicians and teachers who designed the new math— a novel curriculum lavishly supported by the NSF in the 1950s and 1960s— believed they were doing more than improving computational ability or producing more mathematicians. The new math embodied a plan to reform American society by revolutionizing the way schoolchildren learned to think. Forged in the crucible of Cold War fears of intellectual inadequacy, deployed in the heyday of the liberal Great Society, and criticized by ascendant conservatives in the 1970s, the new math was fundamentally political. Debates about the math curriculum were debates about how to shape American citizens.


March 21-22, 2018:  Conference— The History of Computing Beyond the Computer, Oxford, England

         This meeting is organized at the Oxford Mathematics Institute with support from The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM). Its focus is on the people and the science underpinning modern programming, from Charles Babbage’s hardware design language to the systematic exclusion of women. Register using the weblink above. The event is held to coincide with:


March 23-24, 2018:  ORESME Reading Group Spring Meeting, Highland Heights, KY

          This 39th semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group is scheduled at Northern Kentucky Univ. focuses on the first four chapters of Theorie Der Algebraischen Zahlen (Theory of Algebraic Numbers), published in 1908 by Kurt Hensel (1861-1941). This work includes Hensel's first substantial presentation of his p-adic numbers, which received a mixed reception at their introduction but have since become an important tool in investigations in number theory. (The English translation of the German original was produced for this meeting by Daniel E. Otero.) ORESME meetings feature discussion of important works in the history of mathematics, usually concentrating on a single author; the readings can be downloaded from the website ORESME. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


March 24, 2018:  Deadline for 2018 HOM SIGMAA Student Essay Contest

          Entries to the 15th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Writing Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Dorothee Blum by March 24, 2018. For more information, contact Dorothee Blum.


March 28, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

         Jean-Paul Allouche (CNRS) and Michel Serfati (IREM) lead this seminar on “Descartes and Pascal: Mathematics and Literature”. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


March 30 – April 1, 2018:  13th Maghrebian Symposium on the History of Arabic Mathematics (COMHISMA13), Tunis area, Tunisia

         This meeting aims to increase interest in the history of Arab mathematics as a fundamental phase in the general history of mathematics, and to provide Maghrebian researchers in this field an opportunity to collaborate with their foreign colleagues, in particular on:

  • the discovery, editing and translation of important manuscripts
  • the interaction between mathematics and the social, economic and cultural needs of society
  • identification of educational traditions of mathematics in the Arab-Islamic civilization
  • highlighting the links between mathematics and other fields of knowledge
  • highlighting the contributions of the Muslim West in constructing the edifice of mathematics.

         Talks are presented in any of the languages Arabic, French, and English. For more information, contact Mahdi Abdeljaouad.


April 3-6, 2018:  Ninth Quadrennial British Congress of Mathematics Education (BCME9), Coventry, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) normally sponsors sessions on the history of mathematics at this quadrennial conference, being held this year at the University of Warwick.


April 4, 2018:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Lawrence A. D’Antonio (Ramapo College) speaks on "Newton’s Headache: How High the Moon?". Newton remarked to Halley that lunar theory gave him a headache. In particular the calculation of the motion of the lunar apse frustrated Newton. The lunar apse, an endpoint of the major axis of the ellipse defining the lunar orbit, rotates approximately 3 degrees per month, but Newton’s calculations showed only half of this amount, leading him to say that the problem was "too complicated and cluttered with approximations." This talk examines the work of Newton on the problem and the later solutions of Clairaut, Euler, and d’Alembert.


April 4, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

         Jean-Pierre Desclès (Paris-Sorbonne) leads this seminar, “From the Notion of Function to that of Operator”, surveying the evolution of the concept of function from Leibniz and Euler to Frege, Church, and others. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


April 6-7, 2018:   Kentucky-MAA Spring Meeting, Bowling Green, KY

          The annual Spring Meeting of the Kentucky Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Western Kentucky Univ., includes an Invited Talk by Paul Pollack (Univ. of Georgia), “2000 Years of Summing Divisors”.


April 6-7, 2018:   MAA Allegheny Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Erie, PA

          The annual Spring Meeting of the Allegheny Mountain Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Pennsylvania State Univ.-Behrend, includes a Pólya Lecture by Ken Ono (Emory Univ.), “Why Does Ramanujan, ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity,’ Matter?”.


April 6-7, 2018:   Missouri-MAA Meeting, Springfield, MO

          The annual Spring meeting of the Missouri Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Drury Univ., includes a plenary address by James Sellers (Pennsylvania State Univ.), “Revisiting What Euler and the Bernoullis Knew About Convergent Infinite Series”.


April 6-7, 2018:  MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Oxford, OH

           The annual meeting of the Ohio Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Miami Univ., includes two talks by Betty Mayfield (Hood College).


April 13-14, 2018:  MAA Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Greeley, CO

           The 101st annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Univ. of Northern Colorado in Greeley, includes:

  • Plenary Speaker Robin Wilson (Emeritus Professor of Geometry, Gresham College, UK), “Euler's Equation: 'The Most Beautiful Theorem in Mathematics’”. Euler’s pioneering equation links the five most important constants in the subject: 1, 0, π, e, and i. Central to both mathematics and physics, it has also featured in a criminal court case, on a postage stamp, and appeared twice in “The Simpsons”. So what is this equation – and why is it pioneering?
  • a pre-conference workshop on Friday morning, Apr. 13, “The Powerfully Scintillating Pedagogy of Primary Source Projects: Reading the masters to stimulate student learning and transform our teaching”, facilitated by Janet Barnett (Colorado State Univ.-Pueblo)
  • a session on “Poincare’s Other Conjecture: The History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching.”


April 13-15, 2018:  Midwest Junto for the History of Science, Minneapolis, MN

           The 61st annual meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science is scheduled at the Univ. of Minnesota (Twin Cities Campus). Paper proposal deadline: Feb. 1, 2018.


April 21, 2018:  Annual Meeting of the Oughtred Society, Las Vegas, NV

          The Oughtred Society is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other calculating instruments. This year’s meeting is scheduled at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. It features displays of slide rule collections, an auction, buying, selling and swapping, two live presentations, and the opportunity to meet and talk with fellow slide rule enthusiasts, many of whom are experts in their areas of interest.


April 25-28, 2018:  NCTM Annual Meeting, Washington, DC

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms. Scheduled at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.


April 26, 2018:   So Where Did Our Numbers Come From Anyway?, St Andrews, Scotland

         In this lecture, scheduled at 4 p.m. in Lecture Theatre C of the Mathematical Institute at the University of Saint Andrews, Fenny Smith (Gresham College) discusses the origin, reception and development of our 1-10 number system.


May 2, 2018:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Colin McKinney (Wabash College) speaks on “The Four Curves of Alexis Clairaut”. In 1726, at the age of 12, Alexis Clairaut presented four families of curves to the Paris Academy of Sciences. The work was later published in the Miscellanea Berolinensia in 1734. The first family of curves is similar to those generated by Descartes’ mesolabe compass in La Géométrie. This talk will take up aspects of Clairaut’s mathematical education and how they influenced his work, as well as delve into some of the details of his construction of each of the four families of curves, his classification of algebraic curves in terms of degree and genus, and the applications of his curves to the ancient problem of finding means proportional.


May 16, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

          Jean-Yves Beziau (Fed. Univ. of Rio de Janeiro and ENS, Paris) leads this seminar, “The Principle of Contradiction: Is it Deducible from the Fundamental Law of Thought XX=X?”, focusing on Proposition IV in Chapter 3 of Boole’s Laws of Thought. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


May 19, 2018:  History of Cryptography and Codes, London, England

          Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), this conference at Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, is supported by the Dept. of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck.


May 23-26, 2018:   Conference on History of Mathematics and Teaching of Mathematics, Miskolc, Hungary

         Hosted by the Univ. of Miskolc, whose campus lies next to Miskolc-Tapolca (a spa famous for its thermal cave-bath), this conference aims to present aspects of the history of mathematics— including its impact on the teaching of mathematics— to provide a forum to meet one another, and to give an opportunity for young researchers to present their findings in the history of mathematics. Educators, students, graduate students, and other researchers are invited to take part in the meeting. Each participant will be given the possibility of presenting his/her contribution as a short (15-20 minutes) talk or a poster. Refereed papers will be published in the conference volume. The deadline for submission of abstracts of proposed papers is March 15, 2018.


June 4-6, 2018:  CSHPM Annual Meeting, Montréal, Québec, Canada

          The annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) will be held at the Université du Québec à Montréal in conjunction with the Canadian Philosophical Association. The Kenneth O. May lecture will be given by Emily Grosholz (Pennsylvania State Univ.). The special session topic will be "History of Philosophy of Mathematics". Titles and abstracts for talks are due by Feb. 1, 2018.


June 6, 2018:  IREM Seminar, Paris, France

          Michel Serfati and Françoise Varouchas (both IREM) lead this seminar, “Descartes and Pappus’s Problem: From Nascent Symbolism to the Invention of Analytic Geometry”. Scheduled at 2:00 pm in Room 201 (Darboux Amphitheatre), Institut Henri Poincaré, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. Part of the series of Seminars on the Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, organized by Michel Serfati of the Institute for Research on the Teaching of Mathematics (IREM) at the Université de Paris Diderot.


June 8, 2018 - February 3, 2019: Escher: The Exhibition and Experience, Brooklyn, New York;

         Exhibition of over 200 works by "mathematical" artist M. C. Escher in Brooklyn's Industry City.


June 11-14, 2018:  Nexus 2018, Pisa, Italy 

          The 13th international, interdisciplinary, biennial Nexus Conference on the Relationships Between Architecture and Mathematics is hosted by the Dept. of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTeC) at the Univ. of Pisa and by Kim Williams Books. Nexus 2018 is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between architecture and mathematics. Submissions of presentation proposals are accepted from Sep. 1 to Oct. 30, 2017.


June 11-14, 2018:  British Mathematical Colloquium, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

          The Colloquium this year, hosted by the Univ. of St Andrews, includes a History of Mathematics Strand and Workshop running in the afternoons of June 11-13.


June 23, 2018:  Mathematics and Patronage, Oxford, England

         This all-day meeting, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), is scheduled at Rewley House in Oxford. The meeting examines the influence of patronage on the production of mathematics from the 17th to 20th centuries. It considers the role and motivation of the patron (individual or institutional), the benefit for the recipient and for the benefactor, and the overall effect on the development of mathematics and its relations to bordering disciplines. It is also concerned with the extent to which patronage broadened accessibility to mathematical knowledge, and its effect on the mathematical community at large.


July 7, 2018: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting #58, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet in Warner Hall, Room 315, at Western Connecticut State Univ. to read Galois's Memoir on the Solvability of Equations by Radicals in its entirety. ARITHMOS meets three or more times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


July 8-13, 2018:  Quadrennial International Conference on Ethnomathematics, Medellín, Colombia

         The sixth quadrennial International Conference on Ethnomathematics (ICEM-6) will be held at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín.


July 20-24, 2018: 8th European Summer University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education, Oslo, Norway

          Sponsored by the International Study Group on Relations between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM), this collection of intensive courses is scheduled at Oslo & Akershus University College of Applied Sciences.


July 25-29, 2018:  Bridges Conference, Stockholm, Sweden

         Scheduled this year at the The National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture is the world’s largest interdisciplinary conference on mathematics and art. This annual conference is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between the arts and mathematics. The submission deadline is February 1, 2018 for regular papers, and March 1, 2018 for short or workshop papers.


August 1-4, 2018:   MAA MathFest, Denver, CO

          MathFest 2018, the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.

          A Themed Contributed Paper Session (TCPS #19), “Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics with Primary Historical Sources”, has been organized by Dominic Klyve (Central Washington Univ.), Maria Zack (Point Loma Nazarene Univ.), and Jeff Suzuki (Brooklyn College). This session seeks to bring together developers of materials for teaching with primary sources, instructors with classroom experience in using primary sources in their own teaching, and researchers studying the effects of teaching mathematics using primary sources on both students and instructors. To submit an abstract (deadline April 30), go to the MAA website, click on “Submit an Abstract” at the top of the page (this will require an MAA login), scroll to Themed Contributed Paper Session and click the link “Submit a TCPS Abstract”. Follow the instructions there and be sure to click the radio button for the session "Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics with Primary Historical Sources".


August 1-9, 2018:  28th Quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

          Held every four years and sponsored by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), the latest International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is scheduled at the Riocentro convention center in the heart of Barra da Tijuca, a business and leisure district in Rio. The meeting will include these math-history related sessions:

  • three Invited Section Lectures on the History of Mathematics, presented by David E. Rowe (Johannes Gutenberg Univ.), Jan von Plato (Univ. of Helsinki), and Tatiana Roque (Univ. Federal do Rio de Janeiro)
  • a Discussion Panel on “The Gender Gap in Mathematical and Natural Sciences from a Historical Perspective”, moderated by Caroline Series (Emeritus, Univ. of Warwick)
  • an Invited Panel discussion on “Math Museums: A Worldwide Explosion”, moderated by Cindy Lawrence (cofounder, Museum of Mathematics, New York).

An additional highlight of the Congress is the awarding of the Fields Medal and other prizes.


September 8, 2018: Thomas Harriot Seminar, London, England

         Scheduled this year at Birkbeck, Univ. of London, this annual seminar celebrates the life and times of the mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621).


September 11, 2018:  LMS–IMA Joint Meeting: Noether Celebration , London, England

          This meeting, marking the centennial of Emmy Noether's paper on Conservation Laws, is to be held at De Morgan House and is organized jointly by the London Mathematical Society (LMS) and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). Scheduled speakers are Katherine Brading (Duke Univ.), Elizabeth Mansfield (Univ. of Kent), Cheryl Praeger (Univ. of Western Australia), Norbert Schappacher (I.R.M.A./U.F.R. de mathématique et d’informatique), and Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze (Univ. of Agder). The meeting is free to attend, but please register for your place online. The meeting includes lunch and will be followed by a reception. After the reception, the LMS and IMA will host a Joint Society Dinner at a nearby venue; if you would like to attend the dinner (£30.00), please email Elizabeth Fisher.


September 13-15, 2018:  Workshop on Teaching Mathematics from Primary Historical Sources, Denver, CO

           This workshop on teaching with original sources is scheduled at the Univ. of Colorado Denver and is organized by the TRIUMPHS team (TRansforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources). This NSF-funded team of mathematicians is designing classroom modules called Primary Source Projects (PSPs) that can be used to teach topics across the standard undergraduate mathematics curriculum through the reading and study of primary historical sources (in English translation).The purpose of this workshop is to bring PSP authors and potential classroom site testers together to learn more about this work. Individuals interested in learning to use PSPs or in testing a TRIUMPHS PSP, now or in the future, are encouraged to attend; travel, lodging, and some meals will be provided for participants. Applications submitted by June 8, 2018 will be given priority. The workshop application form is available via the TRIUMPHS website (see link above). The full application procedure and expectations for site testers are outlined here. A list of PSPs that TRIUMPHS expects to have ready for classroom testing by Fall 2018 can be found here. For full descriptions of these and all PSPs to be developed by TRIUMPHS, visit here.


September 14-17, 2018:  International Conference of the European Society for History of Science, London, England

         The eighth biennial International Conference of the European Society for History of Science (ESHS) is scheduled this year at several London venues and is organized by the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS), with the active collaboration of the Dept. of Science and Technology Studies at University College London and the Science Museum. The conference theme is ‘Unity and Disunity’.


September 20, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Chris Rorres (Prof. Emeritus, Drexel Univ.) will speak on“The Cattle of the Sun from Babylonia to Homer to Archimedes”. One of the oldest and best known mathematical puzzles is Archimedes’ Cattle Problem, which was not completely solved until 1965. In this talk, Prof. Rorres will present the long history of this problem and its influence on number theory, especially on the Pell Equation. Prof. Rorres will also be presenting his own thoughts on the problem together with some materials that he recently came across.


October 3, 2018:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled in Room 104, Hagedorn Hall, Adelphi Univ. Joseph Dauben (City Univ. of New York) speaks on "The Jesuits’ Failure to Transmit Western Mathematics, Astronomy, and Mathematical Perspective to China: Reflections on Matteo Ricci, Giuseppe Castiglione, Andreas Pozzo, and the Needham Question".


October 3, 2018:  Entry deadline for the “Female Mathematicians in History” Prize

          In this contest, organized by the Italian Society of History of Mathematics to celebrate the 300th birthday of Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799), a prize of 2500 euros will be awarded to a young scholar for an original research paper on the theme “Female Mathematicians in History”. See entry requirements at the link above.


October 5-6, 2018:  The Philosophy and Physics of Noether's Theorems, London, England

          This conference, scheduled at the Univ. of Notre Dame, marks the centennial of Emmy Noether's theorems relating symmetry and physical quantities. Leading mathematicians, physicists, and philosophers of physics will discuss the enduring impact of Noether's work.


October 10, 2018:  Bach and The Cosmos - The Goldberg Variations, London, England

         Scheduled at 7:30 to 11:00 pm in the Octagon, Queens Building, Queen Mary University of London. In this opening concert of the City of London Sinfonia’s series “Bach and the Cosmos”, Oxford mathematician James Sparks and CLS musicians take the audience on a journey through J. S. Bach’s most numerical piece, the Goldberg Variations. Through visuals, musical examples, and numerical explanations, Sparks explores how Bach used mathematical methodologies to expand musical subjects and exhaust all permutations of every theme in his 30 Variations. As the piece transforms, different sections of the orchestra are illuminated, highlighting Bach’s many beautiful mathematical structures and patterns.


October 11, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College) will speak on “Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist” Ada Lovelace is widely regarded as an early pioneer of computer science, due to an 1843 paper about Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which, had it been built, would have been a general-purpose computer. Her paper contains an account of the principles of the machine, along with a table often described as ‘the first computer program’. However, over the years there has been considerable disagreement among scholars as to her mathematical proficiency, with opinions ranging from ‘genius’ to ‘charlatan’. This talk presents an analysis of Lovelace’s extant mathematical writings and will attempt to convey a more nuanced assessment of her mathematical abilities than has hitherto been the case.


October 11-14, 2018:   Society for History of Technology (SHOT) Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.


October 12-13, 2018:   ORESME Reading Group Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio area

          This 40th semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group, scheduled at a restaurant to be announced, continues last Spring’s discussion of Theorie Der Algebraischen Zahlen (Theory of Algebraic Numbers), published in 1908 by Kurt Hensel (1861-1941). This work includes Hensel's first substantial presentation of his p-adic numbers, which received a mixed reception at their introduction but have since become an important tool in investigations in number theory. (The English translation of the German original was produced for this meeting by Daniel E. Otero.) ORESME meetings feature discussion of important works in the history of mathematics, usually concentrating on a single author; the readings can be downloaded from the website ORESME. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


October 24, 2018:  Gresham College Lecture, “Mathematics in War and Peace”, London, England

          This free public event, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), consists of three lectures in sequence and is scheduled at 4-7 pm at the Museum of London Lecture Theatre.


October 27, 2018:  MAA New Jersey Section Fall Meeting, Montclair, NJ

          The Fall meeting of the New Jersey Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Montclair State Univ., includes two history-related sessions led by Lawrence D'Antonio (Ramapo College of New Jersey): an Invited Speaker address, “Alexandre Grothendieck - l'enfant terrible of 20th Century Mathematics”, and a Lunch Discussion, “Using the History of Mathematics in the Classroom”.


November 1-4, 2018: History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA


November 10-11, 2018: ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting #59, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet in Warner Hall, Room 315, at Western Connecticut State Univ. to read Galois's Second Memoir on the Solvability of Equations by Radicals in its entirety. ARITHMOS meets three or more times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


November 15, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER. To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 John Dawson (Prof. Emeritus, Pennsylvania State Univ., York) will speak on“Formal Logic in Mathematics”. For centuries mathematics has been regarded as the exemplar of rigorous deductive reasoning. Yet for much of its history it has not been, and few universities today require mathematics graduates to have had a course in formal logic. To what extent then have results in formal logic actually affected mathematical practice? And what accounts for the popular impression that deductive logic is central to mathematical practice?


November 15-18, 2018: 44th Annual AMATYC Conference, Orlando, FL

           The annual conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), scheduled this year at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, always includes some talks on the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching. This year, they include:

  • Agnes Azzolino, "Digital Manipulatives — Ancient and Modern Computing and Teaching"
  • Chana Epstein, "From Ancient to Modern: Mathematics in the Talmud"
  • Keith Nabb and Jaclyn Murawska, "Origami for Engineering: Collapsing, Functional, and Strong — Oh My!"
  • David Price and Elise Price, "Complex Numbers: From ‘Impossibility’ to Necessity"
  • Sean Saunders, "The Infinite Wonderland"
  • William G. "Bill" Weppner, "Apollo Turns 50: One Flight Controller’s Story".


November 23-24, 2018:  Mathematical and Astronomical Practices in Pre-Enlightenment Scotland and its European Networks, St Andrews, Scotland

          This workshop, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), is scheduled at the Univ. of St Andrews.


November 28-30, 2018:  29th Annual Novembertagung on the History of Mathematics, Seville, Spain

           This annual international conference is aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral students in the history of mathematics and related fields. It provides an opportunity for them to present and discuss their research in an informal and safe environment, share experiences and advice, and establish new contacts. Hosted by the Institute of Mathematics of the University of Seville (IMUS), the conference’s theme this year is “History of Mathematical Concepts and Conceptual History of Mathematics”. Invited speakers include Karine Chemla (National Center for Scientific Research, Paris) and José Ferreirós (Univ. of Seville). Abstracts of proposed contributions must be submitted before May 15, 2018.


December 7-10, 2018: Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Vancouver, BC

         This meeting, scheduled at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, includes sessions on:

  • History and Philosophy of Mathematics, co-organized by Maritza Branker (Niagara Univ.), Glen Van Brummelen (Quest Univ.), and Nicolas Fillion (Simon Fraser Univ.)
  • Indigenization and Reconciliation through University Mathematics: Why, When and How?, co-organized by Darja Barr (Univ. of Manitoba), Shawn Desaulniers (Univ. of Alberta), and Edward Doolittle (First Nations Univ.).


December 8, 2018:  The Mathematics of Time, Birmingham, England

          This all-day conference, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), is scheduled at the Midlands Institute.


December 13, 2018:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Mariya Boyko (Univ. of Toronto) will speak on“ Soviet Mathematics Education Reforms of the 1970s and Their Aftermath”. During the 1960s the Soviet government initiated major education reform in the USSR. Andrei Kolmogorov of Moscow State University got appointed as the head of the mathematics committee of the Scientific Methodological Council and got heavily involved in restructuring the mathematics curriculum. He aimed to merge the rigorous and non-rigorous ways of mathematical thinking in the minds of the students. Kolmogorov introduced a collection of pedagogical innovations and emphasized set theory, the deductive logical approach, and pre-calculus in the new curriculum. These changes were influenced by trends in modern mathematical research, such as the emphasis on a rigorous and deductive logical approach, as well as social and ideological tendencies that prevailed in Soviet society, such as the rise of Socialist Competition. Soon, however, the community of mathematics educators discovered various shortcomings in the new curriculum, and the decision to conduct counter-reforms was made. This presentation will discuss the intellectual, political, and ideological factors that shaped the development of the new Soviet mathematics curriculum, analyze the legacy of the reforms, and explore the reasons for their decline.

 

 

2017

 

January 4-7, 2017:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Atlanta, GA

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" will include, among others, the following presentations and sessions relevant to the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • Four AMS-MAA-ICHM Special Sessions on History of Mathematics, organized by Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College), Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), and Daniel Otero (Xavier Univ.)
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on History or Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Emelie Kenney (Siena College), Kimberly Presser (Shippensburg Univ.), and Melvin Royer (Indiana Wesleyan Univ.)
  • Two MAA Contributed Paper Sessions on Preserving and Writing the History of Mathematics Departments, organized by Toke Knudsen (SUNY-Oneonta) and Larry D'Antonio (Ramapo College of New Jersey)
  • HOM SIGMAA Guest Lecture by Glen Van Brummelen (Quest Univ.), “Trigonometry and the Challenge of the History of Mathematics”
  • HOM SIGMAA Reception, preceded by HOM SIGMAA Business Meeting
  • Among the talks scheduled in other sessions:
    • Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ. – Pueblo), “Drinking Straight from the Source: Learning Today’s Mathematics Through Its Historical Roots”, part of the Presentations by MAA Teaching Award Recipients
    • Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ. – Pueblo), “Read the Masters! Learning Abstract Algebra via Primary Source Projects”, part of the MAA Session on Teaching Abstract Algebra: Topics and Techniques, I
    • Daniel Otero (Xavier Univ.), “Preparing Students for Trigonometry with a Primary Source Project”, part of the MAA General Contributed Paper Session on Teaching and Learning Introductory Mathematics
    • Jerry Lodder (New Mexico State Univ.), “Distance in Geometry”, part of the MAA General Contributed Paper Session on Geometry
    • Colm Mulcahy (Spelman College), “Irish Mathematicians in American Mathematics: A Historical Perspective”, part of the MAA General Contributed Paper Session on Other Topics, II
    • Nicholas A. Scoville (Ursinus College), “Collaborative Research: Transforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources (TRIUMPHS), part of the MAA Invited Paper Session on Research in Improving Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Education: Examples Supported by the NSF’s IUSE: EHR Program
    • Dominic Klyve, Janet Heine Barnett, Kathleen Clark, Jerry Lodder, Daniel E. Otero, Diana White, and Nicholas A. Scoville, “Transforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources (TRIUMPHS), part of the MAA/NSF Poster Session: NSF Division of Undergraduate Education Awards in the Mathematical Sciences.


January 19, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA
CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS. RESCHEDULED TO MARCH 16, 2017.
         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Erich H. Reck (Univ. of California, Riverside) will speak on “Dedekind and the Structuralist Transformation of Mathematics”. The talk will show that Richard Dedekind’s writings were one of the main sources for the two strands of structuralism in mathematics (structuralist methodology and structuralist semantics), and that these two strands were intimately connected for him.


January 31, 2017:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories-- grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate-- with at least one winning submission chosen from each category.


February 1, 2017:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Neil Gallagher (Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Webb Institute) speaks on "Mathematics in the History of Navigation and Ship Design."


February 1–5, 2017:  Tenth ERME Congress, Dublin, Ireland

         CERME-10, the Tenth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), includes a Thematic Working Group on History in Mathematics Education, with paper and poster proposals due Sep. 15, 2016.


February 10–11, 2017: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, Highland Heights, KY

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its 37th semi-annual meeting at Northern Kentucky University. This meeting is focused on the work of Henri Lebesgue (1875-1941), famous for his seminal contributions to measure theory in the 1920s. The readings can be downloaded from the above-linked website. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


February 16, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 7:30 or 7:45, Shelley Costa (Swarthmore College and West Chester Univ.) will speak about “Themes on Gender and Mathematics as Expressed Through Modern Plays”. Plays provide a uniquely powerful medium for reflecting on gender and mathematics. In this regard, theatrical interpretations are much superior to those of film. This talk will consider Tom Stoppard’s "Arcadia" (1993), David Auburn’s "Proof" (2000) and Nick Payne’s "Constellations" (2012).


February 17-18, 2017:   Florida-MAA and FTYCMA Joint Meeting, Manatee-Sarasota, FL

          The annual joint meeting of the Florida Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America and the Florida Two-Year College Mathematical Assn. (FTYCMA), scheduled this year at State College of Florida, includes a Plenary Talk by Ken Ono (Emory Univ.), “Gems of Ramanujan and Their Lasting Impact on Mathematics”.


February 18, 2017:  The Thomsons of Belfast: Mathematics, Engineering and Invention in the Family of Lord Kelvin, Belfast, Northern Ireland

           This afternoon conference at The Old Museum Building, 7 College Square North, focuses on the life and work of William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), his older brother James, and their father, James Thomson Snr. Jointly organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society in association with the Northern Ireland Science Festival.


February 22, 2017:  MAA Carriage House Distinguished Lecturer, Washington, DC

         "How George Washington Learned to be a Surveyor" is an illustrated presentation at the MAA Carriage House that will appeal to a wide audience. Fred Rickey (United States Military Academy, retired) presents a sampling of the arithmetic and geometry that the future first U.S. president studied to become a surveyor, followed by a description of how surveying was done in 17th century Virginia. Based on the first careful study of two notebooks (cyphering books) that Washington kept as a teenager and which show what Washington learned about geometry, decimal arithmetic, and surveying, Rickey describes what the surveyor did in the field and how the final plats were prepared. RSVP requested.


February 25, 2017:  Pikes Peak Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Colorado Springs, CO

          The 14th Annual Pikes Peak Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, scheduled this year at Colorado College, includes a Plenary Talk by Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ.-Pueblo), “Mission Impossible? The Quest for Algebraic Roots and the Making of Modern Group Theory”.


February 25, 2017:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual full-day meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held at Queen's College, Univ. of Oxford, will be research students in the history of mathematics and keynote speaker Jeanne Peiffer (CNRS; Centre Alexandre Koyré, Paris).


February 25-26, 2017: ARITHMOS Reading Group Winter Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet in Higgins Hall, Room 206, at Western Connecticut State Univ. to continue reading and discussing Hilbert’s Foundations of Geometry. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


March 1, 2017:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Jim Tattersall (Providence College) speaks on "Surfing the Educational Times". The Educational Times (1847-1918) was a pedagogical journal of the College of Preceptors, a London-based educational institution whose goals included educating the middle class, providing necessary benefits to educators, and qualifying teachers. The journal contained a column devoted to mathematical problems and their solutions, intended to challenge and educate its readers. A number of notable mathematicians as well as recreational mathematicians were among the contributors of the more than 18,000 problems posed.


March 3-4, 2017:  Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, San Juan Islands, Washington

          The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual rugged but scenic location. Paper proposal deadline: Jan. 22, 2017. Registration deadline: Feb. 26, 2017.


March 4, 2017:  MAA Golden Section Spring Meeting, Santa Clara, CA

          The annual Spring meeting of the Golden Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Santa Clara Univ., includes a talk by Jill Pipher (Brown Univ.), “Cryptography: From Ancient Times to a Post-Quantum Age”.


March 16, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Erich H. Reck (Univ. of California, Riverside) will speak on “Dedekind and the Structuralist Transformation of Mathematics”. The talk will show that Richard Dedekind’s writings were one of the main sources for the two strands of structuralism in mathematics (structuralist methodology and structuralist semantics), and that these two strands were intimately connected for him.


March 24-26, 2017:  Midwest Junto for the History of Science, Bloomington, IN

           The 60th annual meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science is scheduled at Indiana Univ., and is hosted by its Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine.


March 31 – April 2, 2017:  HPM-Americas Spring Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

          The Americas Section of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM-Americas) will hold its Spring Meeting at the Univ. of Pennsylvania. There will be a variety of talks on relations between the history and pedagogy of mathematics. Submit abstracts of proposed talks by March 1, 2017, to David Roberts or via the HPM Americas website. You will also be able to register for the meeting on the website.


April 1, 2017:  MAA EpaDel Section Spring Meeting, Kutztown, PA

          The annual Spring meeting of the Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware (EpaDel) Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Kutztown Univ., includes an Invited Talk and workshop by Dominic Klyve (Central Washington Univ.).


April 2, 2017:  Deadline for 2017 HOM SIGMAA Student Essay Contest

          Entries to the 14th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Writing Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Dorothee Blum by April 2, 2017. For more information, contact Dorothee Blum.


April 5-8, 2017:  NCTM Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms. Scheduled at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.


April 6-7, 2017:  Beyond the Academy: The Practice of Mathematics from the Renaissance to the Nineteenth Century, York, England

          Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), this conference at the Priory Street Centre focuses on mathematical practitioners - in particular, the lesser-known users of mathematics down through the centuries.


April 8-9, 2017:  Association for Women in Mathematics Research Symposium, Los Angeles, California

          The 2017 Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) Research Symposium, to be held at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at UCLA, will include a special session on history of mathematics. Speakers will address the history of women in mathematics as well as other historical topics. The conference actually will begin on Friday, April 7, evening with an event for students. Invited addresses, special sessions, a conference banquet, and other events will take place on Sat.-Sun., April 8-9.


April 20, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Amy Ackerberg-Hastings (Univ. of Maryland, University College) will speak on “John Playfair and His Misnamed Axiom”. The term “Playfair’s Axiom” is a mainstay of school geometry textbooks as well as one of the few things many mathematicians know about John Playfair (1748–1819), Professor of Mathematics and then of Natural Philosophy at the Univ. of Edinburgh. However, the ubiquity of the phrase masks considerable historical complexity. At least three different versions of the statement circulate among speakers of English— only two of which appeared in the editions of Playfair's Elements of Geometry— while the underlying concept dates back to Proclus. Additionally, the versions are not logically equivalent with each other. The presenter will discuss recent research that has revealed new information about when and why “Playfair’s Axiom” became commonplace as a label.


April 28-29, 2017:   Conference on Sangaku and Wasan At Randolph-Macon (SWARM), Ashland, VA

           This Conference on SWARM, held in honor of Hidetoshi Fukagawa, is scheduled at Randolph-Macon College. It provides an opportunity for scholars, educators, and students to share and learn about the fascinating culture of math in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868), also known as wasan. Of particular interest will be the phenomenon of sangaku, colorful wooden tablets inscribed with geometrical problems that were hung in shrines and temples throughout the country. We are hoping to foster a community with broad interests in wasan and a diverse collection of viewpoints to contribute to its study and dissemination, and to encourage collaborative relationships across disciplinary boundaries. In addition to Hidetoshi Fukagawa and four other invited speakers, there will be a session for short (15-20 minute) contributed talks. The event will also feature an exhibition of Tokugawa-era mathematics books and life-sized prints of sangaku tablets from across Japan.


April 29, 2017:  Annual Meeting of the Oughtred Society, Las Vegas, NV

          The Oughtred Society is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other calculating instruments. This year’s meeting is scheduled at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada.


May 27, 2017:  A History of Mathematical Logic in Honour of Ivor Grattan-Guinness, London, England

          Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), this conference at Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, focuses on the history of mathematical logic and honors the eminent mathematical historian Ivor Grattan-Guinness, former BSHM President who died in late 2014.


May 28-30, 2017:  CSHPM Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

          The annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), to be held at Ryerson University, will include a special session on 18th century mathematics and will feature Kenneth O. May Lecturer William Dunham. Titles and abstracts for talks in the special or general session are due by Feb. 1, 2017. Please see the CSHPM website for details.


June 5, 2017:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          A public lecture, "Escher and Coxeter - a Mathematical Conversation", is to be presented at 1-2 pm at the Museum of London by Gresham College Professor Sarah Hart. The artist M.C. Escher’s work often used ingenious tilings of the plane with interlocking figures such as fish and birds. Although these tilings could in principle extend forever, Escher could not show this on a finite picture. But a diagram from a paper by the mathematician Donald Coxeter presented one solution to this conundrum. This talk will take a look at the mathematics of this diagram and how Escher used it, and will also show how Coxeter produced mathematical research based on aspects of Escher’s work.


June 9, 2017: Fourth Biennial Irish History of Mathematics Conference (IHOM4), Dublin, Ireland

          This all-day gathering is scheduled at the Edward Worth Library in Dublin.


June 24, 2017:  Picturing Mathematics, Oxford, England

          Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), this full-day conference at Rewley House focuses on the ways mathematicians have expressed their ideas in picture-form. Learn how these mathematical tools were invented with an enjoyable view of the beauty of mathematics.


June 24-25, 2017 : ARITHMOS Reading Group Summer Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet in Higgins Hall, Room 206, at Western Connecticut State Univ. to begin reading Newton's The Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series in the 1736 English translation by John Colson. ARITHMOS meets three or more times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


July 23-29, 2017:  25th Quadrennial International Congress for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

          To be held in the Praia Vermelha campus of the Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), this conference has the theme "Science, Technology and Medicine between the Global and the Local". The deadline for submission of proposals for stand-alone papers is November 30, 2016. Organized by the Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST) of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST).


July 26-29, 2017:  MAA MathFest, Chicago, Illinois

          MathFest 2017, the annual Summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, is scheduled at the Hilton Chicago. Among the history-related events are the following:

  • “Hidden Figures: My Role as a Math Consultant for this Film”, the NAM David Harold Blackwell Lecture, by Rudy L. Horne (Morehouse College)
  • “Four Tales of Impossibility”, the MAA Chan Stanek Lecture for Students, by David Richeson (Dickinson College)
  • “The Life and Legacy of J. Ernest Wilkins (1923-2011)”, an Invited Paper Session, organized by Ronald Mickens (Clark Atlanta Univ.) and Talitha Washington (Howard Univ.)
  • “Euclid and the Mathematics of Antiquity in the 21st Century”, a Contributed Paper Session, organized by Elizabeth T. Brown and Edwin O'Shea (both James Madison Univ.).


July 27–31, 2017:  Bridges Conference, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

          Scheduled this year at the Univ. of Waterloo, Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture is the world’s largest interdisciplinary conference on mathematics and art. This annual conference is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between the arts and mathematics. The paper submission deadline is February 1, 2017.


August 20-26, 2017:  The Fourth International Conference on History and Pedagogy of Modern Mathematics, Chengdu, China

          Organized by the School of Mathematics, Sichuan Normal Univ., Chengdu, in association with the School of Mathematics, Northwest Univ., Xi’an; the Dept. of Mathematics, Simon Fraser Univ., British Columbia, Canada; and the Chinese Society for the History of Mathematics.


September 18-20, 2017:  “Mathematics and Mechanics in the Newtonian Age”, Sevilla, Spain

           The workshop “Mathematics and Mechanics in the Newtonian Age: Historical and Philosophical Questions” is scheduled at the University of Sevilla, Institute of Mathematics. Its aim is to investigate the changing configuration of relations between pure and “applied” math, with particular attention to the “classical” era (17th and 18th centuries) contrasted with the 19th and early 20th centuries. Invited speakers are Robert DiSalle (Univ. of Western Ontario), Helmut Pulte (Ruhr Univ. Bochum-RUB), and Ivahn Smadja (Univ. de Paris Diderot – Paris 7 & Lab. Sphère). Proposals are due by May 29, 2017, and should be sent to María de Paz.


September 19-22, 2017:  Fifth Biennial International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education (ICHME-5), Utrecht, the Netherlands

         Organized by the Dutch Association of Mathematics Teachers in cooperation with the Freudenthal Institute and the Descartes Centre of the University of Utrecht. Fifth in a series of research conferences on the history of mathematics education, whose themes have included geometry teaching, algebra teaching, teaching of calculus, interdisciplinarity and contexts, the modern mathematics movements, curricula history, development of mathematics education in specific countries, practices of teaching, mathematics textbooks, teacher education, and transmission and reception of ideas. Abstracts of proposed contributions must be submitted before April 1, 2017.


September  21, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Marina Vulis (Norwalk Community College and City Univ. of New York) will speak on “The Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences and Mathematics in 18th-19th Century Russia”. Peter the Great established the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1724, and after its first meeting in Aug. 1725 it quickly became the center of scientific research in Russia. Mathematics education at the University and Gymnasium part of the Academy became vital for preparing research mathematicians and mathematics teachers. Although the Academy first brings to mind Leonhard Euler, this talk will instead focus on other mathematicians who made important contributions, and will include the original papers from the Academy Archives.


September 29-30, 2017:  Joint Midwest Hist. of Math. Conf. / ORESME Meeting), Crawfordsville, IN

          Wabash College, in picturesque Crawfordsville, hosts this joint meeting of the roughly-biennial Midwest History of Mathematics Conference (MHMC) and the 38th semi-annual gathering of the Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group.

          The MHMC will include a series of talks on topics within the history of mathematics, plus a keynote lecture by Robert E. Bradley (Adelphi Univ.). While the organizers value talks of a primarily pedagogical nature, the theme of this conference focuses more on historical material and primary sources. Presentation proposal abstracts may be submitted by Aug. 31 using Google Forms at https://goo.gl/forms/XOrquEzBWZR9XSsg1.

          The ORESME meeting focuses this time on Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert. ORESME meetings feature discussion of important works in the history of mathematics, usually concentrating on a single author; the readings can be downloaded from the ORESME website . Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries.


October 4, 2017:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Volker Remmert, Prof. of Humanities and Cultural Studies at Bergische Universität Wuppertal, speaks on "The Art of Garden and Landscape Design and the Mathematical Sciences in the Early Modern Period".


October  4, 2017 – March 31, 2018:  “Illuminating India: 5000 Years of Science and Innovation”, London, England

         This exhibit at the Science Museum in London presents, among other artifacts, the Bakhshali manuscript, on loan from Oxford’s Bodleian Library. This birch-bark text, unearthed in 1881 in the Pakistani village of Bakhshali and recently radiocarbon-dated to as old as the 3rd Century, contains hundreds of instances of the Sanskrit dot symbol for “zero”, the oldest known examples. The exhibit also delves into such topics as natural conservation in 16th-Century Mughal India; the great mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan of the Madras region; and the Indian Space Research Organisation’s low-cost probe to Mars. The show is part of the British Council’s UK/India Year of Culture, commemorating 70 years of Independence. Tickets are free and can be booked in advance online.


October 12, 2017 : MAA Distinguished Lecture, "Finding Fibonacci", Washington, DC

          Scheduled at the MAA Carriage House, Keith Devlin (Stanford Univ.) speaks about his new book, Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World (Princeton Univ. Press, March 2017).


October 13-14, 2017: On Growth and Form Centenary Conference, Dundee and Fife, Scotland

          This two-day interdisciplinary conference marks 100 years since the publication of D’Arcy Thompson’s landmark book On Growth and Form– “the greatest work of prose in twentieth century science” (Stephen Jay Gould), written by possibly “the most learned polymath of all time” (Richard Dawkins). The conference is scheduled at the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews, where D’Arcy spent most of his career and where his surviving collections are held. It will feature a range of presentations covering every aspect of D’Arcy’s own work and the various fields that it has influenced, plus visits to the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum and the Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History, with a special preview of a new exhibition exploring On Growth and Form and its legacy.


October 14, 2017: Fibonacci Mini-Conference, Lewisburg, PA

           This mini-conference at Bucknell Univ. features talks by Keith Devlin (Stanford Univ.), Mario Livio (Space Telescope Science Institute), and William Goetzmann (Yale Univ. International Center for Finance). The gathering celebrates the publication of Keith Devlin’s book Finding Fibonacci: The Quest to Rediscover the Forgotten Mathematical Genius Who Changed the World and the 15th anniversary of the publication of the first translation of Leonardo Pisano’s Liber Abaci into English by the late Laurence Sigler of Bucknell Univ. Events take place in the Elaine Langone Center from 10 am to 2:30 pm. Contact the Bucknell Univ. Mathematics Dept. for lunch tickets, tel. 570-577-1343 or e-mail.


October 18-20, 2017:  Second International Congress on Ethnomathematics, Quito, Ecuador

          The Second International Congress on Ethnomathematics, held jointly with the Second International Symposium on Ethnosciences, is scheduled at the Central University of Ecuador.


October 19, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Laura Turner (Monmouth Univ.) will speak on “E.V. Huntington’s Postulates for the Real Numbers: a Preliminary Report”. This talk will consider five texts written by the Harvard mathematician Edward V. Huntington (1874-1952) and attempt to pin down particular mathematical values informing and exemplified within his work. In these texts, published in the first years of the 20th century, Huntington presented a number of different sets of postulates defining the algebra of real quantities and the underlying linear continuum. These postulate sets, which initially demonstrate striking parsimony, ultimately reveal a pedagogically-informed classical, analytical perspective, expressed in the logical formulation characteristic of the modernist transformation of mathematics that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


October 21, 2017:  MAA Southern California-Nevada Section Fall Meeting, Orange, CA

          The Fall meeting of the SoCal-Nev Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year in Irvine Lecture Hall at Chapman Univ., includes an Invited Speaker address by Bogdan Suceavă (California State Univ., Fullerton), “Curvature: From Nicole Oresme (1320-1382) to Contemporary Interpretations”.


October 25, 2017:  Mathematical Constants and Their Beautiful Relationship, London, England

          This trio of brief talks in the Gresham Lecture series is scheduled at the Museum of London, focusing on the origin, history and significance of zero (John D. Barrow), i (Raymond Flood), and π and e (Robin Wilson).


October 26, 2017 : MAA Distinguished Lecture, “Four Tales of Impossibility”, Washington, DC

          Scheduled at the MAA Carriage House, David Richeson (Dickinson College) speaks on the 2000-year history of the impossibility theorems for four "problems of antiquity": squaring the circle, doubling the cube, trisecting angles, and constructing regular polygons using only a compass and straightedge. Space is limited; please RSVP for this lecture, using the web link above.


October 26-29, 2017:  Society for History of Technology Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

          The 59th annual meeting of the Society for History of Technology (SHOT) is scheduled at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel, located in the historic neighborhood Society Hill in Center City Philadelphia.


October 29, 2017 : ARITHMOS Reading Group Meeting #56, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet in Higgins Hall, Room 206, at Western Connecticut State Univ. to continue reading Newton's The Method of Fluxions and Infinite Series in the 1736 English translation by John Colson. ARITHMOS meets three or more times per year; for more information, contact Chuck Rocca.


November 1, 2017:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. Neil Gallagher, Prof. of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the Webb Institute, speaks on "Mathematics in the History of Navigation and Ship Design". Topics to be discussed include the Archimedes Principle of buoyancy; the navigational problem of finding a ship’s location on the sea; means to predict the resistance of ships moving in water; and calculation of the stability of ships. Many famous mathematicians (Newton, Descartes, Euler, Bernoulli, etc.), as well as scholars in the marine field, are associated with solving such problems.


November 2-4, 2017:  28th Annual Novembertagung on the History of Mathematics, Brussels, Belgium

           This annual international conference is aimed at doctoral and postdoctoral students in the history of mathematics and related fields. It provides an opportunity for them to present and discuss their research in an informal and safe environment, share experiences and advice, and establish new contacts. Hosted by the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLWF) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the theme this year is “Tools for research in mathematics, history and philosophy”. Invited speakers are Liesbeth de Mol (Univ. de Lille) & Ralf Krömer (Bergische Univ. Wuppertal). Abstracts of proposed contributions must be submitted before August 15, 2017.


November 6-10, 2017:  Second Quadrennial Instructional Conference on History of Mathematics, Marseille, France

           The Second Research School of the Groupement de Recherche (GDR) on the History of Mathematics is scheduled at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathématiques (CIRM) in Marseille, with the theme “The Flux of Mathematics – How do Texts and Theories Travel Through Time and Space?”. At least half of the events will be conducted in English.


November 9-12, 2017:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada


November 9-12, 2017: 43rd Annual AMATYC Conference, San Diego, CA

           The annual conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) always includes some talks on the history of mathematics and its uses in teaching. This year, they include:

  • John Martin, “Digging for Gold: Discovering the Golden Ratio”
  • David Price and Elise Price, “Medieval Mathematics”
  • Laura VanDeKop, “Egyptian Fractions”
  • Anthony Piccolino, “The Making of Modern Statistics: A Historical Journey”
  • Venrita Morgan, Benjamin Cagle, and Shondranise Wright, “HIDD3N F1GURES – Where Is the Math?”
  • Lisa Feinman and Eliza Lee, “Math in Prime Time — The Dark History of Mathematics”.


November 16, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 David Lindsay Roberts (Prince George’s Community College) will speak on “An Antebellum Algebra Textbook: Proofs, Algorithms, and Slavery”. In 1857 Daniel Harvey Hill, a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina, published a textbook titled Elements of Algebra, aimed at the college market. A 21st-century mathematical reader will find in Hill’s book features both familiar and unfamiliar, and will gain insight into the state of the field at the time. Hill is comfortable with well-defined algorithms and symbol manipulation, but he flubs a proof involving the fundamental properties of prime numbers, and he treats imaginary numbers with trepidation. Hill, an ardent Southern loyalist who would later serve as a general in the Confederate army, also spices his book with anti-Yankee sentiments and unapologetic references to slavery. This talk will touch on both the mathematical and ideological aspects of Hill’s book, comparing it with some similar books of roughly the same time period.


November 17-18, 2017:  MAA Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section Fall Meeting, Newport News, VA

          The Fall meeting of the Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Christopher Newport Univ., includes an Invited Speaker address by James Sellers (Pennsylvania State Univ.), “Revisiting What Euler and the Bernoullis Knew About Convergent Infinite Series”.


December 9, 2017:  From Games to Game Theory, central Birmingham, England

          The annual full-day Christmas meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), scheduled this year in central Birmingham at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, will trace concepts of chance from the 15th century to their formulation into a sophisticated, important, and evolving theory in the 21st. Speakers are: David Singmaster, Fenny Smith, Tony Mann, Norman Biggs, Herve Moulin, and Bernhard Stengel. Reservations are required for this event; go to the webpage (above) to see the link for Eventbrite.


December 14, 2017:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Peter Freyd (Univ. of Pennsylvania) will speak on “The Stable Marriage Problem”. In 2012 the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics was awarded to Lloyd Shapley for work on the stable marriage problem, specifically for the 1962 paper with David Gale, “College Admissions and the Stability of Marriage”, published in the American Mathematical Monthly. The paper was intended to be— mostly— a nice example of the mathematics of something other than numbers or geometry. In 1961, Gale (who died before 2012) and Freyd were both at Brown Univ. for a good part of the summer; Freyd’s talk will be more of an “oral history” than anything scholarly, but this is a tale worth recounting.


December 14-15, 2017: Workshop on Reading Euclid in the Early Modern World, Oxford, England

          This workshop at All Souls College will consider the ways early modern people engaged with Euclid’s works— from schoolchildren and artisans to teachers and scholars— and attempt to understand those works’ role in their lives and in culture. It will examine the unique cultural position that Euclidean geometry occupied and how that position was shaped and maintained. The workshop is organized by the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) and is part of the project on “Reading Euclid: Euclid’s Elements of Geometry in Early Modern Britain”, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK. Proposals for papers on any aspect of early modern reading of and engagement with the works of Euclid should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a brief CV, and should be e-mailed to Benjamin Wardhaugh by August 1, 2017.

 

2016

October 30, 2015 – March 18, 2016:  Boole/Shannon Symposium and Lecture Series, Cambridge, MA

           In conjunction with the centennial celebrations, these talks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focus on the contributions of the two well-known mathematicians and information scientists George Boole (Nov. 2, 1815 – Dec. 8, 1864) and Claude Shannon (Apr. 30, 1916 – Feb. 24, 2001).


January 6-9, 2016:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Seattle, WA

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" will include, among others, the following presentations and sessions on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • AMS-MAA Special Session on The History of Mathematics, organized by Patti Hunter (Westmont College), Adrian Rice (Randolph-Macon College), Sloan Despeaux (Western Carolina Univ.), and Deborah Kent (Drake Univ.)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on The Contributions of Minorities to Mathematics Throughout History, organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch (Montgomery College) and Lloyd Douglas (Univ. of North Carolina)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Incorporating the History of Mathematics into Developmental Math Courses, organized by Van Herd (Univ. of Texas-Austin) and Amy Shell-Gellasch (Montgomery College)
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on the History or Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Jennifer Beineke (Western New England Univ.), Bem Cayco (San Jose State Univ.), Timothy Comar (Benedictine Univ.), and T. James Reid (Univ. of Mississippi)
  • AMS Special Session on Current Areas of Interest in the Mathematical Sciences of Medieval Islam, organized by Mohammad Azarian (Univ. of Evansville), Mohammad Javaheri (Siena College), and Emelie Kenney (Siena College)
  • additional talks and invited addresses on the use of primary sources in teaching discrete mathematics; on the history of the surreal numbers; on the antikythera mechanism; and on the mathematical work of opera singer Jerome Hines.


January 18 - July 29, 2016:  John Dee exhibit, London, England

          "Scholar, Courtier, Magician: The Lost Library of John Dee“ is an exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians (Regent’s Park, London) exploring one of Tudor England’s most extraordinary and enigmatic figures. Mathematician, magician, astronomer, astrologer, imperialist, alchemist and spy, John Dee (1527–1609) continues to fascinate and inspire centuries after he entered the court of Elizabeth I. This exhibit explores Dee through his personal library. On display for the first time are Dee’s mathematical, astronomical, and alchemical texts, many elaborately annotated and illustrated by Dee’s own hand. Now held in the collections of the Royal College of Physicians, they reveal tantalizing glimpses into the "conjuror’s mind“.


January 19, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Babbage and Lovelace" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics-- Part 2”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat! The central figure of 19th-century computing was Charles Babbage (1791-1871), who may be said to have pioneered the modern computer age with his 'difference engines' and his 'analytical engine', although his influence on subsequent generations is hard to assess. Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of Lord Byron and a close friend of Babbage, produced a perceptive commentary on the powers and potential of the analytical engine; this was essentially an introduction to what we now call programming.


January 21, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Chris Rorres (Drexel Univ.) will present a talk, “The Law of the Lever: Archimedes vs. Mach". Over a century ago Ernst Mach, the famous Austrian physicist and philosopher of science, wrote a blistering criticism of Archimedes' celebrated proof of the Law of the Lever. Mach accused Archimedes of overusing his “Grecian mania for demonstration" and succeeding in his proof only “by the help of the very proposition he sought to prove". His attack drew the expected objections from many historians and philosophers of science who, in turn, accused Mach of not understanding the subtleties of Archimedes’ proof. Dr. Rorres will give his own interpretation of this controversy from a mathematician’s point of view, concluding with his belief that, while Archimedes did indeed prove something, it can hardly be called a proof of the Law of the Lever.


January 29–30, 2016: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, OH

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting at Northern Kentucky University. The focus will be on reading and discussing Emmy Noether’s Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen [Math. Ann. 83 (1921), 24-66], for which an English translation is available. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries for further details.


January 31, 2016:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories-- grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate-- with at least one winning submission chosen from each category.


February 16, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Gauss and Germain" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics-- Part 2”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat! Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) was one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Possibly his most famous work was his book on number theory, published in 1801. After reading this book, the French mathematician Sophie Germain (1776-1831) began corresponding with Gauss about Fermat's last theorem, using a male pseudonym. Subsequently her interests moved to working on a general theory of vibrations of a curved surface which provided the basis for the modern theory of elasticity.


February 18, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Devon Room, on the second floor of the Connelly Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Lawrence D’Antonio (Ramapo College) will present a talk, “When Mathematicians were Rock Stars: the Academies of Science in the 18th Century". During the Enlightenment, the university was not the primary center of intellectual activity. Instead, the major institutions for mathematics and natural philosophy were the Academies of Science. The Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg Academies of Science and the Royal Society of London sponsored research, gave academy members opportunities to present their research in oral and written form, and encouraged communication among the prominent scholars during the Enlightenment. The duty of the scientific academies was to drive out superstition and ignorance by establishing secure knowledge, of which mathematics is the most perfect model. Mathematicians played central roles.


February 26-27, 2016:   MAA Florida Section Spring Meeting, , St. Leo, FL

           The annual meeting of the Florida Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at St. Leo Univ. and includes three history-related talks: Michael Reynolds (Indian River State College), “Russian Multiplication”; Frederic Zerla (Univ. of South Florida), “The Mathematics of Moorish Spain Seeps into Western Europe”; and Chuck Lindsey (Florida Gulf Coast Univ.), “The Nepohualtzintzin: A Closer Examination”.


February 27, 2016:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held at Queen's College, Univ. of Oxford, will be research students in the history of mathematics and keynote speaker Dr. Stephen Johnston of the Museum for the History of Science, Univ. of Oxford.


February 29, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Visiting Gresham Professor of Computing Mathematics Tony Mann presents "Calendar Curiosities for 29 February" at 6 p.m. in the Museum of London. Arrive early to get a seat! Did Archbishop Whitgift really die on 29th February 1603? Why are there more Friday 13th's now than in the Middle Ages? How did a famous composer (who died on Friday 13th) manage to write all his 39 operas before his 9th birthday? and how can we explain the mysterious date of the death of St. Teresa of Avila? Examples will cast light upon the quirks of our calendar, and you'll also learn a quick way to work out the day of the week of any given date.


March 2, 2016:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

           Scheduled at Adelphi University. Alan Gluchoff (Villanova Univ.) speaks on "The Spread of Nomography in America from 1900 to 1925: Perspectives from Mathematics, Engineering, and Education". Nomography - loosely defined as the use of geometric ideas and constructions to build computational diagrams - is a mathematical discipline of French origin dating from the mid-19th century. Its absorption by the United States, beginning around 1900, is an interesting story of the diffusion of a mathematical discipline into a new environment, a story involving several communities in that environment. This talk examines its influence on the engineering, mathematical, and school communities and how the embrace of nomography affected and was affected by these parties. Societal trends favoring the use of nomography, and the roles of some familiar figures in American mathematical history (E.H. Moore, Frank Morley, O. D. Kellogg, and T.H. Gronwall), will be covered.

March 6, 2016 - September 3, 2017:  Sublime Symmetry touring exhibition, England

         This touring exhibit, “Sublime Symmetry: The Mathematics Behind William De Morgan’s Ceramic Designs”, showcases the work of William De Morgan, the celebrated Victorian Arts and Crafts designer. Over 80 magnificent works are presented, including ceramics from the De Morgan Collection and his designs on paper on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The pieces have all been chosen to demonstrate the mathematical concepts that are the basis for his beautiful and colorful ceramic designs. Entry to this family-friendly exhibition is either free or included within the standard admission price at each venue:

  • Mar. 6 - June 5, 2016: Towneley Hall, Burnley
  • Jun. 11 - Sep. 4, 2016: Cannon Hall, Barnsley
  • Sep. 10 - Dec. 4, 2016: Torre Abbey, Torbay
  • Dec. 10, 2016 - Mar. 4, 2017: New Walk Gallery, Leicester
  • Mar. 12 - Sep. 3, 2017: William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow.

March 9, 2016:  Celebrating the History of Women in Mathematics at Manchester, Manchester, England

          This event, scheduled at 4:30-6 p.m. in the Alan Turing Building, School of Mathematics, Manchester Univ., celebrates the lives of three female mathematicians: Phyllis Nicolson, Hanna Neumann, and Bertha Swirles. Presenters include Peter Neumann (Queen’s College, Univ. of Oxford) on the life and works of Hanna Neumann, and Ruth Williams (Univ. of Cambridge) on the life and works of Bertha Swirles. Organized in association with the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM). To reserve a place at this event, e-mail Jenny Sloan.


March 15, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Hardy, Littlewood and Ramanujan" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics--Part 2”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat! The collaboration between G. H. Hardy (1877-1947) and J. E. Littlewood (1885-1977) was the most productive in mathematical history. Dominating the English mathematical scene for the first half of the 20th century, they obtained results of great influence, most notably in analysis and number theory. Into their world came the brilliant and intuitive mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), who left India to work with Hardy until his untimely death at the age of 32.


March 17, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Devon Room, on the second floor of the Connelly Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Peggy Kidwell (Smithsonian Institute) will present a talk, “A Mathematical Recreation for All Ages – Paper Folding Comes to American Mathematics ". In the 19th century, paper folding was introduced as a topic for children in the newly introduced kindergartens. At the same time, both questions about the foundations of geometry and attempts to teach the subject to a wider array of students led to new views on geometry teaching, particularly in secondary schools. These trends came together in a small book by Sundara Rao, an Indian civil servant working for the British government in Madras. Rao’s Geometrical Exercises in Paper Folding appeared in 1893, and attracted the attention of the German mathematician Felix Klein. Mindful of Klein’s comments, mathematicians W. W. Beman and David Eugene Smith prepared an American edition of the book, published in 1901. The small volume remains in print to this day. This talk traces the roots of Rao’s work in Froebel’s kindergarten movement, considers the contents of his book, examines the contribution of Beman and Smith, and discusses mid-20th century popularization of paper folding under the name origami.


March 18-19, 2016:   MAA Indiana Section Spring Meeting, , Franklin, IN

           The annual meeting of the Indiana Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at Franklin College. A few of the invited talks are history-related: Edray Goins (Purdue Univ.), “Indiana Pols Forced to Eat Humble Pi: The Curious History of an Irrational Number”; Colin McKinney (Wabash College), “Hoosiers, the MAA, and the Indiana Section”; and Jeffrey Oaks (Univ. of Indianapolis), "How to Think Like a Medieval Algebraist".


March 23, 2016:  From Fibonacci to Da Vinci: The Italian Commercial Revolution, Derby, England

           A talk by Fenny Smith (Gresham College), scheduled for 7:30 – 8:30 pm in Lecture Theatre OL1 in the main building at Kedleston Road campus, Derby University. Jointly organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the East Midlands Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). The two Leonardos mark the approximate bounds of a period of prolific commercial activity in southern Europe, particularly in Italy, during which our modern numerals became known and accepted into everyday use. This talk traces the journey of the new numerals from India through the Middle East and into Europe, and explores their reception here, and why merchants of the time found them so attractive that they were prepared to make the considerable effort required to learn how to use them.


March 25-26, 2016:  MAA Southeastern Section Spring Meeting, Birmingham, AL

          The annual meeting of the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Birmingham campus of the Univ. of Alabama, includes a Special Session on “What Hath Fibonacci Wrought?”, jointly organized by Brian Beasley (Presbyterian College) and David Stone (Georgia Southern Univ.). Over 800 years after the publication of the classic Liber Abaci, mathematicians remain fascinated with Fibonacci and the sequence bearing his name. Some have spent much of their professional lives working with Fibonacci numbers, while almost every mathematician has at least dabbled in the subject. This session includes presentations that feature interesting problems and applications of the Fibonacci sequence and its many relatives. Experts and dabblers alike are welcome.

 

April 1-30, 2016:  Boole/Shannon Exhibit, Boston, MA

           In conjunction with the centennial celebrations, this exhibit at the Museum of Science, Boston, explores the contributions of the two well-known mathematicians and information scientists George Boole (Nov. 2, 1815 – Dec. 8, 1864) and Claude Shannon (Apr. 30, 1916 – Feb. 24, 2001).


April 1-2, 2016:  MAA Pacific Northwest Section Spring Meeting, Corvallis, OR

          The annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Oregon State Univ. in Corvallis, includes a Friday afternoon mini-course (additional fee required) on “Teaching and Learning Mathematics from Primary Historical Sources”, taught by David Pengelley (Oregon State Univ.). In this hands-on workshop, participants will collaboratively engage in both the student and instructor sides of studying primary sources, in the form of guided student project modules that include mathematical context, original source excerpts, tasks for students, and biography. Multiple project modules from lower division courses for mathematics majors will be tackled, with discussion and evaluation from both the student and instructor points of view.


April 1-3, 2016:  Midwest Junto for the History of Science, Norman, OK

           The 59th annual meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science is scheduled at the Univ. of Oklahoma, and is hosted by its Dept. of the History of Science and the History of Science Collections.


April 2, 2016:  MAA Southern California-Nevada Section Spring Meeting, Los Angeles, CA

          The annual meeting of the Southern California-Nevada Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Loyola Marymount Univ., includes a history-related talk among the keynote speakers: Dominic Klyve (Central Washington Univ.) on “Mathematical Fights: The Seedy Underbelly of Mathematical History”. Although students are often led to believe that mathematics is a purely rational, unemotional, and orderly field of study, history shows that this is often not the case. This talk will discuss some of the greatest fights in the history of mathematics. We will hear stories of friendships destroyed and national rivalries heightened because of disagreements about underlying mathematics. We will consider what these fights teach us about the nature of mathematics, and we will learn some interesting math on the way.


April 4, 2016:  Deadline for 2016 HOM SIGMAA Student Essay Contest

          Entries to the 13th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Writing Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Dominic Klyve by April 4, 2016. For more information, contact Dominic Klyve or visit the HOM SIGMAA website.


April 6, 2016:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

           Scheduled at Adelphi University. Robert E. Bradley (Adelphi Univ.) speaks on "L’Hôpital’s Polar Ordinates in Bernoulli and L’Hôpital".


April 8-9, 2016:   MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Ada, OH

           The annual meeting of the Ohio Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at Ohio Northern Univ. Four of the invited talks are history-related: Danny Otero (Xavier Univ.), “Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716): An Academy in Himself”; Dan Baczkowski (Univ. of Findlay), “Problems in Number Theory Involving Age-Old Sequences”; V. Frederick Rickey (U.S. Military Acad., emeritus), “Benjamin Franklin Finkel: The Man on the Ball”; and Jenna Carpenter (First VP of MAA), “Top Secret: Women’s Contributions to the History of Computing”.


April 8-9, 2016:   MAA Illinois Section Spring Meeting, Jacksonville, IL

           The annual meeting of the Illinois Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at Illinois College. Three of the plenary talks are history-related: William Dunham (George Pόlya Lecturer, MAA), “Two (More) Morsels from Euler”; Richard Laugesen (Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), “Two Pictures and a Quotation: Dido, Drums and Isospectrality”; and Matt Boelkins (Grand Valley State Univ.), “Fibonacci's Garden”.


April 8-9, 2016:  Joint Spring Meeting of the MAA Intermountain and Rocky Mountain Sections, Grand Junction, CO

           The joint annual meeting of the Intermountain and Rocky Mountain Sections of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Colorado Mesa Univ., includes several history-related talks including: Session on “The History of Mathematics and Poincaré’s Other Conjecture”, jointly organized by Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ. - Pueblo) and George Heine (Math and Maps); Janet Heine Barnett (Colorado State Univ. - Pueblo), plenary talk on “History as Travel Guide and Companion: Mathematical Itineraries to Excite, Educate and Entertain”; and Robin Wilson (Open University, UK [emeritus] and Colorado College), “The History of Mathematics in 300 Stamps”.


April 9-10, 2016:   Mathematics Emerging: A Tribute to Jackie Stedall and Her Influence on the History of Mathematics, Oxford, England

           This meeting at The Queen’s College has the broad theme of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century algebra. It is organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and supported by the London Mathematical Society, the International Committee for the History of Mathematics, Queen’s College, and the Oxford University Mathematical Institute. Online registration is required via Eventbrite: use the conference link given above.


April 13-16, 2016:  NCTM Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.


April 15, 2016:  Claude Shannon Centenary Conference, Ottawa, Canada

           In conjunction with the centennial celebrations, this conference focuses on the contributions of the well-known mathematician and information scientist Claude Shannon (Apr. 30, 1916 – Feb. 24, 2001).


April 15-16, 2016:  MAA Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section Spring Meeting, Germantown, MD

          The annual meeting of the Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College, includes a session in history of mathematics as well as a banquet address by John Adam (Old Dominion Univ.), “Rays, Waves and Rainbows: A Brief Tour Through Some Mathematical History”.


April 16, 2016:  Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Mathematics History Conference, Cullowhee, NC 

          The 8th biennial Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Research Conference on the History of Mathematics (SMURCHOM VIII) is scheduled at University Center on the campus of Western Carolina Univ. It will feature a keynote address by Duncan Melville (St. Lawrence Univ.) and talks and posters by students on the history of mathematics and on mathematics informed by its history.

          Register by April 1. See also the article about SMURCHOM in Convergence by Sloan Evans Despeaux.


April 19, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Turing and von Neumann" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics-- Part 2”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat! Alan Turing (1912-1954) and John von Neumann (1903-1957) had an enormous range of interests not only in pure mathematics but also in practical applications. They made major contributions during the Second World War; Turing on cryptography and von Neumann on weapons development. The Turing machine formalized the idea of an algorithm and the Turing test is important in artificial intelligence while von Neumann founded the subject of game theory. Both are considered founders of computer science.


April 21, 2016:  The Impact of Statisticians, Actuaries and Economists during the Second World War, London, England

          This conference is organized by the Royal Statistical Society and held at their headquarters.


April 22-23, 2016:   MAA Wisconsin Section Spring Meeting, Ripon, WI

           The annual meeting of the Wisconsin Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America is scheduled this year at Ripon College and includes several history-related talks:

  • Plenary talk by William Dunham (George Pόlya Lecturer, MAA), “Two (More) Morsels from Euler”, plus a book signing
  • Plenary talk by Betty Mayfield (MAA Section Visitor), “Gerbert d’Aurillac and the March of Spain”
  • Special 50-min. talk by Ioana Ghenciu (UW – River Falls), “Life of Pi, History and Computation”
  • Nelu Ghenciu (UW – Stout), “Babylonian Calculus”
  • Thomas Drucker (UW – Whitewater), “An Instance of John Wallis”.


May 4, 2016:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled at Adelphi University. V. Frederick Rickey (U.S. Military Acad., emeritus) speaks on "E228".

May 21, 2016:  The History of Number Theory, London, England

          This conference at Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, will trace the study of number theory from its ancient origins to the present day. Speakers include Simon Singh, Robin Wilson, Kevin Buzzard, Catherine Goldstein, Michalis Sialaros, and Ben Fairbairn. Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), and supported by the Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck.


May 24, 2016:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          For the Annual Joint Lecture of the London Mathematical Society and Gresham College, Norman Biggs (London School of Economics and Political Science) presents "Mathematics, Measurement and Money" at 6 p.m. in the Museum of London. Arrive early to get a seat! Throughout its brief history, mathematics has been closely linked with measurement and money. In the ancient settlements the rules of arithmetic and geometry were used to solve problems about the allocation of food and resources. When life became more complex, the use of coined money led to computational problems that required good algorithms for their solution. Nowadays we rely on mathematics for security, and the links between information and money have become blurred. Can mathematics keep us safe?.


May 25-28, 2016:  12th Maghrebian Symposium on the History of Arabic Mathematics (COMHISMA12), Marrakech, Morocco

         This meeting, taking place at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) Université Cadi Ayyad, aims to increase interest in the history of Arab mathematics as a fundamental phase in the general history of mathematics, and to provide Maghrebian researchers in this field an opportunity to collaborate with their foreign colleagues, in particular on:

  • the discovery, editing and translation of important manuscripts
  • the interaction between mathematics and the social, economic and cultural needs of society
  • identification of educational traditions of mathematics in the Arab-Islamic civilization
  • highlighting the links between mathematics and other fields of knowledge
  • highlighting the contributions of the Muslim West in constructing the edifice of mathematics.

         Talks are presented in one of the languages Arabic, French, or English. The application deadline is July 30, 2015.


May 26-27, 2016:   Circulation: Mathematics, History, Education, Nantes, France

           This seminar honors the career of University of Nantes mathematics historian Évelyne Barbin. It is scheduled at the Pasteur Amphitheater, Building 2, Campus Lombarderie, University of Nantes.


May 28-30, 2016:  CSHPS/SCHPS Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

          The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science  / La Société Canadienne d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences (CSHPS/SCHPS) is scheduled at the University of Calgary, in conjunction with the 2016 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Abstract deadline is January 15, 2016.


May 29-31, 2016:  CSHPM/SCHPM Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

          The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics / La Société Canadienne d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Mathématiques (CSHPM/SCHPM) is scheduled at the University of Calgary, in conjunction with the 2016 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Special Session topic for the meeting will be "Mathematics and Logic in the 19th and 20th Centuries." The Kenneth May Lecturer will be Dr. Jamie Tappenden (Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan). Abstract deadline is February 1, 2016.

June 1 – July 31, 2016:  Claude Shannon Exhibit, Cambridge, MA

           In conjunction with the centennial celebrations, this exhibit at the MIT Museum (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) explores the contributions of the well-known mathematician and information scientist Claude Shannon (Apr. 30, 1916 – Feb. 24, 2001).


June 6-9, 2016:  Nexus 2016, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain  

           The 12th international, interdisciplinary, biennial Nexus conference for architecture and mathematics is hosted by the Higher Technical School of Architecture at the University of the Basque Country (E.T.S. Arquitectura UPV/EHU) and by Kim Williams Books. Nexus 2016 is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between architecture and mathematics.


June 9, 2016:  John Wallis (1616-1703): Mathematics, Music Theory, and Cryptography in 17th Century Oxford, Oxford, England

           This day of talks, scheduled in Room L2 of the Andrew Wiles Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford, marks the 400th birthday of John Wallis, the former Savilian Professor of Geometry. It is organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the Oxford University Mathematical Institute. A modest admission fee and advance online registration are required via Eventbrite: use the conference link given above.


June 9-10, 2016:  From Sea to Sky: the Evolution of Air Navigation from the Ocean and Beyond, Greenwich, England

          This conference at the National Maritime Museum is organized jointly by the Royal Museums Greenwich and the Royal Institute of Navigation. Abstract deadline is November 6, 2015.


June 22-25, 2016:  Eighth Quadrennial Joint Meeting of the BSHS, CSHPS, and HSS, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

          The eighth joint meeting of the British Society for the History of Science, the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science, and the History of Science Society will take place at the University of Alberta. The program will include themed sessions, plenary lectures, and panels. A typical presentation will be 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions, but special sessions such as round tables and panels will be accommodated. The deadline for submitting a session or paper proposal is December 4, 2015.


June 22-26, 2016:  Society for History of Technology Annual Meeting, Singapore


June 25, 2016:  Mathematics in the Enlightenment, Oxford, England

          This meeting at Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square Oxford, will explore the mathematics of the Enlightenment (c.1650-c.1800), a period in which mathematical thought and a belief in logic underpinned the European World view. While algebraic methods became dominant as a mathematical language during the period, mathematics was applied to a wide range of topics, such as architecture, the law, statistics and ship building in many different forms. Speakers include Jane Wess, Jeremy Gray, Rosie Cretney, Norman Biggs, Alan Morton, Stephen Johnston, Allan Chapman, and Sarah Hutton. Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM).


July 7-16, 2016:  Leibniz Tercentenary Summer School, Leipzig and Hannover, Germany

         This summer school is for those at the master's, doctoral, or post-doctoral levels who are researching works of G. W. Leibniz. Organized in two successive sessions, one in each city, by the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig, the Leibniz Endowed Professorship at the University of Hanover, and the International Leibniz Congress (see July 18-23, below). Applications for lodging, food, and some travel expenses are due by January 1, 2016.


July 8, 2016:  Mathematical Communication during the Cold War, Oxford, England

           This set of three talks, scheduled in Lecture Room L5 of the Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road, Oxford, takes up the broad issue of communication (or lack thereof) between mathematicians during the Cold War, and the ways in which the political climate of the 20th century both helped and hindered the development of mathematics. It is organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), with support from the London Mathematical Society and the Oxford University Mathematical Institute. Admission is free, but advance online registration is requested via Eventbrite: use the conference link given above.


July 11, 2016:  Thomas Harriot Seminar, London, England

         Scheduled this year at Birkbeck, Univ. of London, this annual seminar celebrates the life and times of the mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621). This year’s meeting includes sessions on early modern mathematics, the history and archaeology of the Virginia colony, and early modern cosmology. Registration for this event is free, but please e-mail Stephen Clucas to secure a place.


July 18-22, 2016:  History and Pedagogy of Mathematics Satellite Conference of ICME, Montpellier, France

          The International Study Group for History and Pedagogy of Mathematics quadrennial Satellite Conference (HPM 2016) of the International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13) is scheduled at the Institut de Recherche sur l'Enseignement des Mathématiques (IREM), Université Montpellier 2, France. The HPM 2016 theme is “Mathematics in the Mediterranean”. The program includes plenary lectures, panels, discussion groups, workshops, sessions for research reports, a poster session, and exhibitions of books and other didactical material.

 
July 18-22, 2016:  Seventh quadrennial European Congress of Mathematics, Berlin, Germany

          This quadrennial Congress of the European Mathematical Society is scheduled at the Technischen Universität (TU) and includes several activities related to the history of mathematics:

  • A dedicated History Session organized by Martin Grötschel (President of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences), with lectures by Eberhard Knobloch (TU Berlin) on Leibniz, Gerhard Wanner (Univ. of Geneva) on Lagrange, Günter M. Ziegler (Free Univ. of Berlin) on Euler, and Jürgen Sprekels (Humboldt-Univ. of Berlin) on Karl Weierstraß.
  • Plenary speakers include Karine Chemla (CNRS Université Paris Diderot), who is Principal Investigator of Project SAW (Mathematical Sciences in the Ancient World)
  • Award of the Otto Neugebauer Prize to an historian of mathematics for "highly original and influential work in the field of history of mathematics"
  • In conjunction with the Congress, a book will be published, Mathematical Berlin by Iris and Martin Grötschel (all participants will obtain a hard copy as a gift), which is a guidebook to places, institutions, and persons of historical mathematical interest in the center of Berlin.


July 18-23, 2016:  Tenth quinquennial International Leibniz Congress, Hannover, Germany

         This conference is scheduled at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University.


July 24-31, 2016:  13th quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education, Hamburg, Germany

         ICME-13 will be held at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Proposals for papers must be submitted via the ICME-13 website between Sep. 1 and Oct. 1, 2015.

          A special feature of ICME-13 is a Thematic Afternoon in which the following three strands will take place in parallel:

  • "European Didactic Traditions"
  • "German-Speaking Traditions in Mathematics Education Research"
  • "The Legacy of Felix Klein".

          Among the Invited Lectures related to mathematics history:

  • "Intersections of Culture, Language, and Mathematics Education: Looking Back and Looking Ahead" (Marta Civil, Univ. of Arizona)
  • "Learning Modern Algebra from Early Attempts to Prove Fermat’s Last Theorem: A Course for Prospective Teachers" (Al Cuoco, Education Development Center)
  • "In Memoriam Paulus Gerdus" (Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, State Univ. of Campinas, Brazil)
  • "History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education: Can We Restore Mathematics as a Liberal Art?" (Michael Fried, Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Israel)
  • "Equity in Ethnomathematics: Connecting Research, Pedagogy, and Promising Practices" (Linda Furuto, Univ. of Hawai’i at Mānoa).

          Among the Topic Study Groups related to mathematics history:

  • TSG 24, "The History of the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics"
  • TSG 25, "The Role of History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education"
  • TSG 35, "The Role of Ethnomathematics in Mathematics Education".


July 25-26, 2016:  Euler Society Biennial Conference, Garden City, NY

          For this meeting at Adelphi Univ., the Euler Society invites proposals for papers about Leonhard Euler's life and work. The deadline for abstract submission is June 3, and the deadline for attendance registration is June 17.


August 3-6, 2016:  MAA MathFest, Columbus, OH

          Includes a General Contributed Paper Session on the History of Mathematics (Saturday 8:30 - 11:40 am).


August 9-13, 2016:  Bridges Conference, Jyväskylä, Finland

          Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Education, Culture is the world’s largest interdisciplinary conference on mathematics and art. The conference is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of the relation between the arts and mathematics. The paper submission deadline is February 1, 2016.


August 21-24, 2016:   BSHM/LMFK Conference on the Use of History of Mathematics in Teaching , Bath, UK

          This conference at Bath Spa University is organized jointly by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the Danish Association for Mathematics Teachers (LMFK). It provides an opportunity for secondary school teachers and mathematics educators in Denmark and the United Kingdom to develop ideas about cases and share best practice in using the history of mathematics. The ambition is to build collaborations and forums for exchange of experiences and materials for mutual benefit.


September 8-10, 2016:  TRIUMPHS Site Tester Training Workshop, Denver, CO

           The University of Colorado Denver is the location for this training workshop for TRIUMPHS (Transforming Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics via Primary Historical Sources). This NSF-funded project is designing classroom modules called Primary Source Projects (PSPs) to be used by instructors of mathematics to teach topics across the standard undergraduate mathematics curriculum, and which introduce students to the central ideas of mathematics through the reading and study of primary historical sources in English translation. Each classroom site tester will receive a stipend; individuals interested in site testing any TRIUMPHS PSP or mini-PSP, now or in the future, are encouraged (but not required) to attend this workshop. The workshop will bring PSP authors and potential site testers together to learn more about the project. Travel, lodging, and meals will be provided for workshop participants; applications submitted by June 30, 2016 will be given priority.


September 15, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Fred Rickey (Professor Emeritus, West Point Military Academy) will present a talk on Euler entitled, “E228 ". How can you decide if a number is the sum of two squares? Euler begins with the dumbest possible algorithm you can think of: Take the number, subtract a square, and check if the remainder is a square. If not, repeat, repeat, repeat. But Euler, being Euler, finds a way of converting all those subtractions into additions. He applies this to 1,000,009, and-- in less than a page-- finds that there are two ways to express this as a sum of squares. Hence, by earlier work in E228, it is not a prime. Amusingly, when he later described how to prepare a table of primes ad millionem et ultra (E467), he includes this number as prime. So he then feels obliged to write another paper, E699, using another refinement of his method, to show that 1,000,009 is not prime.


September 16-17, 2016:   Mathematical Biography: A Celebration of MacTutor, St. Andrews, Scotland

          Mathematical biography is one of the ways to build bridges between mathematics, mathematicians, and wider culture. The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, a website maintained by John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson since 1994, was called "the most widely used and influential web-based resource in history of mathematics" when its two authors were awarded the Hirst Prize of the London Mathematical Society in 2015.

          This conference at St. Andrews Univ., organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the St. Andrews Univ. Mathematics Department, especially welcomes papers that address the cultural roles of mathematical biography or the historiographic and technical issues surrounding writing mathematical biography, particularly if they take a case study approach. Proposals should be for short talks of approximately 15 minutes plus discussion time. In addition to papers, the conference organizers would be pleased to accept drafts of biographies for the MacTutor website. Send proposals by March 31 to Isobel Falconer .


September 26-30, 2016:  Scientific Instruments Symposium, Istanbul, Turkey

          The 35th quadrennial Scientific Instruments Symposium is scheduled at Istanbul University’s Congress and Culture Center, with the theme “Instruments between East and West”. The deadline for submission of abstracts is March 13, 2016. Organized by the Scientific Instruments Commission (SIC) of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST). Hosted by the Dept. of the History of Science, Istanbul University.


September 30–October 1, 2016: ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, OH

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting at Xavier University. This meeting is focused on the work of René-Louis Baire (1874-1932), whose work on the conditions under which sequences of continuous functions produce continuous limits helped to introduce the new set-theoretic ideas of Cantor into analysis. The readings can be downloaded from the above-linked website. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


October 11, 2016:  What Have Mathematicians Done for Us?, London, England

          This one-hour lecture by Chris Budd (Univ. of Bath) is scheduled at the Museum of London and is part of a series, “Mathematics and the Making of the Modern and Future World”. Seats are available on a “first come, first served” basis. Mathematics has played a vital role in the development of human civilization, and is the foundation of much of modern technology and popular culture. However, the achievements of mathematics and mathematicians are often unknown or misunderstood. In this talk, the contribution of mathematicians over the centuries will be celebrated, showing how mathematical ideas have huge relevance today – varying between Maxwell and the mobile phone, Florence Nightingale and modern statistics, Pythagoras and the development of music, Euclid and art, Euler and Facebook, and Cayley and Google. Even basic mathematics can make a profound difference to our lives.


October 14-15, 2016:  MAA North Central Section Fall Meeting, Minneapolis, MN

          The Fall meeting of the North Central Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at the Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities, includes Invited Speaker addresses by Joe Gallian (Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth), “The North Central Section Contributions to the MAA and Mathematics”; Wally Sizer (retired, Minnesota State Univ.-Moorhead), “A Brief History of the North Central Section of the MAA”; and Paul Zorn (St. Olaf College), “Treasures from the MAA Attic”.


October 15-16, 2016:  HPM-Americas Fall Meeting, San Diego, CA

          The Americas Section of the International Study Group on the Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM-Americas) will hold its Fall Meeting at Point Loma Nazarene Univ. There will be a variety of talks on relations between the history and pedagogy of mathematics. Submit abstracts to David Roberts or via the HPM Americas website. The deadline for receipt of abstracts of proposed talks is August 15, 2016. You will also be able to register for the meeting on the website.


October 20, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Toke Knudson (SUNY- Oneonta) will give a talk about the discussion of the didactic method of geometry that occurred in Denmark during the first decades of the 20th century, with an emphasis on the contributions of Johannes Hjelmslev (University of Copenhagen).

March 6, 2016 - September 3, 2017:  Sublime Symmetry touring exhibition, England

         This touring exhibit, “Sublime Symmetry: The Mathematics Behind William De Morgan’s Ceramic Designs”, showcases the work of William De Morgan, the celebrated Victorian Arts and Crafts designer. Over 80 magnificent works are presented, including ceramics from the De Morgan Collection and his designs on paper on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The pieces have all been chosen to demonstrate the mathematical concepts that are the basis for his beautiful and colorful ceramic designs. Entry to this family-friendly exhibition is either free or included within the standard admission price at each venue:

  • Mar. 6 - June 5, 2016: Towneley Hall, Burnley
  • Jun. 11 - Sep. 4, 2016: Cannon Hall, Barnsley
  • Sep. 10 - Dec. 4, 2016: Torre Abbey, Torbay
  • Dec. 10, 2016 - Mar. 4, 2017: New Walk Gallery, Leicester
  • Mar. 12 - Sep. 3, 2017: William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow.


October 27, 2016:  Curves in Honour of Leibniz’s Tercentenary, London, England

          This meeting, organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), is scheduled at Barnard’s Inn Hall at Gresham College. It features talks by Snezana Lawrence (Univ. of Bath), Kenneth Falconer (Univ. of St Andrews), and Jan Van Maanen (Univ. of Utrecht). Admission is free of charge, but a ticket will be required via the Gresham College website.


November 3-6, 2016:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA 

          This year’s conference, scheduled at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, is held jointly with the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) and the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA). The deadline for submitting proposals is April 8, 2016.


November 4-5, 2016:  MAA Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section Fall Meeting, Baltimore, MD

          The Fall meeting of the Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Johns Hopkins Univ., includes a Saturday Afternoon Address by William Dunham (Bryn Mawr College), “Euler in Two Acts”, and a banquet address by Caren Diefenderfer (Hollins Univ.), Betty Mayfield (Hood College), and Jon Scott (emeritus, Montgomery College), “The MD-DC-VA Section: The First 100 Years”.


November 12, 2016:  MAA New Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania/Delaware Sections Fall Meeting, Villanova, PA

          The Joint Fall meeting of the New Jersey Section and the Eastern Pennsylvania/Delaware Section of the Mathematical Assn. of America, scheduled this year at Villanova Univ., includes an Invited Speaker address by Betty Mayfield (Hood College), “Gerbert d'Aurillac and the March of Spain: A Guy in the Right Place at the Right Time”.


November 16, 2016: Claude Shannon Lecture, Princeton, NJ

           Sergio Verdú (Eugene Higgins Prof. of Electrical Engineering at Princeton Univ.) will a deliver a public lecture, “Claude E. Shannon”, at 5:30p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall on the campus of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). The lecture focuses on the contributions of the well-known mathematician and information scientist Claude Shannon (Apr. 30, 1916 – Feb. 24, 2001) in conjunction with the centennial celebrations. Shannon, considered the “father of information theory”, was a Member in the IAS School of Mathematics in 1940-41. Admission is free, but prior registration is requested via the weblink given above.


November 17, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 William Dunham (Research Associate at Bryn Mawr College and Professor Emeritus at Muhlenberg College) will speak on “Bertrand Russell at Bryn Mawr”. Bertrand Russell – philosopher, mathematician, social critic, atheist, Fellow of the Royal Society, and Nobel Laureate – had strong connections to Bryn Mawr College. He visited campus in 1896, 1914, and 1943-44. These visits brought him scholarly recognition, many friends, two books, one wife, and (what else would we expect from Lord Russell?) more than a little controversy. It all makes for a rip-roaring tale. Drawing on letters by and about Russell and articles from contemporary publications, Dr. Dunham will give a sense of the long and deep bond between Bertrand Russell and Bryn Mawr.


November 17-20, 2016:  AMATYC Annual Conference, Denver, CO


December 15, 2016:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Room 300 of the Saint Augustine Center, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Jemma Lorenat (Pitzer College) will speak on “Anschauliche Geometrie in 1832: Jakob Steiner, the Illustrated Figure, and the Imagination”. The transition away from figure-based reasoning during the long 19th century is often framed in terms of intuition and rigor. However, the use of the figure could also be attacked from the perspective of intuition, as shown in Steiner's injunction that stereometric geometry could only be properly understood when viewed purely through the inner imagination without any intermediary sensory medium such as an illustrated figure. As a student of Pestalozzi, a friend of the Humboldts, and a contemporary of Schelling, Steiner's evolving approach to the figure reflected the philosophical movements of his time, while continuing to dominate synthetic geometry into the 20th century.

 

 

2015

 

January 7, 2015:  "On The Shoulders of Giants: Newton Revealed," New York City

         Two deliveries of the talk are scheduled, at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. As part of the "Math Encounters" series at the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), William Dunham (Muhlenberg College) uses Newton’s own words to expose the man behind the math, from his earliest known letter, through his exchanges with Leibniz, Locke, and others, to his most-quoted passage about standing on the shoulders of giants.


January 10-13, 2015:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, Texas

         The "largest mathematics conference in the world" will include the following presentations and sessions on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Ethnomathematics in honor of Marcia Ascher (1935-2013), a leader in this field, organized by Janet Beery, Ximena Catepillan, and Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Original Sources and Archives in the Classroom, organized by Dominic Klyve and Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Sloan Despeaux, Patti Hunter, Deborah Kent, and Adrian Rice
  • AMS Special Session on Mathematics in Poland: Interbellum, World War II, and Immediate Post-War Developments, organized by Mohammad Javaheri and Emelie Kenney
  • AMS Special Session on The Scottish Book, organized by Krystyna Kuperberg, R. Daniel Mauldin, and Jan Mycielski
  • MAA Invited Paper Session on The Mathematics of Rogers and Ramanujan, organized by Ken Ono.
  • POM SIGMAA Reception and Guest Lecture, “Mathematical Authority and Inquiry-Based Learning” by Matt Jones.
  • MAA General Session on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics
  • MAA and AMS Invited addresses:

          * “Golden Numbers and Identities: The Legacy of Rogers and Ramanujan” by Ken Ono.

          * “Divergent Series and Differential Equations: Past, Present, Future…” by Christiane Rousseau.

          * “The Remarkable Journey of the Isoperimetric Problem: From Euler to Steiner to Weierstrauss” by Richard Tapia.

  • MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group (HOM SIGMAA) Guest Lectures, organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch, presented by
    • Carl Pomerance (Dartmouth College) on the Erdős - Pomerance correspondence at the Archives of American Mathematics at UT-Austin, and
    • Kathy Clark (Florida State University) on Paul Dirac's mathematical papers at FSU.


January 20, 2015:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Fourier's Series" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


January 21, 2015:  Seminar on Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris, France

          Michel Serfati (IREM, Univ. Paris 7 Diderot) speaks on the topic, "L’origine des mathématiques, selon Leibniz".


January 28, 2015:  Seminar on Epistemology and History of Mathematical Ideas, Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris, France

          Régine Douady (IREM, Univ. Paris 7 Diderot) speaks on the topic, "Évolution des connaissances mathématiques des élèves en milieu scolaire. Libertés et contraintes de l’enseignant et de ses élèves dans leur relation à un certain savoir à enseigner. Une étude de cas."


January 28, 2015:  Penn Mathematics Colloquium, Philadelphia, PA

          In his lecture, “When Euler met L'Hopital”, William Dunham (Muhlenberg College) considers Leonhard Euler’s treatment of L'Hospitala's rule as found in Chapter 15 of his Institutiones calculi differentialis from 1755. David Rittenhouse Laboratory, Univ. of Pennsylvania: refreshments on the 4th floor at 4pm, followed by lecture on the ground floor, room A6, at 4:30pm.


January 30–31, 2015: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting in Room 461, Mathematics-Education-Psychology (MEP) Building, Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. Plans are to extend our discussion on the foundations of analysis by reading from Bernhard Riemann's Habilitationschrift of 1854. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


January 31, 2015:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate, with at least one winning submission chosen from each category. The 2014 contest, sponsored by Math for America, has submission deadline January 31, 2015.


January 31–February 1, 2015:  ARITHMOS Seminar, Union College, Schenectady, New York

         This seminar will read E26, E54 and other early papers by Leonhard Euler concerning number theory.


February 4–8, 2015:  Ninth ERME Congress, Prague, Czech Republic

         CERME-9, the Ninth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), will be held February 4-8, 2015, in Prague, Czech Republic. Includes a Thematic Working Group on History in Mathematics Education, with paper submissions due Sep. 15, 2014 and poster proposal submissions due Oct. 1, 2014.


February 7 - May 10, 2015:  "Man Ray – Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare.", Washington, DC

          The world-renowned Phillips Collection hosts this special exhibit, which includes mathematical models from the Institute Henri Poincaré in Paris, alongside photographs of these models by Man Ray from the 1930s, and his paintings inspired by the models in the 1940s.


February 17, 2015:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Möbius and his Band" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


February 19, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM)

          To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Dr. Robert Bradley (chair, Dept. of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adelphi Univ.) will speak on "L’Hôpital’s Synthesis of Calculus and Geometry." In this talk, he will describe l’Hôpital’s calculus, providing a variety of examples drawn from his forthcoming translation of Analyse des infiniment petits, a joint project with Sal Petrilli and Ed Sandifer.


February 21, 2015:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held Saturday, Feb. 21, at Queen's College, Oxford University, will be research students in the history of mathematics and keynote speaker Adrian Rice of Randolph-Macon College.


March 4, 2015:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi Univ., Garden City, New York

           Lecture by Michael J. Barany (Program in History of Science, Princeton Univ.), “Intermediate Values: Augustin-Louis Cauchy and the Dusty, Contentious, Reactionary Origins of Modern Mathematics.”

March 7-8, 2015:  American Mathematical Society Spring Eastern Sectional Meeting, Washington, DC

          This conference, to be held at Georgetown University, is scheduled to include a Special Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, co-organized by V. Frederick Rickey (West Point Military Academy) and James J. Tattersall (Providence College).


March 13-14, 2015:  Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, San Juan Islands, Washington

          The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual rugged but scenic location. Paper proposal deadline: Jan. 15, 2015. Registration deadline: Feb. 15, 2015.


March 13-15, 2015:  HPM Americas Section Spring Meeting, Washington, DC

          The History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) Americas Section will hold its Spring Meeting at American University in Washington, DC, Friday - Sunday, March 13-15, 2015. Submit abstracts by February 21, 2015, to David Roberts or via the HPM Americas website. In addition:

  • American University has an extensive collection of old and rare mathematics texts, which we will visit on Friday afternoon.
  • On Saturday afternoon we will tour the special exhibit, “Man Ray – Human Equations: A Journey from Mathematics to Shakespeare," which is ongoing at the Phillips Collection in Washington (see entry for Feb. 7 - May 10, above).


March 14, 2015:  MAA Eastern Penn. and Delaware (EPaDel) Section Spring Meeting, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

          Includes Invited Speaker Ezra (Bud) Brown (Virginia Tech Univ.), whose talk “The Many Names of (7,3,1)” will examine the (7,3,1) design, a single object that connects block designs in combinatorics, finite projective planes in geometry, round-robin tournaments and map colorings in graph theory, (0,1)-matrices in linear algebra, difference sets in number theory, error-correcting codes on the Internet, and the torus at the doughnut shop. Along the way, the audience will learn how Leonhard Euler was once spectacularly wrong, how P. J. Heawood was almost completely right, and what happened when Richard Hamming got mad at a computer.


March 17, 2015:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Cantor's Infinities" (part of the series “Great Mathematicians, Great Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


March 19, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM)

          To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Robert Naugle (Shepherd Univ. and Hagerstown Community College) will speak on "Archimedes, Codex C, The Method of Mechanical Theorems: Controversy."


March 27-28, 2015:  MAA Illinois Section Spring Meeting, Northern Illinois Univ., Dekalb, IL

          Includes a Plenary Address by T. Christine Stevens (American Mathematical Society), “Singing Along with Math,” about the New York Metropolitan Opera singer Jerome Hines (1921-2003), a math major who retained a lifelong interest in mathematics. She will discuss Hines’s mathematical background; why he kept working on mathematics even after he became a successful opera singer; and the first of his published papers from the 1950s, which described a new method for finding the roots of an equation.


April 1, 2015:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi Univ., Garden City, New York

           Lecture by Maria Zack (Point Loma Nazarene Univ.), “What can the Lisbon Earthquake Tell Us about the Connections between Mathematics, Urban Planning and Engineering in Eighteenth Century Portugal?”


April 10-11, 2015:  MAA Allegheny Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, PA

          Includes Invited Speaker Barbara Faires (Westminster College and MAA), whose talk “The First 100 Years” will use the American Mathematical Monthly as a lens for highlighting the life of the MAA over its first century (1915-2015).


April 10-11, 2015:  MAA Michigan Section Spring Meeting, Hope College, Holland, MI

          Includes a plenary talk by Benjamin Collins (Univ. of Wisconsin – Platteville), “Basel and Beyond: An Incomplete History of a Famous Sum,” in which he will discuss Leonhard Euler’s first proof of the solution to the famous Basel Problem, as well as a few more recent proofs of it.


April 11, 2015:  MAA New Jersey Section Spring Meeting, Monmouth Univ., West Long Branch, NJ

          Includes Invited Speaker David Richeson (Dickinson College), whose talk “The Four Problems of Antiquity” will discuss the history of four of the most famous problems in mathematics (squaring the circle, trisecting the angle, doubling the cube, and constructing regular n-gons); and a Lunch Discussion Table on “Teaching a History of Mathematics Course,” led by Susan Marshall (Monmouth Univ.).


April 15-18, 2015:  NCTM Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

           At the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.


April 15 - June 17, 2015: "A History of Mathematics from Euclid to Weiss," Univ. of Reading, England

          This course, covering some of the key developments, moments, and personalities in the creation of mathematics over the last 2,000 years, meets on ten consecutive Wednesday evenings 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the London Road Campus of the Univ. of Reading. It is taught by Dr. Vasos Pavlika of the Univ. of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Organized by the Univ. of Oxford Dept. of Continuing Education.


April 16, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM)

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Marianna Bonanome (Borough of Manhattan Community College) and Margaret H. Dean (New York College of Technology, CUNY) will present a talk, “A History of Combinatorial Group Theory”. Modern group theory can be said to have been born at the beginning of the 20th Century, but World War I caused a hiatus in the study of group theory. In 1932, Wilhelm Magnus solved the word problem for one-relator groups, and combinatorial group theory blossomed from the 1930s through the '60s, laying the foundation for today’s research in the areas of geometric and probabilistic group theory, as well as public key cryptography and group theory. The speakers will address some of the personalities involved and the advances they made in group theory during the 20th Century.


April 17-18, 2015:  MAA Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO

          Includes Featured Speaker William Dunham (Muhlenberg College), whose talk “Two (More) Morsels from Euler” will examine a pair of lesser-known results where Leonhard Euler’s genius was on full display, one from number theory, the other from analysis.


April 17-18, 2015:  MAA Seaway Section Spring Meeting, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

          This conference is scheduled to include a session on histories of local mathematics departments, co-organized by Toke Knudsen and Gary Towsley. The session is intended to be broad and to showcase what work people have done or are doing to document the history of a mathematics department. The aim is to inspire endeavors to preserve departmental history.


April 18, 2015:  First National Math Festival, Washington, DC

          Organized by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) and the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution, the country’s first national festival dedicated to discovering the delight and power of mathematics is a free and public celebration featuring dozens of activities for every age. The presentations, held at Smithsonian museums and other spots around the National Mall, range from hands-on magic and Houdini-like getaways to lectures with some of the most influential mathematicians of our time. Sessions involving historical or ethnomathematics include:

  • “Archimedes: Mathematical Superhero of the Ancient World”, presenter Matthew Kahle (Ohio State Univ.)

  • “Design a Kolam”, presenter Shanthi Chandrasekar (artist and teacher)

  • “Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art”, presenter Carol Bier (Visiting Scholar, Center for Islamic Studies, Graduate Theological Union)

  • “Maya Math Activity”, presenter Vilma Ortiz-Sanchez (National Museum of the American Indian).


April 18-19, 2015:  MAA Southwestern Section Spring Meeting, held jointly with the New Mexico Mathematical Association for Two-Year Colleges (NMMATYC), El Paso Community College, El Paso, TX

          This year’s theme is “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants-- Celebrating Mathematics’ Past, Present, and Future,” marking MAA’s 100th anniversary and AMATYC’s 40th anniversary. Entertainment for the Saturday Luncheon is a performance of “Count Her In!”, a play about the history of women in mathematics, presented by students from the Transmountain Early College High School in El Paso, TX.


May 3-7, 2015:  Inter-American Conference on Mathematics Education, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

          Topic #17 (of 22) for the 14th IACME (CIAEM) will be History and Epistemology of Mathematics and Mathematics Education. Conference languages will be Spanish, Portuguese, and English.


May 6, 2015:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi Univ., Garden City, New York

           Lecture by Rob Bradley of Adelphi University on "L'Hôpital's Synthesis of Calculus and Geometry."


May 9, 2015:  Augustus de Morgan Meeting, London, England

          A celebration of the life and work of Augustus de Morgan (1806-1871), first President of the London Mathematical Society (LMS). Jointly organized by LMS and the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), this meeting will mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the LMS.


May 15, 2015: Third Biennial Irish History of Mathematics Conference (IHOM3), Belfast, Ireland

          This gathering, to take place at Ulster University, is organized by Ciarán Mac an Bhaird (Maynooth Univ.) and Mark McCartney (Ulster Univ.). Requests to register for the event (due by May 8), and abstracts for potential talks of 30 minutes in length (due by Apr. 13), should be sent to Mark McCartney.


May 23, 2015:  Symmetry and Groups, Birkbeck College, Univ. of London, England

          This conference is to look at the history of symmetry and its study through group theory. Organized by the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), and supported by the Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck. Speakers include Siobhan Roberts, Peter Neumann, Norman Biggs, Rob Curtis, and Sarah Hart.


June 10-13, 2015:  Joint International Meeting of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), European Mathematical Society (EMS), and Sociedade Portuguesa de Matemática (SPM), Univ. of Porto, Porto, Portugal

          The meeting will include a special session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics.


June 16, 2015:  MAA Distinguished Lecture Series: "Where Sufficient Reason Isn't Enough", Washington, DC

          Pre-registration required. Judith V. Grabiner (Pitzer College) presents this lecture at the MAA Carriage House. Euclid's Elements is a model of reasoning not only in mathematics but in philosophy, theology, and politics— but it rested on assumptions, one of which didn't seem self-evident. People kept trying to prove that assumption, and the ways they tried tell us a lot about the relationship between mathematics and society. The new non-Euclidean geometries of the 19th century challenged the authority of mathematics, undermined received ideas in philosophy and culture, and had a hand in the birth of modernism. Changes came not only from people like Gauss, Lobachevsky, Helmholtz, and Einstein, but also artists and philosophers. Looking at all of this will illustrate both how culture helps shape mathematics and how mathematics has shaped the modern world.


June 20, 2015:  The Big Picture: A Celebration of 100 Years of General Relativity, Oxford, UK

          This conference at Rewley House is to look at the history of the mathematics of space, from Newton until the present. Speakers include Jocelyn Bell Burnell (keynote), Rob Iliffe, Michael Hoskin, Jeremy Gray, Bob Lambourne, and Malcolm McCallum.


July 3-5, 2015:  "Leibniz-Scientist, Leibniz-Philosopher," Univ. of Wales, Trinity St. David, Lampeter, Wales

          This conference aims to celebrate the work of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) in four broad areas: Metaphysics and epistemology, Mathematics and dynamics, Life sciences and earth sciences, and Ethics and theology.

 

August 5–8, 2015:  MAA MathFest, Washington, DC

          MAA Centennial Celebration! To help the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) celebrate its 100th birthday, a joint meeting is organized by the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), the History of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the MAA (HOM SIGMAA), and the Philosophy of Mathematics Special Interest Group of the MAA (POM SIGMAA). Keynote speakers for the gathering are:

  • Kenneth May Lecture: Karen Parshall (Univ. of Virginia), "'We Are Evidently on the Verge of Important Steps Forward': The American Mathematical Community, 1915-1950"

  • POM SIGMAA Lecture in Philosophy: John Burgess (Princeton Univ.).

   As well as general paper sessions on the history or philosophy of mathematics, the meeting will also feature a number of focused sessions:

  • Special Session on Mathematical Communities

  • Special Session on the Philosophy of Mathematics

  • Special Session in Memory of Jackie Stedall

  • Special Session in Honor of Karen Parshall, followed immediately by a reception in her honor

  • Special Session on The Contributions of Women to Mathematics: 100 Years and Counting.

Prospective presenters should submit abstracts (250 words or less) by February 15, 2015 to Prof. Maria Zack (Point Loma Nazarene Univ.), who will circulate them to the relevant members of the organizing committee. Once the abstracts are accepted by the committee, instructions will be given for how to submit the abstract to the Mathematical Association of America.

   During MathFest week, the National Museum of American History (NMAH) in Washington is hosting events in honor of the MAA centennial:

  • On Aug. 4, a rare book exhibit (NMAH Dibner Library) as well as a set of short presentations on “Mathematical Objects at the Smithsonian” (NMAH West Wing Conference Center, First Floor). Space for both is very limited; you must RSVP to Amy Shell-Gellasch.

  • On Aug. 5-7, a rare book exhibit (NMAH Dibner Library) as well as “Engaging Minds: American Mathematics a Century Ago” (NMAH Education Conference Center), a small exhibit of artifacts related to the early days of the MAA and its founding members. Space for both is very limited; for the book exhibit, you must call the Dibner Library in advance at 202-633-3872; for the artifact exhibit, you must send an e-mail message to Peggy Kidwell, Curator of Mathematics.


September 14-15, 2015:  International Conference on Ibn al-Haytham, Paris, France

         This conference in Room II of UNESCO Headquarters, and an exhibition beginning the same day ("Ibn Al-Haytham: Contributions to the Islamic Golden Age of Science", foyer of Hall I, UNESCO Headquarters), are organized by the Ibn al-Haytham Working Group in conjunction with the United Nations International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015). They focus on the heritage of Ibn al-Haytham and scientific advances of the Islamic Golden Age in today’s knowledge-based society. Often referred to as the “father of modern optics”, Ibn al-Haytham, who flourished 1,000 years ago, was a pioneering polymath from Basra (in modern-day Iraq) who made significant advancements in mathematics, optics, and astronomy, and helped lay the foundations of the scientific experimental method. Conference admission is free, but advance registration is required via the conference website.


September 17, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Karen Parshall (Univ. of Virginia) will present a talk, “Axiomatization and the Emergence of American Research Agendas in Topology, 1900-1940”. It was shortly after 1900 that Oswald Veblen at Princeton applied to projective geometry, and then to combinatorial topology, the axiomatic methods inherent in David Hilbert's Grundlagen der Geometrie. Robert L. Moore, first at the Univ. of Pennsylvania and then at the Univ. of Texas, Austin, encouraged a generation of American point-set topologists to approach their chosen subfield from this particular point of view. This talk will explore how this emphasis on an axiomatic mode of thought allowed members of the American mathematical research community to carve out research agendas in each of these two brands of topology and, in so doing, to begin to establish the U.S. as a player in the international mathematical arena.


September 18-20, 2015:  LMS-EMS Mathematical Weekend, Birmingham, UK

          An invited lecture on history of mathematics by Niccolò Guicciardini (Univ. of Bergamo, Italy) is planned as part of this international conference at Birmingham University, which celebrates the 150th year of the London Mathematical Society (LMS) and the 25th year of the European Mathematical Society (EMS) and focuses on algebra, analysis, and combinatorics.


September 23-26, 2015:  Fourth International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education (ICHME 4), Univ. of Turin, Turin, Italy

          Fourth in a series of research conferences on the history of mathematics education, whose themes have included geometry teaching, algebra teaching, teaching of calculus, interdisciplinarity and contexts, the modern mathematics movements, curricula history, development of mathematics education in specific countries, practices of teaching, mathematics textbooks, teacher education, and transmission and reception of ideas. Prospective presenters should submit abstracts (about one page with essential bibliography) via the conference website by March 15, 2015.


September 25-27, 2015:  International Meeting of the Oughtred Society, Burlingame, CA

          The Oughtred Society is dedicated to the preservation and history of slide rules and other calculating instruments. This year’s meeting is scheduled for the Hyatt Regency SFO in Burlingame, CA. The theme is, “From Logarithms to Algorithms: Bridging 400 Years of Scientific and Computing Evolution,” reflecting both the recent celebration of the Quadricentenary of Napier’s work on logarithms as well as highlighting the importance of the Silicon Valley to computing and to the rapid advances in technology during our lifetimes. For more information or to inquire about submitting a paper (deadline June 1, 2015 for inclusion in the published proceedings), contact Proceedings Chairperson Bob De Cesaris.


October 3-4, 2015:  American Mathematical Society (AMS) Fall Central Sectional Meeting, Chicago, IL

          This meeting, held at Loyola University Chicago, includes a Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Steven Jordan (Loyola Univ. Chicago).


October 5, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Devon Room, Connelly Center, 2nd Floor. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Robin Wilson (Open University, UK) will speak on “A Century of Graph Theory”. This talk covers the period from around 1890, when graph theory was mainly a collection of isolated results, to the 1990s when it had become part of mainstream mathematics. Among many other topics it includes material on the four-color problem, trees, graph structure, and graph algorithms. No particular knowledge of graph theory is assumed..


October 7-11, 2015:  Society for History of Technology Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM


October 10-15, 2015:  Espace Mathématique Francophone (EMF 2015), Tipaza, Algeria

          This year’s conference, the sixth in a series of triennial symposia, will explore "Cultural Plurality and Universality of Mathematics: Challenges and Prospects for their Teaching and Learning." One of the strengths of mathematics lies in the universality of its results. Yet each mathematical concept first emerged in a particular cultural context, and was enriched by the contributions of various civilizations; for example, Northwest Africa was at a time one of the important areas of development and dissemination of mathematical knowledge. This dialectic between plurality and universality is found in several aspects in teaching and learning mathematics, which are central to the theme of this symposium. The language of the conference is French. For more information, see the general announcement and the Call for Papers from one of the conference working groups, Historical Dimension of Mathematics Instruction.


October 16–17, 2015: ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, OH

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting at Xavier University. The focus will be on some central texts that illustrate G. W. Leibniz's development of the differential and integral calculus; see the website for more details. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


October 24, 2015: Doing Mathematics in Different Cultural Contexts: A Conference Honoring Professor Judith Grabiner, Claremont, CA

         Pitzer College hosts this History of Mathematics conference on the occasion of the retirement of Dr. Judith V. Grabiner, the Flora Sanborn Pitzer Professor of Mathematics and a four-time winner of the MAA's Lester R. Ford Award. Speakers include Joseph Dauben, Jemma Lorenat, Karen Parshall, and Uta C. Merzbach. A dinner will be held after the talks.


October 24-25, 2015:  American Mathematical Society (AMS) Fall Western Sectional Meeting, Fullerton, CA

          This meeting, held at California State Univ. Fullerton, includes a Special Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Jim Tattersall (Providence College) and Shawn McMurran (California State Univ. San Bernardino).


October 29, 2015: Women in Mathematics: A Celebration of the Bicentenary of Ada Lovelace, London, UK

         To be held at Gresham College, with principal speaker Ursula Martin, Professor of Computer Science at Oxford Univ., on “The Scientific Life of Ada Lovelace”. The additional speakers are Fenny Smith, “Hypatia— Sifting The Myths”; and Peter Neumann, “Hanna Neumann: A Mathematician in Difficult Times”.


October 29 – December 18, 2015:  Exhibit Marking the Bicentenary of Ada Lovelace, Oxford, UK

         Computer scientist Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852), is best known for a remarkable article about Charles Babbage’s unbuilt computer, the Analytical Engine: it presented the first documented computer program, to calculate the Bernoulli numbers, and explained the ideas underlying Babbage’s machine. This display, in the new Weston Library, part of the Univ. of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, offers a chance to see Lovelace’s correspondence with Babbage, with scientist Mary Somerville, and with Augustus De Morgan, a leading mathematician and pioneer in logic and algebra, as well as her childhood exercises and mathematical notes. The exhibit is organized by the Bodleian Libraries and the Univ. of Oxford’s Dept. of Computer Science, working with colleagues in the Mathematics Institute, Oxford e-Research Centre, Somerville College, the Faculty of English, and TORCH.

         See also the related symposium, Dec. 9-10.


October 30 - November 1, 2015:  HPM Americas Section Fall Meeting, Amherst, MA

          The History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) Americas Section will hold its Fall Meeting at the Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst, Friday - Sunday, October 30 - November 1, 2015. There will be a variety of talks on relations between the history and pedagogy of mathematics. Talks on experience with using history in mathematics classrooms are especially encouraged. Talks seeking comment on untested ideas for using history to teach mathematics are also welcome. Talks will be about 25 minutes long, followed by abundant time for discussion.

          Submit abstracts by September 1, 2015, to David Roberts or via the HPM Americas website. You can also register for the meeting on the website.


November 4, 2015:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium Series in the History of Mathematics, Adelphi Univ., Garden City, New York

           Laura Turner (SUNY New Paltz) speaks on "L'Hôpital's Analytic Representations and Generality in Mathematics in the Late 19th Century". Analytic representations of functions were widely employed and studied during the late 19th century. They appear in countless papers from this period, sometimes serving as helpful tools and other times as the focal point of an exposition. In spite of their popularity, however, the task of uncovering the reasons for their widespread use is largely uncharted territory. What is more, their very definition represents shaky ground, highlighting both the fluidity of these objects and the benefit to be gained from closer historical consideration. This talk explores precisely why studies of analytic representations were so widespread and the roles they served for different individuals, devoting particular attention to the circles of Hermite and Weierstrass and the reception of the body of results which together are known as the Mittag-Leffler Theorem. Analytic representations of functions were seen as foundational precisely because of their applications, some examples of which will be considered. What is more, by virtue of this foundational character, they forged a crucial bridge between analytic and developing synthetic methods by rooting new set-theoretic concepts in older, established fields.


November 5-7, 2015:  Conference, “Ptolemy’s Science of the Stars in the Middle Ages”, London, UK

         This conference, held at the Warburg Institute, is organized jointly by the project Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus and the Warburg Institute.


November 19, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 John Bukowski (Juniata College) will present a talk, “Christiaan Huygens' Later Work on the Hanging Chain (Catenary)”.


November 19-22, 2015:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA


November 19-22, 2015: AMATYC Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA

         The theme of the 41st annual conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges will be "Jazz It Up".


November 20-21, 2015: MAA Northeastern Section Fall Meeting, Wenham, Massachusetts

         At this meeting, to be held at Gordon College, James J. Tattersall will deliver the Christie Lecture at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20, evening on "Two Late Nineteenth Century Mathematicians." Jason Cordeira will present "Mathematics and Meteorology: The History of Numerical Weather Prediction and Modern Weather Forecasting," at 9 a.m. on Sat., Nov. 21 morning. Finally, on Saturday at 10 a.m., C. Edward Sandifer will receive the Howard Eves Award, given by the Northeastern Section once every five years for "Evesian" accomplishments in some or all of teaching, outreach, research in geometry and/or history of mathematics, and contributions to the Section.


December 1, 2015:  CSU History of Mathematics Seminar, Ft. Collins, Colorado

          Alexander Soifer (Univ. of Colorado at Colorado Springs) will give a talk, “The Scholar and the State: In Search of a Moral Compass”, at 11am in room Weber 201 at Colorado State University at Ft. Collins. The presentation will focus on his book, The Scholar and the State: In Search of Van der Waerden (Springer Birkhäuser, 2015), which follows B. L. van der Waerden and Werner Heisenberg, especially their lives and deeds in the Third Reich, and provides lessons that are of value in the world of today.


December 3, 2015:  The Philadelphia Area Seminar on History of Mathematics (PASHoM), Villanova, PA

         To be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in Saint Augustine Center Room 300, Villanova Univ. Following conversation and a light supper (donation: $10.00), beginning at approx. 6:30 or 6:45 Tom Drucker (Univ. of Wisconsin, Whitewater) will present a talk, “Two Thumbs Up: Gődel and Turing at the Movies". Kurt Gődel and Alan Turing were distinctive in aspects of personality as well as in their contributions to mathematics, logic, and computer science. Their tastes in movie-going can be criticized by those who might have wished them to prefer Fritz Lang, but they do give a flavor of their personalities. In addition to being viewers of movies, they have also both been portrayed on stage and the screen, and the way in which their work and personality have been captured adds to our understanding of the public appreciation of what is seen as the eccentricity of genius.


December 4-7, 2015: Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Montreal, Quebec

         The CMS Winter Meeting will include a paper session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by Tom Archibald (Simon Fraser University) and a plenary lecture by mathematical philosopher Jamie Tappenden (University of Michigan). Tappenden will give the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) Plenary Lecture.


December 5, 2015:  BSHM Christmas Meeting, Birmingham, UK

         Annual Christmas Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. Held jointly with the Birmingham and Midlands Institute. 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. An eclectic mix of talks on interesting historical mathematical issues.


December 8, 2015:  Texts and Contexts: The Cultural Legacies of Ada Lovelace, Oxford, UK

         This one-day workshop for graduate students and early career researchers is organized by Oxford University's Mathematics Institute and St Anne’s College. See also the related Symposium on December 9-10, below.


December 9-10, 2015:  Symposium Marking the Bicentenary of Ada Lovelace, Oxford, UK

         This conference at Oxford Univ. is aimed at a broad audience interested in the history and culture of mathematics and computer science, presenting current scholarship on Lovelace’s life and work, and linking her ideas to contemporary thinking about computing, artificial intelligence and the brain. A few of the speakers are Lovelace biographer Betty Toole, computer historian Doron Swade, graphic novelist Sydney Padua, and mathematician/ historians June Barrow-Green (Open University) and Judith Grabiner (Pitzer College). Other activities will include a workshop for early career researchers, a “Music and Machines” event, and a dinner in Balliol College on December 9, the eve of Lovelace’s 200th birthday. The symposium is organized by the Bodleian Libraries and the Univ. of Oxford’s Dept. of Computer Science, working with colleagues in the Mathematics Institute, Oxford e-Research Centre, Somerville College, the Faculty of English, and TORCH.

         See also the related Celebration (London) and Exhibit (Oxford), both listed above for Oct. 29.

 

 

 

2014

 

 

January 13–14, 2014:  MAA Short Course on "Doing the History of Mathematics," Baltimore, Maryland

          An MAA Short Course on “Reading, Writing and Doing the History of Mathematics: Learning the Methods of Historical Research” will precede the AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings (see January 15-18 entry below).


January 14, 2014: Annual Zamorano Lecture, San Marino, California

          In his presentation, "Detecting Contemporary Book Forgery," at the Huntington Library in San Marino (near Pasadena), California, Nick Wilding of Georgia State University will explain how he proved that a number of copies of rare scientific books sold recently, starting with a copy of Galileo's 1610 Sidereus Nuncius that surfaced in 2005, are forgeries. Reservations required.


January 15–18, 2014:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Baltimore, Maryland

          The Wednesday-Saturday conference will include the following presentations on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • MAA Invited Address by historian of mathematics William Dunham on "Heron, Newton, Euler, and Barney," Saturday morning;
  • MAA-AMS Invited Address by number theorist Carl Pomerance on "Paul Erdős and the Rise of Statistical Thinking in Elementary Number Theory," Wednesday morning;
  • MAA Guest Lecture by mathematics historian Fred Rickey on "The Notebooks of George Washington on Arithmetic, Geometry, Trigonometry, Logarithms and Surveying," Wednesday evening;
  • MAA Guest Lecture by mathematical philosopher Steve Gimbel on "Hermann Minkowski: The Quiet Genius," Thursday evening;
  • MAA Guest Lecture by former museum curator and now library director William Noel on "Eureka! The Archimedes Palimpsest," Friday evening;
  • MAA Minicourse on "Historical Role-Playing in the Mathematics Classroom," Thursday and Saturday mornings;
  • MAA Minicourse on "Heavenly Mathematics: The Forgotten Art of Spherical Trigonometry," Friday and Saturday afternoons;
  • AMS Special Session on "History of Mathematics," Wednesday morning and afternoon, Thursday morning;
  • AMS Special Session on "Nineteenth Century Algebra and Analysis," Friday afternoon;
  • AMS Contributed Paper Session on "History of Mathematics," Saturday morning;
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on "The History of Mathematical Communities," Thursday afternoon; and
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on "Putting a Theme in a History of Mathematics Course," Saturday morning.


January 23, 2014:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Nicholas Scoville of Ursinus College will speak at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


January 28, 2014:  MAA Distinguished Lecture, Washington, D.C.

          Bill Dunham will present "Your humble Servant, Is. Newton" at the MAA Carriage House, Tues., Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m. Reservations required.


January 31, 2014:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate, with at least one winning submission chosen from each category. The 2014 contest, sponsored by Math for America, has submission deadline January 31, 2014.


February 7–8, 2014: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting Friday-Saturday, February 7-8, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read works by Bernhard Riemann in English translation. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


February 8–9, 2014: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, Connecticut

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Dedekind's "Nature and Meaning of Numbers." ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

- See more at: http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/convergence/convergence-cale...

January 28, 2014:  MAA Distinguished Lecture, Washington, D.C.

          Bill Dunham will present "Your humble Servant, Is. Newton" at the MAA Carriage House, Tues., Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m. Reservations required.


January 31, 2014:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate, with at least one winning submission chosen from each category. The 2014 contest, sponsored by Math for America, has submission deadline January 31, 2014.


February 7–8, 2014: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting Friday-Saturday, February 7-8, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read works by Bernhard Riemann in English translation. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


February 8–9, 2014: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, Connecticut

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Feb. 9 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Dedekind's "Nature and Meaning of Numbers." ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

February 20, 2014:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Paul Wolfson of West Chester University will present "Planetary Orbits and the Calculus Controversy" at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


February 22, 2014:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          Presenters at this annual meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), to be held Saturday, Feb. 22, will be research students in the history of mathematics and keynote speaker Jackie Stedall.


March 19, 2014:  Deadline for 2014 HOM SIGMAA Student Essay Contest

          Entries to the 11th annual MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Student Writing Contest are due to HOM SIGMAA Prize Coordinator Dominic Klyve by March 19, 2014. Contact Dominic Klyve or visit the HOM SIGMAA website for more information.


March 19, 2014:  BSHM - IMA Joint Lecture, Nottingham, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Brass for Brain: Lord Kelvin and Tide Prediction" at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Nottingham.  This presentation is sponsored jointly by the British Society for the History of Mathematics and the East Midlands Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications.


March 20, 2014:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Fred Rickey of the United States Military Academy will present "Washington and Mathematics" at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


April 1, 2014:  Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery - and the Man Who Brought Them Together, Washington, D.C.

          Colm Mulcahy will kick off this year's Mathematics Awareness Month, with its theme of "Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery," with a talk about the life and work of mathematics writer and populizer Martin Gardner (1914-2010), to be presented at the MAA Carriage House in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, April 1 at 6:15 p.m. Registration required.


April 2, 2014:  Pohle Colloquium on History of Mathematics, Garden City, New York

          Lee Stemkoski will present "More on Euler's Contribution to Fermat's Last Theorem" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium on the History of Mathematics, Wed., April 2, at 4 p.m. at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.


April 3-5, 2014:  MAA Texas Section Spring Meeting, Laredo, Texas

          The 94th Annual Meeting of the Texas Section of the MAA will include talks on Saturday, April 5, morning by Harold P. Boas, the Texas Section's 2013 Outstanding Teaching Award winner, titled "From Plato's Academy to the Khan Academy," and by Scott Chapman, Editor of the MAA's American Mathematical Monthly, titled "Monthly Past, Monthly Present, and Monthly Future." The meeting will be held Thurs.- Sat., April 3-5, 2014, at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas.


April 4, 2014:  Napier 400 Meeting: 400th Anniversary of Napier's Logarithms, Edinburgh, Scotland

          This one-day Friday, April 4, joint meeting of the James Clerk Maxwell Society and the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM), celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of John Napier’s Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio, will be held at at the Clerk Maxwell House in Edinburgh with an afternoon field trip.


April 4-5, 2014:  MAA Allegheny Mountain Section Spring Meeting, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

          The Spring Meeting of the MAA Allegheny Mountain Section, to be held Friday-Saturday, April 4-5, 2014, at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, will include the invited address, "Martin Gardner: Man of Mathematics, Magic & Mystery," by Colm Mulcahy, to celebrate the centennial of Gardner's birth (in 1914; he died in 2010) and to kick off Mathematics Awareness Month (April), for which the theme is "Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery" (see April 1-30 entry, above).


April 4-5, 2014:  MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Toledo, Ohio

          The Spring Meeting of the MAA Ohio Section will be held at the University of Toledo, Ohio, Memorial Fieldhouse Friday-Saturday, April 4-5, 2014. Two talks promising mathematics history are to be given on Saturday: "A Couple of Integrals, a French Friar, and a Wacky Experiment," by Chuck Groetsch, and "Ideal Prime Factors to Ideals: A Glimpse of a Structural View of Algebra," by Phil Blau.


April 4-6, 2014:  Midwest Junto for the History of Science Meeting, Kirksville, Missouri

          The 57th annual meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science will be held at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, April 4-6, 2014. Abstracts are due Feb. 21, 2014.


April 7, 2014:  British Mathematical Colloquium Public Lecture, London, England

          The 66th British Mathematical Colloquium (BMC 2014) will include a public lecture by Persi Diaconis on "The Magic of Martin Gardner" (1914-2010) to celebrate the centenary of Gardner's birth. BMC 2014 will be held April 7-10, 2014, at Queen Mary University of London.


April 9-12, 2014:  NCTM Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.

April 1 - 30, 2014:  Mathematics Awareness Month: Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery

          This year's Mathematics Awareness Month, with its theme of "Mathematics, Magic, and Mystery," will celebrate the centennial of the birth of mathematics writer and populizer Martin Gardner (1914-2010). Watch the Mathematics Awareness Month website for one new activity per day during April 2014.


April 11-13, 2014:  HPM Americas Section Spring Meeting, Normal, Illinois

          The History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) Americas Section will hold its Spring Meeting at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, Friday - Sunday, April 11-13, 2014. Normal is adjacent to Bloomington, Illinois, and can be reached by bus or train from Chicago, Illinois. Submit abstracts by March 14, 2014, to David Roberts or via the HPM Americas website.


April 14-17, 2014:  British Congress of Mathematics Education (BCME8), Nottingham, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) will sponsor sessions on the history of mathematics on Tuesday, April 15, and Wednesday, April 16, during BCME8, to be held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham, with the theme "Building Bridges - Making Connections."


April 24, 2014:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Shelley Costa will present "Theory of differences: How and why the most famous science writer in 19th century England could not get her mathematical text published" at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2014, at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


April 25-26, 2014:  MAA Seaway Section Spring Meeting, Buffalo, New York

          The Spring Meeting of the MAA Seaway Section, to be held April 25-26, 2014, at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York, will include the special session, History of Mathematics in the Classroom, organized by Toke Knudsen and Gary Towsley.


April 26, 2014:  Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Mathematics History Conference, Cullowhee, NC 

          The 7th biennial Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Conference on the History of Mathematics (SMURCHOM VII) will be held Saturday, April 26 at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, adjacent to the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It will feature a keynote address by Caroline Ehrhardt of the University of Paris and talks and posters by students on the history of mathematics and on mathematics informed by its history.


April 26-27, 2014:  3rd USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C.

          The third USA Science and Engineering Festival includes events across the U.S. during the 2013-14 school year and culminates in a Grand Finale Expo in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, 2014.


May 7, 2014:  Pohle Colloquium on History of Mathematics, Garden City, New York

          Nick Scoville of Ursinus College will present "Topology and its history: Must there be a separation" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium on the History of Mathematics, Wed., May 7, at 4 p.m. at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.


May 10-11, 2014:  Revolutions and Continuity in Greek Mathematics Conference, London, England

          This two-day international conference will be sponsored and hosted by the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck College, London.


May 13, 2014:  IMA-BSHM Joint Presentation, Manchester, England

          The Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA) and the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) will co-sponsor the talk, "Euler: 300 years on," by Robin Wilson on Tuesday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Manchester Metropolitan University.

March 15 - June 22, 2014:  Lost & Found: The Secrets of Archimedes Exhibit, San Marino, California

          The Archimedes Palimpsest will be on display at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California (adjacent to Pasadena, California), from March 15 through June 22, 2014, in an exhibit titled "Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes." The exhibit was organized by the institution that successfully stabilized and imaged the manuscript, the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, Maryland).


May 25-27, 2014:  CSHPM Annual Meeting, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

          The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM) will be held with the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. A special session on "Early Scientific Computing" will be held in celebration of the 400th anniversary of logarithms. The Kenneth O. May Lecture will be given by historian of 16th through 18th century computing Michael R. Williams of the University of Calgary. Abstract deadline is February 10, 2014.


May 30-31, 2014:  MAA Northeastern Section Spring Meeting, Johnson, Vermont

          The Spring Meeting of the MAA Northeastern Section, to be held Fri.-Sat., May 30-31, 2014, at Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont, will include an invited address by Mike Olinick of Middlebury College on "The Mathematical Legacies of Alan Turing" on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.


June 7–8, 2014:  ARITHMOS Reading Group Spring Meeting, Danbury, Connecticut

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, June 8 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Peano's "Principles of Arithmetic." ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


June 9-12, 2014:  Nexus 2014: Relationships between Architecture and Mathematics, Ankara, Turkey

          The 10th international, interdisciplinary Nexus conference for architecture and mathematics will be hosted by the Architecture Department of Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, June 9-12, 2014. The conference always includes much history of mathematics, architecture, and of course the nexus of the two.


June 16-19, 2014:  Joint International Meeting of AMS-Israel Mathematical Union, Tel Aviv, Israel

          This 2nd Joint International Meeting of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Israel Mathematical Union, to be held at Bar-Ilan University and Tel-Aviv University June 16-19, 2014, will include special sessions on "History of Mathematics," organized by Leo Corry, Michael N. Fried, and Victor Katz, and on "Recent Trends in History and Philosophy of Mathematics," organized by Misha Katz and David Sherry.


June 21-22, 2014:  Counting, Calculation and Measurement Summer Weekend, Oxford, England

          The annual Summer Weekend of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) with the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education will be held Sat.-Sun., June 21-22, at Rewley House, University of Oxford, England. The topic will be "Counting, Calculation and Measurement: A Journey through Practical Mathematics."


June 23, 2014:  Lee Lorch Memorial Celebration, Toronto, Canada

          There will be a memorial celebration for York University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and civil rights activist Lee Lorch, who died Feb. 28, 2014, at the age of 98. The memorial will be held in the Winters College Dining Hall, York University, from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 23, 2014. Those driving from off-campus may find it convenient to enter the campus at Founders Road (Steeles Avenue east of Keele Street) and park in the Founders Road East Lot, from which it is a short walk to Winters College. This memorial has been made possible by funding and sponsorship from the York University Faculty Association. Prof. Lorch also had teaching stints at City University of New York, Fisk University, Philander Smith College, and University of Alberta in Edmonton. There will undoubtedly be many friends who cannot make it at the scheduled time. If so, they may wish to send a message to leelorchmemorial@gmail.com; every effort will be made to have such messages read out during the celebration.


June 24-26, 2014:  Conference on Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century, Waltham, MA

          This conference, organized by the IEEE, commemorates the work of MIT mathematician and philosopher Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death.


June 25, 2014:  Famous Mathematicians and Physicists from Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

          This one-day joint meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the Institute of Physics will be held at Queen's University in Belfast on Wednesday, June 25.


June 27, 2014:  BSHM-Clay Mathematics Institute Non-Western Mathematics Meeting, Oxford, England

          This one-day joint meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) and the Clay Mathematics Institute, to be held in the Andrew Wiles Building, University of Oxford, England, on Friday, June 27, 2014, will include morning seminars and afternoon public lectures by Kim Plofker (mathematics of India), Joseph Dauben (mathematics of China), and Glen Van Brummelen (Islamic mathematics).


July 3-4, 2014:  IMA Golden Anniversary Celebration, Manchester, England

          The Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a "Festival of Mathematics and Its Applications," to be held in the Alan Turing Building at Manchester University.


July 7-11, 2014:  5th Quadrennial International Conference on Ethnomathematics, Chidenguele, Mozambique

          ICEM-5, to be held in Chidenguele, Gaza Province, Mozambique, will be co-sponsored by the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics, Southern African Study Group on Ethnomathematics, and Mozambican Study Group on Ethnomathematics.


July 11, 2014:  Biennial Thomas Harriot Seminar, London, England

          Celebrating the life and times of mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621), the seminar will be held 10:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. in Birkbeck, University of London.


July 14-18, 2014:  7th European Summer University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education, Copenhagen, Denmark

          The Seventh European University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education will be held on the Emdrup Campus of Aarhus University in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference will be sponsored by the International Study Group on Relations between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM). Abstract deadline is Oct. 31, 2013.


July 16-19, 2014:  International Symposium on the Work of Bernard Bolzano, Prague, Czech Republic

          The Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the International Bernard Bolzano Society will hold "Bolzano in Prague 2014," an International Symposium on the Work of Bernard Bolzano, July 16-19, 2014, in Villa (Vila) Lanna, Prague 6, Czech Republic. Abstract deadline is April 21, 2014.

July 21-23, 2014:  Euler Society Annual Conference, Austin, Texas

          The Euler Society invites proposals for papers about Leonhard Euler's life and work to be submitted by May 30, 2014, for its annual conference to be held July 21-23, 2014, at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.


July 25-26, 2014:  Longitudes Examined, Greenwich, England

          Designed for the general public, this international tercentenary conference on the history of the Board of Longitude and the determination of longitude at sea will take place in the Lecture Theatre of the National Maritime Museum.  It coincides with the opening of the museum’s major exhibition on Longitude.


August 7-9, 2014:  MAA MathFest, Portland, Oregon

          MathFest will include the following historical presentations:

  • "The Founding of Pi Mu Epsilon 100 Years Ago," by Jack Graver of Syracuse University, Thursday, Aug. 7, 1-1:50 p.m.
  • "Fibonacci and the First Personal Computing Revolution," by Keith Devlin of Stanford University, Friday, Aug. 8, 8-8:50 p.m.
  • Panel Discussion on "Writing for MAA Journals and Magazines," including Convergence, Saturday, Aug. 9, 1-2:20 p.m.


August 13-21, 2014:  International Congress of Mathematicians, Seoul, Korea

          Held every four years and sponsored by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), the 2014 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) will be in Seoul, Korea.  A highlight of the Congress will be the awarding of Fields Medals.


August 14-19, 2014:  Bridges Conference, Seoul, Korea

          Bridges: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture will be held in conjunction with the International Congress of Mathematicians (see preceding event), at Gwacheon National Science Museum in Seoul, Korea.

August 25-30, 2014:  Takebe Conference, Tokyo, Japan

          A conference honoring the 350th birthday of Japanese mathematician Takebe Katahiro (1665-1739) will be held in conjunction with the International Congress of Mathematicians (see preceding two events), at Ochanomitzu University in Tokyo, Japan. The conference will feature traditional mathematics of East Asia and related topics.


September 4-6, 2014:  6th International Conference of European Society for History of Science, Lisbon, Portugal

          The 6th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science (ESHS), to be held Sept. 4-6, 2014, at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, will include at least four special sessions on the history of mathematics, among a total of about 24 sessions on the history of science, technology, and medicine. Early registration is available until May 12 and standard registration until June 30, with late and onsite registration also available.


September 6, 2014:  Mathematics and the First World War, London, England

          This one-day conference, organized by the London Mathematical Society, will take place at De Morgan House. Register by September 1.


September 6-11, 2014:  British Science Festival, Birmingham, England

          The British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM) plans to hold a session celebrating the 500th anniversary of Albrecht Dürer's Melancolia I, which contains a 4x4 magic square, among other mathematical content, also to include a "magic show," tentatively scheduled for the first day of the festival, Saturday, Sept. 6. Watch the BSHM website for updates.


September 11, 2014:  Social Justice, Mathematics, and the Legacy of Lee Lorch, Washington, DC

          Scheduled at 6:30 pm at the MAA Carriage House, three speakers will survey the contributions of Lee Lorch (the mathematician and civil rights activist who died earlier this year), the progress that has been made, and what still needs to be done. A reception will follow.


September 11-12, 2014:  Valediction to Jeremy Gray, Milton Keynes, England

          A meeting to celebrate Jeremy Gray's many achievements and his retirement from Open University. Gray and nine other eminent scholars in the history of mathematics are scheduled to make presentations.


September 16, 2014:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Fermat's Theorems" (part of the series “Shaping Modern Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


September 20-25, 2014: 3rd International Conference on History and Education of Modern Mathematics, Hangzhou, China

          The conference, devoted to contemporary research in the history of modern mathematics and applications to pedagogy, will include four days of scientific sessions (Sept. 21-24) and one day of sight-seeing (Sept. 25). Titles and abstracts are due by April 15, 2014, and June 30, 2014, respectively, to Dr. Wang Chang.


September 25, 2014: Lecture on History of Mathematics in the Classroom, Manchester, England

         A Student Teacher Lecture by Richard Simpson, Council Secretary of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM), "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story – using ‘History of Mathematics’ in the classroom”. Organized by the North West Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA).


October 2-8, 2014:  6th International Symposium on Ancient Chinese Books and Records of Science and Technology (ISABRST), New York, NY, USA

          Topics include the transmission of ancient Chinese mathematical books and mathematics. Hosted by the Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York.


October 11, 2014:  Classic Open University Broadcasts on the History of Mathematics, Birmingham, England

          Hosted by Robin Wilson, this meeting features the screening of some classic TV programs from Open University, plus some commentaries.


October 15-19, 2014:  7th Portuguese-Brazilian Meeting on History of Mathematics, Óbidos, Portugal

          This conference, which alternates between locations in Portugal and Brazil, "brings together researchers and those interested in History of Mathematics from Brazil and Portugal."


October 17-19, 2014:  Joint Meeting of the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) Americas Section and the Midwest History of Mathematics Conference (MHMC), Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana

          Download the Call for Papers and registration form here and watch the conference websites for additional details.


October 21, 2014:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Newton's Laws" (part of the series “Shaping Modern Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


October 30, 2014:  BSHM-Gresham College Joint Meeting on History of Statistics, London, England

          The topic for the 4-7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, joint meeting of the British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM) and Gresham College will be history of statistics, with three talks scheduled.


October 31 - November 1, 2014: Fall Meeting of the Ohio Section of MAA, Springfield, OH

          This year’s meeting, to be held at Wittenberg University, will include the following presentations and sessions on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching:

  • Lew Ludwig (Denison University), “Reconsidering Hilbert’s List with a Pedagogical Twist”
  • William Dunham (Muhlenberg College, retired), “Two (More) Morsels from Euler”
  • Adam Parker (Wittenberg University), “Rediscovering Lost Techniques in Ordinary Differential Equations”
  • Danny Otero (Xavier University) and Adam Parker, “Workshop on Teaching from Primary Historical Sources in the Mathematics Classroom”.

         Check the section website for more information or for meeting registration.


November 6-9, 2014:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois

          The annual HSS meeting will be held jointly with the 24th biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association.


November 6-9, 2014:  Society for History of Technology Annual Meeting, Dearborn, Michigan

          The annual SHOT meeting sometimes coincides in both time and place with the annual HSS meeting (see preceding event).


November 13-16, 2014:  AMATYC Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee

          The theme of the 40th annual conference of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges will be "Mathematics: Music to My Ears."


November 18, 2014:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Euler's Exponentials" (part of the series “Shaping Modern Mathematics”) at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


December 5-8, 2014:  Winter Meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS), Hamilton, ON

          Includes a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Tom Archibald (Simon Fraser University).


December 6, 2014:  BSHM Annual Christmas Meeting, Birmingham, England

          The Christmas Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, to be held Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, will include both talks by invited speakers and talks contributed by members. Guest speaker will be Lisa Jardine presenting "'More lives than a cat': Putting women's achievements back into the recent history of mathematics."


December 18-19, 2014: Research Workshop on Mathematical Readers in the Early Modern World, Oxford, England

          A two-day workshop will be held in All Souls College, Oxford, investigating how mathematical writing was consumed – read, used, responded to, and otherwise engaged with – in the early modern period. Proposals deadline is September 1, 2014. For more information, e-mail Benjamin Wardhaugh.

 

2013

January 9–12, 2013:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Diego, CA

          The meetings, to be held Wednesday through Saturday, January 9-12, 2013, will include the following mathematics history sessions and events.

  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Writing the History of the MAA, organized by Victor Katz, Janet Beery, and Amy Shell-Gellasch, Wednesday morning
  • AMS Session on History of Mathematics, Wednesday morning
  • Paul R. Halmos Photograph Collection of the Archives of American Mathematics, organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch and Carol Mead, Wednesday afternoon
  • MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Reception, Business Meeting, and Guest Lectures by Cynthia Woodburn on "Geometry and Baroque Architecture in Turin, Italy" and Keith Devlin on “Leonardo Fibonacci, Liber abbaci, and the rise of the modern commercial world,” Wednesday evening
  • MAA Minicourse on "Heavenly mathematics: The forgotten art of spherical trigonometry," led by Glen Van Brummelen and Joel Silverberg, Thursday morning and Saturday morning (pre-registration required)
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on History of Geometry, Its Applications, and Their Uses in the Classroom, organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch and Glen Van Brummelen, Thursday afternoon
  • Panel on Using Mathematical Archives and Special Collections for Research and Teaching, organized by Janet Beery and Amy Shell-Gellasch with panelists Shirley Gray, Victor Katz, Peggy Kidwell, Dominic Klyve, Carol Mead, and Fred Rickey, Friday morning
  • AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Patti Hunter, Deborah Kent, and Adrian Rice, Friday and Saturday afternoons
  • MAA Contributed Paper Session on Philosophy, Mathematics, and Progress, organized by Thomas Drucker and Dan Sloughter, Friday afternoon
  • MAA General Contributed Paper Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, Friday afternoon
  • NAM Cox-Talbot Address by Genevieve Knight on "The Rest of the Story," Friday evening


January 17, 2013:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          William Huber of Haverford College will speak at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


January 22, 2013:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "The Queen of Mathematics" at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


January 25-26, 2013:  Oceanic Enterprise: Location, Longitude, and Maritime Cultures Conference, San Marino, California

          The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino (near Pasadena), California, will host the conference, Oceanic Enterprise: Location, Longitude, and Maritime Cultures, 1770-1830, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, along with an accompanying exhibit, Britain and the Sea: Maritime Drawings and Watercolors from the Huntington's Art Collections (through Feb. 18, 2013).


February 4, 2013:  Gresham College Public Lecture, London, England

          Tony Mann presents "Arithmetic by Computer and by Human" from the ancient Egyptians to the present day at 6 p.m. in Barnard's Inn Hall. Arrive early to get a seat!


February 6–10, 2013: Eighth ERME Congress, Manavgat-Side, Antalye, Turkey

          CERME-8, the Eighth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), to be held February 6-10, 2013, in Manavgat-Side, Antalye, Turkey, will include Thematic Working Group 12 on “History in Mathematics Education.”  Papers are due by Sept. 15, 2012, and poster proposals by Oct. 1, 2012, to Uffe Thomas Jankvist.


February 14, 2013:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Chris Rorres of Drexel University will speak at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


February 19, 2013:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Are Averages Typical?" at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!

March 1-3, 2013:  HPM Americas Section East Coast Meeting, West Point, New York

          The History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) Americas Section will hold its annual East Coast Meeting at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, from Friday, March 1, afternoon to Sunday, March 3, morning. The meeting will include an exhibit of rare books from the USMA Library. Send abstracts to Fred Rickey by Feb. 15, 2013.


March 2, 2013:  Research in Progress 2013, Oxford, England

          This one-day conference features presentations by doctoral students on their current research on the history of mathematics, along with a keynote lecture by the creator of the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, Edmund Robertson of St. Andrews University. The conference is sponsored by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


March 6, 2013:  Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium on History of Mathematics, Garden City, New York

          Rob Bradley of Adelphi University will speak on "L'Hôpital, Bernoulli, and the First Calculus Book" at 4 p.m. (coffee at 3:45 p.m.) in Post Hall, Room 202, at Adelphi University.


March 8-10, 2013:  Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, San Juan Islands, Washington

          The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual rugged but scenic location. Paper proposal deadline: Jan. 21, 2013. Registration deadline: Feb. 15, 2013.


March 14, 2013:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          Tom Drucker of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater will speak at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


March 19, 2013:  Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Gresham College Professor of Geometry Raymond Flood presents "Modelling the World" at 1 p.m. in the Museum of London, Room EC2. Arrive early to get a seat!


March 20-22, 2013:  Historiography of Mathematics in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Wuppertal, Germany

          This workshop, to be held at Bergische Universität Wuppertal, will begin Wednesday, March 20, at 2 p.m. and end Friday, March 22, at 1 p.m. Please contact Volker Remmert for more information.


March 29-30, 2013:  MAA Intermountain Section Spring Meeting, Rexburg, Idaho

          The conference, to be held at Brigham Young University - Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho, will include an invited address on mathematics history by Robert Bradley of Adelphi University.


March 31, 2013:  Submission deadline for PRIMUS special issue on ...

          ... the use of the history of mathematics to enhance the instruction of undergraduate mathematics. Submit articles to be considered for inclusion in this special issue of the journal Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies (PRIMUS) to special issue guest editors Kathleen Clark and/orJohn Thoo.


April 5-6, 2013:  MAA Allegheny Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Indiana, Pennsylvania

          The conference, to be held at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, will include the invited talk, "Two (More) Morsels from Euler," by William Dunham of Muhlenberg College.


April 5-6, 2013:  MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Granville, Ohio

          The conference, to be held at Denison University, will include the invited addresses, "Stefan Banach and the Scottish Cafe," by Barbara Faires of Westminster College, and "The Lady Tasting Tea: R. A. Fisher and the Statistical Revolution," by Wiebke Diestelkamp of the University of Dayton.


April 5-7, 2013:  56th Annual Meeting of Midwest Junto for History of Science, South Bend, Indiana

          The Midwest Junto for the History of Science will meet at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, from Friday evening through noon on Sunday.


April 6-7, 2013:  AMS Eastern Sectional Meeting, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

          The meeting, to be held at Boston College, will include a Special Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by James J. Tattersall and V. Frederick Rickey.


April 17-20, 2013:  NCTM Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.


April 18, 2013:  Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics, Pennsylvania

          David Roberts of Prince George's Community College will speak at 6 p.m. at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


April 26, 2013:  BSHM - Royal Statistical Society Jacob Bernoulli Meeting, London, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics and the Royal Statistical Society will hold a joint meeting to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the publication of Bernoulli's Ars Conjectandi at the Royal Statistical Society in London.

May 5, 2013:  MAA Metro New York Section Spring Meeting, Farmingdale, New York 

          The conference, to be held on Sunday, May 5, at Farmingdale State College (SUNY), will include the invited talk, "The History of the Undergraduate Program in Mathematics in the United States," by Alan Tucker of Stony Brook University (SUNY).


May 18, 2013:  BSHM Lewis Carroll's Mathematics Conference, Birmingham, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics, the Lewis Carroll Society, and the Birmingham and Midland Institute will hold this joint conference on the mathematics of Charles Dodgson at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Birmingham.

 

Fri.-Sat., May 31 – June 1, 2013: MAA Northeastern Section Spring Meeting, Danbury, Connecticut

          The Spring Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America, to be held at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT, will feature three invited addresses on history of mathematics by

  • Joel Silverberg:  “It’s a matter of perspective … and no simple matter at that”
  • Andrew Perry:  “Early American mathematics”
  • Lawrence D’Antonio:  “How much would you risk your life in order to save your life?  The smallpox inoculation debates”


Fri.-Sat., May 31 – June 1, 2013: Archimedes in the 21st Century, New York, New York

          The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University will host the conference, Archimedes in the 21st Century.  Organized by Chris Rorres, the conference will focus on 21st century mathematical developments on Fri., May 31, and on teaching mathematical and scientific inventions of Archimedes to secondary and undergraduate students on Sat., June 1.  Pre-registration (required) is free at the conference website.


June 22-23, 2013:  BSHM Geometry from Euclid to Einstein Meeting, Oxford, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics and the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education will hold a weekend meeting / short course on the history of geometry at Rewley House, Oxford University. Pre-registration required.


July 11, 2013:  BSHM John Wallis and the Parallel Postulate Afternoon, Oxford, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics will offer three talks followed by a reception to commemorate the 350th anniversary of a lecture by John Wallis on Euclid’s Parallel Postulate.  The event will begin at 3 p.m. at the Mathematical Institute, Oxford University.


July 22-28, 2013:  International Congress for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, Manchester, England

          The theme of the 24th International Congress for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine will be "Knowledge at Work." The Congress, held every four years, will meet at the University of Manchester, England.


August 1-3, 2013:  MAA MathFest and Euler Society and CSHPM Annual Meetings, Hartford, Connecticut

          The Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), the Euler Society, and the MAA Special Interest Groups in History of Mathematics and Philosophy of Mathematics (HOM SIGMAA and POM SIGMAA) will hold a joint meeting in conjunction with MathFest. Math history highlights will include the following events.

  • CSHPM Kenneth O. May Lecture by Jeremy Gray: “Henri Poincaré: Mathematician, Physicist, Philosopher,” Saturday, Aug. 2, 1–1:50 p.m.
  • CSHPM-MAA Special Session: “Interactions Between History and Philosophy of Mathematics,” organized by Thomas Drucker and Glen van Brummelen, Saturday morning
  • CSHPM-MAA General Session: “History and Philosophy of Mathematics,” organized by Rob Bradley, Bonnie Gold, and Maria Zack, Thursday–Saturday

August 29–31, 2013:  "19th Century Numbers" Victorian Studies Conference, London, England

          The 2013 Annual Conference of the British Association for Victorian Studies will feature "Nineteenth Century Numbers.“  The conference will be held at the University of London and its themes are to include mathematics, statistics, geometry, time and technology, timetables and navigation, mass mobility, and computation.

 

September 25-28, 2013:  3rd International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education, Uppsala, Sweden

          3ICHME will continue the tradition of the successful 1ICHME and 2ICHME in Iceland (2009) and Portugal (2011), respectively. Abstract submission deadline was March 31, 2013, and registration deadline is August 28, 2013. Contact Johan Prytz, Department of Education, Uppsala University, for more information. Organizers include Prytz, Kristin Bjarnadottir, Fulvia Furinghetti, and Gert Schubring.


September 28–29, 2013: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, Connecticut

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Sept. 29 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss selections by Weierstrass and Dedekind. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


October 5-6, 2013:  AMS Southeastern Sectional Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky

          The meeting, to be held at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, will include a Special Session on History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching organized by Daniel Curtin of Northern Kentucky University and Daniel Otero of Xavier University.


October 10, 2013:  Gresham College Lecture on "The Mathematics that Counts," London, England

          Robin Wilson will present his and John J. Watkins' new book, Combinatorics: Ancient & Modern, during the presentation, "The Mathematics that Counts," at Gresham College, Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m.


October 10-13, 2013:  Society for History of Technology Annual Meeting, Portland, Maine

          SHOT returns to a smaller city for its 2013 annual meeting after its 2012 annual meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.


October 12-13, 2013:  AMS Eastern Sectional Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

          The meeting, to be held at Temple University, will include a Special Session on History of Mathematics in America organized by Thomas L. Bartlow, Paul R. Wolfson, and David E. Zitarelli.


October 15, 2013:  IMA Lecture on "Euler - 300 Years On," Birmingham, England

          Sponsored by the West Midlands Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), Robin Wilson will present “Euler - 300 Years On” Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the University of Birmingham.

 

Sept. 18 – Nov. 23, 2013:  Women in Science Exhibit, New York, New York

          The exhibition, “Extraordinary Women in Science and Medicine since 1600,” to appear at the Grolier Club in New York City from Sept. 18 to Nov. 23, 2013, will include mathematicians Emilie du Chatelet, Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Sophie Germain, Sofya Kovalevskaya, Emmy Noether, and Florence Nightingale.


October 25-26, 2013: ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting Friday-Saturday, October 25-26, at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read two works by Karl Weierstrass:

  • Differentialrechnung, Ausarbeitung der Vorlesung an dem Königlichen Gewerbeinstitut zu Berlin im Sommersemester 1861 von H. A. Schwarz (Differential calculus, an elaboration of lecture notes at the Royal Technical Institute in Berlin in the summer semester of 1861 by H. A. Schwarz), as excerpted in Eléments d'analyse de Karl Weierstrass, by Paul Dugac, Archive for Hist. Exact Sci., vol. 10, No. 1/2 (28.VI.1973), 118-125; and
  • Über continuirliche functionen eines reellen arguments, die für keinen werth des letzteren einen bestimmten, differentialquotienten besitzen (On continuous functions of a real argument which possess derivatives at not a single one of their values), Königl. Akad. Wiss. (1872), Mathematische Werke II, 71-74.

Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February of each year.


October 31, 2013:  Gresham College - BSHM Meeting on History of Computing, London, England

          The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) will hold a late afternoon meeting titled "A History of Computing in Three Parts" at Gresham College, London. The third talk will be the annual Gresham-BSHM Joint Lecture by Doron Swade. See the Gresham College website for other upcoming mathematics-related talks.


October 31 - November 3, 2013:  AMATYC Annual Conference, Anaheim, California

          The conference theme will be "Math: There's no end to the fun!"


November 1-2, 2013:  MAA Maryland-DC-Virginia Section Fall Meeting, Hampden-Sydney and Farmville, Virginia

          The Fall Meeting of the MAA Maryland-DC-Virginia Section, to be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, VA, and Longwood University in Farmville, VA, will feature a workshop titled "A Beginner's Guide to Teaching a History of Mathematics Course" by Adrian Rice and Amy Shell-Gellasch on Friday afternoon and a talk titled "Commutativity and Collinearity: A Fundamental Connection Between Pappus and Diophantus" by Adrian Rice on Saturday afternoon.


November 4-8, 2013:  Sources in the History of Mathematics Instructional Conference, Luminy, France

          This short course, intended for young researchers in the history of mathematics, will take place at the Centre International de Rencontres Mathematiques (CIRM) in Luminy, France (close to Marseille). Instruction will be in French and English.


November 12, 2013:  IMA Lecture on Florence Nightingale's Mathematics, Birmingham, England

          Sponsored by the West Midlands Branch of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), Noel-Ann Bradshaw will speak on “Florence Nightingale: Using graphical statistical analysis to combat the spread of disease,” at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12.


November 14-16, 2013: 1st European Autumn School on History of Science and Education, Barcelona, Spain

          Themed “Sources and Resources for Educational Purposes in the Era of the Internet,” this conference on connections between history of science and science education welcomes graduate students, teachers, and scholars.


November 20-22, 2013:  Novembertagung on History of Mathematics, London, England

          This 24th annual meeting especially for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers will be held at the London Mathematical Society’s De Morgan House in Russell Square, London. June Barrow Green of the Open University will deliver the keynote address. Register by August 31, 2013.


November 21-24, 2013:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

          This meeting of the History of Science Society (HSS) will mark the centennial of the history of science journal Isis.


November 27-28, 2013:  International Seminar on History of Mathematics, Delhi, India

          The International Seminar on History of Mathematics will be held at Ramjas College, University of Delhi, in Delhi, India. The conference is organized by Ramjas College and the Indian Society for History of Mathematics. Participants can easily coordinate attendance of both this conference and the next one.


Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2013:  International Conference on History and Development of Mathematics, Jaipur, India

          The International Conference on History and Development of Mathematics (ICHDM-2013) will be held at JECRC University in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. The conference is organized by JECRC University and the Indian Society for History of Mathematics. Participants can easily coordinate attendance of both this conference and the preceding one.


December 6-9, 2013:  Canadian Mathematical Society Annual Winter Meeting, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

          This meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) will include a special session on "History and Philosophy in Mathematics" organized by Tom Archibald of Simon Fraser University and Greg Lavers of Concordia University.


December 7, 2013:  BSHM Christmas Meeting, Birmingham, England

          The Christmas Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, to be held Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, will feature a celebration of Robin Wilson's 70th birthday, invited speakers, and talks contributed by members.

 

 

 

2012

 

 

October 16, 2011 - January 1, 2012: Archimedes Palimpsest Exhibit, Baltimore, Maryland

          The Walters Art Museum exhibit, "Lost and Found: The Secrets of Archimedes," which tells the story of the creation, recovery, and restoration of the Archimedes Palimpsest, runs through January 1, 2012.

January 4–7, 2012:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, Boston, MA

          The annual Joint Meetings of the AMS, MAA, and several other professional organizations for mathematicians will include many events that feature the history of mathematics, including the following presentations.

  • Wed., Jan. 4, 8-10:50 a.m. & 2:15-6:05 p.m., and Thurs., Jan. 5, 8-11:50 a.m. & 1-3:50 p.m.: AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Craig Fraser, Deborah Kent, and Sloan Despeaux
  • Wed., Jan. 4, 8-9:50 a.m. & 2:15-5:55 p.m., and Thurs., Jan. 5, 8-11:40 a.m. & 1-3:40 p.m.: AMS-ASL Special Session on The Life and Legacy of Alan Turing will include some historical talks, especially on Wed. afternoon
  • Wed., Jan. 4, 8-9:25 a.m.: AMS Contributed Paper Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics
  • Wed., Jan. 4, 2:15-4:15 p.m., and Fri., Jan. 6, 1-3 p.m.: MAA Minicourse on "Study the masters: Using primary historical sources in mathematics teaching," led by Daniel Otero and David Pengelley
  • Wed., Jan. 4, 5:30-7:30 p.m.: MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group Reception, Business Meeting, and Guest Lecture by William Dunham on "Heron, Newton, Euler, and Barney," organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • Wed., Jan. 4, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: AMS Josiah Willard Gibbs Lecture, "A 250-year argument: Belief, behavior, and the bootstrap," delivered by Bradley Efron
  • Thurs., Jan. 5, 1-3 p.m., and Sat., Jan. 7, 1-3 p.m.: MAA Minicourse on "Reading original sources in Latin for the historian and mathematician," led by Kim Plofker and Stacy Langton
  • Fri., Jan. 6, 3:20-5:35 p.m., and Sat., Jan. 7, 8-10:55 a.m.: MAA Contributed Paper Session on “History of Mathematics and Its Uses in the Classroom,” organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • Fri., Jan. 6, 8-10:55 a.m., and Sat., Jan. 7, 3-4:55 p.m.: MAA Contributed Paper Session on “Writing the History of the MAA,” organized by Victor Katz, Janet Beery, and Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • Sat., Jan. 7, 8:30-9:55 a.m.: MAA General Contributed Paper Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics


January 19, 2012: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Thomas Bartlow of Villanova University will present "A Tentative Look at American Postulate Theory." This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

January 20-21, 2012: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting Friday-Saturday, January 20-21, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read work by David Hilbert (1862-1943) in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


January 31, 2012:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate, with at least one winning submission chosen from each category. The 2012 contest, sponsored by Math for America, has submission deadline January 31, 2012.


February 1, 2012: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Alexander Jones of New York University will present "An Ancient Greek Analog Computer: the Antikythera Mechanism" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


February 16, 2012: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Marina Vulis of Fordham University will present "Tales of Nineteenth Century Russian Mathematics." This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

 

December 21, 2011 - February 26, 2012: Ingenious Innovations, San Jose, California

          The Tech Museum exhibit, "Ingenious Innovations: Islamic Science Rediscovered," which "celebrates the contributions of Muslim scholars and scientists in the arts, astronomy, engineering, exploration, flight, mathematics, optics, and medicine," runs through February 26, 2012.


February 25–26, 2012: ARITHMOS Reading Group Early Spring Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Feb. 26 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Chapter 3 of Lagrange's Lectures on elementary mathematics (in English translation). ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


March 3, 2012:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          The British Society for History of Mathematics will hold its annual meeting to showcase the work of research students in the history of mathematics on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at Queen’s College, Oxford.


March 7, 2012: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Larry D'Antonio of Ramapo College will present "Whose Line Fits Best?: A Brief History of Linear Regression" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


March 9-11, 2012: Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, Friday Harbor, WA

           The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual location, the University of Washington Marine Biological Laboratories at Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. This 30th anniversary meeting will feature a keynote address by historian of physics David Kaiser of MIT.

 

March 17, 2012:  Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Mathematics History Conference, Cullowhee, NC 

          The Sixth Biennial Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Conference on the History of Mathematics (SMURCHOM V) will be held Saturday, March 17 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Organized by Sloan Despeaux, it will feature a keynote address by Victor Katz and talks and posters by students on the history of mathematics and on mathematics informed by its history.


March 17-18, 2012:  AMS Spring Eastern Sectional Meeting, Washington, D.C.

          The American Mathematical Society 2012 Spring Eastern Sectional Meeting at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will include a special session on Relations Between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics organized by David Roberts and Kathleen Clark.


March 22, 2012: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Robert Bradley of Adelphi University will speak on "The Origins and Contents of de l'Hospital'sAnalyse." This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

March 23-25, 2012: Midwest Junto for the History of Science Meeting, Rolla, Missouri

           The 55th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science will be held at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla March 23-25, 2012.  Submit abstracts for 15-20 minute papers to Jeff Schramm by Feb. 23, 2012.


March 30-31, 2012: MAA Oklahoma-Arkansas Section Spring Meeting, Arkadelphia, Arkansas

          Historian of mathematics Judith Grabiner of Pitzer College will present the N. A. Court Lecture Friday, March 30, at 8 p.m.  She'll present "It's All for the Best: Optimization in the History of Science and Mathematics" during the Spring Meeting of the MAA Oklahoma-Arkansas Section, to be held Fri.-Sat., March 30-31, 2012, at Henderson State University in Arkadelphi, Arkansas.

March 31, 2012:  Deadline for HOM SIGMAA Student Writing Contest

          Please visit the MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group website or contact Herbert Kasube to obtain rules and guidelines for the 9th annual mathematics history paper contest for undergraduate students.

 

April 13-14, 2012: MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio

          The meeting, to be held at Xavier University in Cinncinati, Ohio, will include a special session on prominent mathematicians from Cincinnati, sponsored by the Section's Centennial Committee on the History of Mathematics in Ohio; a performance of Calculus: The Musical!, described as a "comic review of the concepts and history of calculus;" and an invited address by Jeffrey Lagarias on "Packing Space with Regular Tetrahedra" that promises a history of the problem from Aristotle to Hilbert to the present.

 

April 13-14, 2012: MAA Maryland-DC-Virginia Section Spring Meeting, Owings Mills, Maryland

          The MAA Maryland - District of Columbia - Virgina Section Spring Meeting, to be held at the Owings Mills campus of Stevenson University, will include an invited address by Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, Curator of Mathematics at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, on "Mathematical Recreations and the History of American Mathematics."  The meeting also will feature an invited address by Alissa Crans of Loyola Marymount University titled "Cracking the Cubic: Cardano, Controversy, and Creasing," to include an origami solution of the cubic devised during the 1930s.

April 13-14, 2012: MAA Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Denver, Colorado


          The MAA Rocky Mountain Section Spring Meeting will include an invited address by Robin Wilson, professor emeritus of Oxford, Gresham, and Open universities, UK, on "The Great Mathematicians."  The meeting will be held on the Auraria campus shared by Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Colorado at Denver, and Community College of Denver.  Wilson is scheduled to deliver his talk on Friday, April 13, at 5 p.m.


April 14, 2012: MAA Southern California - Nevada Section Spring Meeting, Fullerton, CA

          Historian of mathematics Judith Grabiner of Pitzer College will present "It's All for the Best: Optimization in the History of Science and Mathematics" at the Spring Meeting of the MAA Southern California - Nevada Section, to be held Saturday, April 14, at California State University - Fullerton.

 

April 18, 2012: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Jean-Pierre Marquis of the University of Montreal will present "Abstraction, Formalization and Axiomatization in Early 20th Century Mathematics" in the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

 

April 19-20, 2012: David Blackwell Memorial Conference, Washington, D.C.

          The David Blackwell Memorial Conference will be held April 19-20, 2012, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Blackwell's life and legacy, including the advances he made in mathematics and statistics.


April 19, 2012: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Francine Abeles of Kean University will speak on "Hypotheticals, Conditionals, and Implication in Nineteenth Century Britain." This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.


April 25-28, 2012:  NCTM Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms. Featured presentations will include Nick Jackiw of Key Curriculum Press Technologies on "Euclid's Elements: An Interactive Geometry Perspective."

 

April 27-28, 2012:  Midwest History of Mathematics Conference, Whitewater, Wisconsin

          The University of Wisconsin - Whitewater will host the Midwest History of Mathematics Conference Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, 2012. Featured speakers will be David Richeson (Davidson College, author of Euler's Gem) and Amy Shell-Gellasch (Beloit College). Talks in any area of history of mathematics are welcome; please send abstracts to Thomas Drucker (UW-Whitewater).


April 28-29, 2012:  2nd USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C.

          The second USA Science and Engineering Festival includes events across the U.S. during the 2011-12 school year and culminates in an Expo and Book Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday, April 28-29, 2012.

 

May 1, 2012: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          John Hessler of the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division will speak on "Complexity and Chaos in Medieval Cartography." This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

 

May 2, 2012: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Salvatore J. Petrilli and Anthony Del Latto of Adelphi University will present "Servois' Contributions to Mathematics: His Algebra and Perpetual Calendar" in the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


May 4, 2012: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Robert S. D. Thomas of the University of Manitoba will present the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University on Friday, May 4.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

 

March 10 - June 3, 2012:  MathAlive! Exhibition at Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 

          Designed for kids of all ages, this interactive exhibit focuses on applications of mathematics that appeal to school-aged children.  Following its world premiere at the Smithsonian Institution International Gallery in Washington, D.C., the show is scheduled to travel next to Phoenix, Arizona (July 7 - Sept. 3, 2012) and Huntsville, Alabama (Sept. 22, 2012 - Jan. 6, 2013).  It is sponsored by the Raytheon Corporation.


May 27-29, 2012:  CSHPM Annual Meeting, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

          The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics will be held May 27-29, 2012, at the University of Waterloo (and Wilfrid Laurier University) in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, with special session "Mathematics and Computer Science" in honor of the centennial of the birth of Alan Turing. Turing biographer Andrew Hodges of Wadham College, Oxford University, will give the Kenneth O. May Lecture. The Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS) Annual Conference will be held concurrently.


June 7, 2012: 50th Anniversary Commemoration of R. A. Fisher, London, England

          A one-day conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of R. A. Fisher (1890-1962) will be held at the Royal Statistical Society in London on Thursday, June 7. This is a joint meeting of Royal Statistical Society, British Society for the History of Mathematics, and British Society for the History of Science.


June 8-9, 2012: MAA Northeastern Section Spring Meeting, New Britain, Connecticut

          The conference, to be held at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, will include invited addresses by Dick Jardine on "A President, A. Partridge, and Practical Mathematics" (Friday, June 8, 4 p.m.), Jeff Suzuki on "n Angry Men: Mathematics and the Jury Problem" (Saturday, June 9, 9 a.m.), and Rob Bradley on "Render Unto Bernoulli: The Origins and Contents of de l'Hospital's Analyse" (Saturday, June 9, 1 p.m.).


June 8-9, 2012: Les ouvrages de mathématiques dans l'histoire, Limoges, France

          The conference, "Les ouvrages de mathématiques dans l'histoire: Entre recherche, enseignement et culture" ("Works on mathematics in history: Between research, teaching, and culture"), will be held June 8-9, 2012, in Limoges, France. This will be the 19th symposium sponsored by the inter-IREM committee on epistemology and history.

 

June 9-22, 2012:  MAA Mathematical Study Tour, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Italy

          The 2012 MAA Mathematical Study Tour to Italy will visit Turin, Bologna, Florence, and Rome and will focus both on mathematical history and current mathematics and mathematicians.


June 23–24, 2012: ARITHMOS Reading Group Early Spring Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, June 23 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, June 24 at 12:30 p.m., to read (in English translation) selections from Indian and Islamic trigonometry and from Regiomontanus, On triangles. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


June 23-24, 2012:  Turing’s Worlds: OUDCE-BSHM Joint Meeting, Oxford, England

          In honor of the centennial of the birth of Alan Turing on June 23, 1912, this Sat.-Sun., June 23-24, 2012, meeting will celebrate Turing’s life and achievements. The meeting will be held at Rewley House, Oxford, and sponsors are the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education and the British Society for the History of Mathematics.

July 8-15, 2012:  ICME-12, Seoul, South Korea

          The 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-12) will include presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into school and university classrooms among its many offerings.


July 11-14, 2012:  7th Joint Meeting of History of Science societies, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

          The 7th Joint Meeting of the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS), the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science (CSHPS), and the History of Science Society (HSS) will mark the centennial of the history of science journal Isis.  Session and abstract deadline is December 5, 2011.


July 16-20, 2012: History and Pedagogy of Mathematics Quadrennial Meeting, Daejeon, South Korea

          HPM 2012, the quadrennial meeting of the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics, will be, as usual, a satellite meeting of ICME-12, the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-12), held the week after ICME-12.  HPM 2012 will feature presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into school and university classrooms.


July 30–August 17, 2012:  Aarhus Summer University: History of Mathematics, Aarhus, Denmark

          Aarhus University will host a summer course on the history of mathematics. The course is primarily for masters and Ph.D. students and will be taught in English.


August 2-4, 2012:  MAA MathFest, Madison, Wisconsin

          MathFest will include a Contributed Paper Session on "The History of Mathematics and Its Uses in Teaching and Learning Mathematics," organized by Kelli Slaten and Scott Guthery.  Submit abstracts by April 30, 2012.


September 9-12, 2012:  Mathematical Cultures Conference, London, England

          The conference will be held at De Morgan House, London, England.  Although it will focus on contemporary mathematical cultures, conference speakers Karine Chemla, Snezana Lawrence, and others will bring a historical perspective to the proceedings.  Submission deadline:  May 1, 2012.


September 15-16, 2012:  Mathematicians and their Gods, Oxford, England

          The meeting will be held at Rewley House, Oxford, and sponsors are the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education and the British Society for the History of Mathematics.

October 4-7, 2012: Society for the History of Technology Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark


          The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) will hold its annual conference October 4-7, 2012, at the Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark.


October 6, 2012:  History of Mathematics I: From Earliest Times to Isaac Newton, Leeds, England

          This one-day meeting, to be held at the Open University Regional Office in Leeds, will consist of showing of "four classic Open University MA290 History of Mathematics programmes" with commentary by Robin Wilson. The event is sponsored by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


October 17-20, 2012: Annual Social Studies of Science Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark

          The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) will meet with the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) October 17-20, 2012, at the Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark. The theme will be “Design and displacement – social studies of science and technology.” Open panel proposals are due Jan. 4, 2012, and paper and session proposals March 11, 2012.


October 19, 2012:  For the Recorde: An Evaluation of the Life and Works of Robert Recorde, Tenby, England

          This one-day conference, to be held at the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, will consist of presentations and discussion on the work of Robert Recorde, along with viewings of his books, includingThe Ground of Artes and The Whetstone of Witte. The event is sponsored by the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery and by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


October 26–28, 2012:  History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) West Coast Meeting, Berkeley, CA

          HPM Americas will hold its West Coast Meeting Fri.-Sun., Oct. 26-28, on the University of California, Berkeley campus.  The meeting will include a visit to Berkeley's Bancroft Library to view rare books as well as to Math Midway at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Submit titles and abstracts for contributed papers to Kathy Clark by Sept. 26, 2012.


October 27, 2012: MAA Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware Section Fall Meeting, Millersville, Pennsylvania

          The Fall Meeting of the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware (EPADEL) Section of the MAA will include the talk, "On Euler's Theorem Relating Odd-part and Distinct-part Partitions," by James Sellers of Pennsylvania State University.


October 31, 2012: BSHM – Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          The Annual Joint British Society for History of Mathematics – Gresham College Lecture will be given by Raymond Flood on James Clerk Maxwell.  The lecture on Oct. 31, 2012, traditionally held at 6 p.m. (reception at 5:30 p.m.) at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London, will be preceded this year by the autumn meeting of the BSHM, to be held in the afternoon.


November 8-11, 2012, AMATYC Annual Conference, Jacksonville, Florida

 

November 13, 2012:  Lewis Carroll in Numberland, Derby, England

          Robin Wilson will present his talk "Lewis Carroll in Numberland" at the University of Derby.  The event is sponsored by the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications, East Midlands Branch, and by the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


November 17–19, 2012:  International Conference on Science in Society, Berkeley, CA

          The 4th International Conference on Science in Society is scheduled for Nov. 17-19, 2012, at the University of California, Berkeley.


November 15-18, 2012:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, San Diego, California

          This will be a joint meeting of the History of Science Society (HSS) and the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA).  PSA symposia and paper deadlines are, respectively, Jan. 5 and March 1, 2012.


December 8, 2012:  BSHM History of Mathematics 2012 Day, Birmingham, England

          This one-day conference, to be held at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, will consist of an "eclectic mix of interesting historical issues" presented by June Barrow-Green, Jim Bennett (Director, Oxford History of Science Museum), Peter Ransom, Ian Stewart, and others. The conference is a revival of the Christmas Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics.


December 12, 2012:  Museum of Mathematics Opening Ceremony, New York City, New York

          The Museum of Mathematics will hold its Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 (12/12/12). The museum's much anticipated Grand Opening to the public is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. MoMath promises "dynamic exhibits and programs [that] will stimulate inquiry, spark curiosity, and reveal the wonders of mathematics."


December 21, 2012:  End of a Maya Long Count of 5128 Years and Winter Solstice

 

2011

January 6–9, 2011:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, New Orleans, LA

          The annual Joint Meetings of the AMS, MAA, and several other professional organizations for mathematicians will include many events that feature the history of mathematics, including the following presentations.

  • Thurs., Jan. 6, 8 - 11 am, 2:15–6:10 pm, and Fri., Jan. 7, 8 am–noon, 1–4 pm: AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Craig Fraser, University of Toronto, Deborah Kent, Hillsdale College, and Sloan Despeaux, Western Carolina University
  • Thurs., Jan. 6, 8 - 11 am: MAA General Contributed Paper Session III consists of a dozen 10-minute talks on the history of mathematics.
  • Thursday, Jan. 6, 9 - 11 am, and Saturday, Jan. 8, 9 - 11 am: MAA Minicourse on "The mathematics of Islam and its use in the teaching of mathematics," led by Victor J. Katz, University of the District of Columbia
  • Thursday, Jan. 6, 2:15-4:15 pm, and Saturday, Jan. 8, 2:15-4:15 pm: MAA Minicourse on "Learning discrete mathematics via historical projects," led by Jerry M. Lodder, Guram Bezhanishvili, and David Pengelley, New Mexico State University, and Janet Barnett, Colorado State University - Pueblo
  • Thursday, Jan. 6, 2:45-3:10 pm: Mary Gray of American University begins the AWM Alice Schafer Minisymposium with the presentation "Life in the Trenches with Alice: The Early Years."
  • Thursday, Jan. 6, 5:30–7:30 pm: SIGMAA on the History of Mathematics Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Lecture. The Guest Lecture, 6:30–7:30 pm, will be "The Special Role of 'Cyphering Books' in the Early History of Mathematics Education in North America" by Ken Clements and Nerida Ellerton, Illinois State University.
  • Friday, Jan. 7, 10:35–11:55 am: MAA Panel Discussion on "Writing the History of the MAA's First 100 Years," with panelists Mary Gray, Warren Page, David Zitarelli, and Carol Mead; organized by Victor Katz and Janet Beery
  • Friday, Jan. 7, 1 - 4:15 pm: MAA Contributed Paper Session on “Treasures from the Past: Using Primary Sources in the Classroom,” organized by Amy Shell-Gellasch, Danny Otero, and David Pengelley
  • Sat., Jan. 8, 8-11 am, and Sun., Jan. 9, 8-11 am: MAA Contributed Paper Session on "New and Continuing Connections between Math and the Arts," organized by Douglas Norton, will include some presentations involving the history of mathematics.
  • Sat., Jan. 8, 8:30-10:40 am: AMS Session on History of Mathematics consisting of nine 10-minute talks
  • Sat., Jan. 8, 1-6 pm, and Sun., Jan. 9, 1-6 pm: MAA Contributed Paper Session on "Humanistic Mathematics," organized by the editors of the newly revived Humanistic Mathematics Journal, Gizem Karaali, Mark Huber, and Dagan Karp of the Claremont Colleges. The Saturday session especially will include some presentations involving the history of mathematics and of mathematics education.

January 20, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Eugene Bowman of Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, will present "Benjamin Robins' 'Treatise on Fluxions': An Early Response to Berkeley."  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

February 9–13, 2011:  Seventh ERME Congress, Rzeszów, Poland

          The Seventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (ERME), to be held February 9-13, 2011, in Rzeszów, Poland, will include a Thematic Working Group on “History in Mathematics Education.”  Papers are due by Sept. 15, 2010, and poster proposals by Oct. 11, 2010.

February 11-12, 2011: MAA Florida Section Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida

          MAA Polya Lecturer George Andrews will deliver the invited address “Adventures with Partitions” at the Annual Meeting of the MAA Florida Section at Valencia Community College - East Campus in Orlando, Florida.

February 17, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Alan Gluchoff of Villanova University will present "Status (Respect) in Mathematics: The Case of Nomography."  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

February 25-26, 2011: ORESME Reading Group Winter/Spring Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting Friday-Saturday, February 25-26, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read work by Richard Dedekind on the theory of ideals. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.

February 26, 2011: MAA Golden Section Annual Meeting, Santa Rosa, California

          MAA Publications Director Ivars Peterson will deliver the invited address “Newton’s Clock: Chaos in the Solar System” at the Annual Meeting of the MAA Golden Section at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California.  The MAA Golden Section encompasses Hawaii, northern California, and northern Nevada.

February 27, 2011:  Deadline for Association for Women in Mathematics Essay Contest

          The AWM Essay Contest: Biographies of Contemporary Women in Mathematics is open to students in three categories, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, and college undergraduate, with at least one winning submission chosen from each category. The 2011 contest, sponsored by Math for America, has submission deadline February 27, 2011.

March 2, 2011: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Craig Fraser of the University of Toronto will present “Abraham de Moivre and de Moivre’s Identity” in the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University. The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

March 4-6, 2011: Columbia History of Science Group Annual Meeting, Friday Harbor, WA

           The Columbia History of Science Group will meet in its usual location, the University of Washington Marine Biological Laboratories at Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands of Washington State.

March 5, 2011:  BSHM Research in Progress Meeting, Oxford, England

          The British Society for History of Mathematics will hold its annual meeting to showcase the work of research students in the history of mathematics on Saturday, March 5, 2011, at Queen’s College, Oxford.

March 12-13, 2011:  HPM East Coast Conference, Washington, D.C.

          The Americas Section of the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) will meet Saturday-Sunday, March 12-13, 2011, at American University.  Check the HPM Americas website for additional information.

March 17, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Florence Fasanelli of AAAS is scheduled to speak.  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

March 18-20, 2011:  AMS Spring Central Section Meeting, Iowa City, Iowa

          The American Mathematical Society 2011 Spring Central Section Meeting at the University of Iowa in Iowa City will include a special session on History of Mathematics organized by Colin McKinney of Bradley University.

March 26–27, 2011: ARITHMOS Reading Group Early Spring Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, March 27 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Section 5 of L'Hospital's Analyse des infiniment petits in English translation. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

March 31, 2011:  Deadline for HOM SIGMAA Student Writing Contest

          Please visit the MAA History of Mathematics Special Interest Group website or contact Amy Shell-Gellasch to obtain rules and guidelines for the 8th annual mathematics history paper contest for undergraduate students.

April 1–2, 2011: Southern HoST Conference (SoHoST), Auburn, Alabama

           The 5th annual Southern Regional Conference for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine will be held at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, on April 1–2, 2011.

April 1–3, 2011: Midwest Junto for the History of Science Meeting, Lincoln, Nebraska

           The 54th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science will be held at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, on April 1–3, 2011.  Submit abstracts for 15-20 minute papers to David Cahan by Feb. 22, 2011.

April 6, 2011: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Robert Bradley of Adelphi University will present “The Binomial Theorem from Newton to Cauchy” in the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

April 8-9, 2011: MAA Allegheny Mountain Section Spring Meeting, Clarion, PA

          Danny Otero will deliver the invited address “Determining the Determinant (1693-1812): The Early History of a Sophisticated Idea” at the Spring Meeting of the MAA Allegheny Mountain Section at Clarion University in Clarion, Pennsylvania.

April 9-10, 2011:  AMS Spring Eastern Section Meeting, Worcester, Massachusetts

          The American Mathematical Society 2011 Spring Eastern Section Meeting at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., will include a special session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by Jim Tattersall and Fred Rickey.

April 13-16, 2011:  NCTM Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.

April 14, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          David Zitarelli of Temple University is scheduled to speak.  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

April 14-16, 2011: MAA Texas Section Spring Meeting, Tyler, Texas

          MAA President David Bressoud will deliver the invited address “Stories from the Development of Real Analysis” at the Spring Meeting of the MAA Texas Section at the University of Texas at Tyler.

May 4, 2011: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Fred Rickey of the United States Military Academy will present "Logic in Warsaw, 1915-1939" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

May 6, 2011:  BSHM–Gresham College Joint Meeting on Early Mathematics, London, England

          This meeting, to be held Friday, May 6, 2011, at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London, will feature speakers on Greek, Roman, and Indian mathematics.


May 6–7, 2011:  MAA Michigan Section Meeting, Kalamazoo, Michigan

          The Spring Meeting of the MAA Michigan Section, to be held at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, will include invited presentations by

  • Erik Demaine (MIT and MAA Polya Lecturer) on "Algorithms Meet Art, Puzzles, and Magic,”
  • Ivars Peterson (MAA) on "Möbius Madness,”
  • David Murphy (Hillsdale College) on "Euler’s Sum of Like Powers Conjecture: History and Related Problems,” and
  • Ping Zhang (Western Michigan University) on "Graph Theory – 275 Years and Counting.”

May 25 - June 3, 2011:  MAA Study Tour, Guatemala and Honduras

          The 2011 MAA Study Tour, “Mathematics Among the Ancient and Modern Maya,” will visit Guatemala City, Copan (in Honduras), and the Guatemalan Highlands, with an extension trip to Tikal.  Offered in conjunction with the Maya Exploration Center.

 

June 23–25, 2011:  MAA Pacific Northwest Section Meeting, Juneau, Alaska

          This meeting of the MAA Pacific Northwest Section, to be held at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, will include an invited address by David Bressoud (Macalester College) on “The Truth of Proofs” in which the speaker will use illustrations from the history of mathematics.


July 15–17, 2011:  BSHM-CSHPM Joint Meeting, Dublin, Ireland

          The Fifth Joint Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics and the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics (Société canadienne d'histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques) will be held July 15-17, 2011, at Trinity College, Dublin. Organizers are John Earle, Adrian Rice, Noel-Ann Bradshaw, and Raymond Flood. Submit titles and abstracts to Tony Mann or Adrian Rice by March 1, 2011.

July 25–27, 2011:  Euler Society Annual Conference, Kenosha, Wisconsin

          The Euler Society invites proposals for papers about Leonhard Euler's life and work to be submitted by May 20, 2011, for its annual conference to be held July 25-27, 2011, at Carthage College on the shores of Lake Michigan in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

August 4–6, 2011:  MAA MathFest, Lexington, Kentucky

          MathFest will include a Contributed Paper Session on "The History of Mathematics and Its Uses in the Classroom," organized by Joel Haack, Pamela Peters, Pam Crawford, and Ximena Catepillan.

August 5–7, 2011:  International Conference on Science in Society, Washington, DC

          Submit titles and abstracts by June 21, 2011, for the 3rd International Conference on Science in Society, to be held August 5-7, 2011, at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

August 20–21, 2011: ARITHMOS Reading Group Summer Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, August 20 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, August 21 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Sections 9 and 10 of L'Hospital's Analyse des infiniment petits in English translation. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

 

September 17-18, 2011: Workshop on How to Read Historical Mathematics, Oxford, England

          The British Society for History of Mathematics (BSHM) and Oxford University Department of Continuing Education (OUDCE) will hold a weekend school workshop on "How to read historical mathematics," to be led by Benjamin Wardhaugh, Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 17-18, at Rewley House, Oxford University, England.

September 23-24, 2011: ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting Friday-Saturday, Sept. 23-24, at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read the famous paper of Galois on solvability of polynomial equations by radicals published in 1831. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.

 

October 1-2, 2011: History and Pedagogy of Mathematics West Coast Conference, San Diego, California

          The Americas Section of the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) will meet Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 1-2, 2011, at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. Submit titles, abstracts, and contact information to Kathy Clark.

October 2-5, 2011: 2nd International Conference on History of Mathematics Education, Lisbon, Portugal

          The Second International Conference on the History of Mathematics Education will be held Oct. 2-5, 2011, at Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal. Send titles and abstracts to Jose Manuel Matos by April 30, 2011.


October 8, 2011:  British Society for History of Mathematics Autumn Meeting, London, England

          The BSHM Autumn Meeting, to be held Saturday, October 8, 2011, at the Science Museum in Kensington, London, will feature speakers Tony Mann, Kate Bennett, and Sue Pope.


October 19, 2011: Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Robin Wilson and Raymond Flood will deliver a lecture titled "The Great Mathematicians" on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m. at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London.


October 20, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Patricia Allaire of Queensborough Community College, CUNY, will present "Yours Truly, D. F. Gregory."  This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.


October 24-28, 2011:  International Colloquium on Heritage of Evariste Galois, Paris, France

          This colloquium focusing on the heritage of the work of Evariste Galois, both from mathematical and historical points of view, will be held at the Institut Henri Poincare in Paris, France.  Sponsored by the Institut Henri Poincare and Societe Mathematique de France, it is one of a series of events celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Galois in 1811.


November 3, 2011: BSHM – Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          Peter Neumann of Oxford University will deliver the Annual Joint British Society for History of Mathematics – Gresham College Lecture on Evariste Galois on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. (reception at 5:30 p.m.) at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London.


November 3-6, 2011:  History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio

          The History of Science Society (HSS) Annual Meeting will be held Nov. 3-6, 2011, at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio.  The Society for History of Technology (SHOT) also will meet in Cleveland Nov. 3-6 and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) will meet in Cleveland Nov. 2-5.


November 5-6, 2011: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Nov. 6 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Viete's Introduction to the Analytic Art in English translation. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


November 10-13, 2011, AMATYC Annual Conference, Austin, Texas


November 17, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Chris Rorres of University of Pennsylvania will present "The Turn of the Screw: The History and Optimal Design of an Archimedes Screw."  This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.


November 18-19, 2011: MAA Northeastern Section Fall Meeting, New London, CT

          Fred Rickey will present "The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus: History, Intuition, Pedagogy, Proof" on Friday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. and Bill Dunham will deliver the Christie Lecture on "Two (More) Morsels from Euler" on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10:30 a.m. during the 56th Fall Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the MAA.


November 19, 2011: MAA EPaDel Section Fall Meeting, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

          Rob Bradley will present "L'Hospital's Differentials and Cauchy's Calculus Reform" on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10:50 a.m. during the Fall Meeting of the Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Section of the MAA.


December 7, 2011: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Marjorie Senechal of Smith College will present "False Starts in Biogeometry: Whatever Happened to D'Arcy Thompson?" during the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University.  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


December 8, 2011: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Brittany Shields of University of Pennsylvania will present "The Architecture of Mathematical Institutes: A Comparative Study of Gottingen and NYU's Mathematical Institutes under the Leadership of Richard Courant."  This monthly seminar usually meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.


December 10-12, 2011: Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Toronto, Ontario

          The CMS Winter Meeting, to be held at Ryerson University and York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, will include a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by Tom Archibald, Craig Fraser, and Menolly Lysne.

 

2010

January 13–16, 2010:  AMS-MAA Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Francisco, CA

          The annual Joint Meetings of the AMS, MAA, and several other professional organizations for mathematicians will include many events that feature the history of mathematics, including the following.

  • History of Mathematics Special Interest Group (HOM SIGMAA) theme: Great Books of Mathematics
  • Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 11–12, 9 am–4:30 pm: MAA Short Course on Exploring the Great Books of Mathematics, organized by Glen Van Brummelen and Amy Shell-Gellasch
  • Wednesday, Jan. 13, 8–11 am: MAA Contributed Paper Session on Mathematical Texts: Famous, Infamous, and Influential, organized by Fernando Q. Gouvea, Colby College, and Amy Shell-Gellasch, Pacific Lutheran University
  • Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2:15 pm-4:15 pm, and Friday, Jan. 15, 2:15 pm-4:15 pm: MAA Minicourse on The mathematics of Islam and its use in the teaching of mathematics, led by Victor J. Katz, University of the District of Columbia
  • Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2:15 pm-4:15 pm, and Friday, Jan. 15, 2:15 pm-4:15 pm: MAA Minicourse on Learning discrete mathematics via historical projects, led by Jerry M. Lodder, Guram Bezhanishvili, and David Pengelley, New Mexico State University
  • Wednesday, Jan. 13, 5:30 pm–7:30 pm: SIGMAA on the History of Mathematics Business Meeting, Reception, and Guest Lecture. The Guest Lecture, 6:30–7:30 pm, will be by Reviel Netz, Stanford University, who will give an update on the Archimedes Palimpsest.
  • Thurs., Jan. 14, 9–9:50 am: MAA Invited Address by Glen Van Brummelen, Quest University, on "Reasonable effectiveness: Trigonometry, ancient astronomy, and the birth of applied mathematics"
  • Fri., Jan. 15, 1–6 pm, Sat., Jan. 16, 8–11 am, 1–6 pm: AMS-MAA Special Session on History of Mathematics, organized by Craig Fraser, University of Toronto, Deborah Kent, Hillsdale College, and Sloan Despeaux, Western Carolina University

 

January 21, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Eugene (Bud) Bowman of the Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, on "Ghosts of Departed Errors: A look at Bishop Berkeley's The Analyst and the scientific community's initial response to it." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.


January 29-30, 2010: ORESME Reading Group Winter Meeting, near Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Winter Meeting the evening of Friday, Jan. 29, and the morning of Saturday, January 30, at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, KY (near Cincinnati, OH). The group will read two articles by Joseph Wedderburn (1882-1948): “A Theorem on Finite Algebras”, Trans. AMS, Vol. 6, No. 3 (July 1905), pp. 349-352; and “Non-Desarguesian and Non-Pascalian Geometries”, Trans. AMS, Vol. 8, No. 3 (July 1907), pp. 379-388. Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.


February 10, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled speaker for the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University is Karen Parshall of the University of Virginia on "Algebra: Creating New Mathematical Entities in Victorian Britain."  The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


February 18, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Steven H. Weintraub of Lehigh University on "On Legendre's Work on the Law of Quadratic Reciprocity." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.

 

March 3, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled speaker for the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University is Erik Tou of Carthage College on "Navigation in the Time of Euler." The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


March 6-7, 2010: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, March 6 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss selections from the Cohen/Whitman translation of Newton's Principia. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.


March 13–14, 2010:  HPM Americas Meeting, Washington, DC

          HPM-Americas, the Americas Section of the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM), will hold its Annual Meeting at the MAA Carriage House, 1781 Church St. NW, Washington, D.C., for the third year in a row. For information, use the link above or contact Bob Stein.

 

March 18, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Eisso Atzema of the University of Maine on "Beyond the Compass: The Mechanical Construction of the Conic Sections." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.

 

March 20, 2010:  Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Mathematics History Conference, Cullowhee, NC

          The Fifth Biennial Smoky Mountain Undergraduate Conference on the History of Mathematics (SMURCHOM V) will be held Saturday, March 20 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Organized by Sloan Despeaux, it will feature a keynote address by Adrian Rice and talks and posters by students on the history of mathematics and on mathematics informed by its history.


March 26-27, 2010:  MAA Southeastern Section Annual Meeting, Elon, NC

          The MAA Southeastern Regional Conference, to be held at Elon University, in Elon, North Carolina, will include a Special Session on History of Mathematics with paper abstracts due by Feb. 28, 2010. Invited speaker Betty Mayfield will deliver the address, “Women and Mathematics in the Time of Euler.”


March 26-27, 2010:  MAA Oklahoma-Arkansas Section Annual Meeting, Siloam Springs, Arkansas

          The MAA Oklahoma-Arkansas Section Annual Meeting, to be held at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, will include a talk by invited speaker Brian Conrey on the Riemann Hypothesis and its history. Conrey will deliver “Primes and Zeros: A Million Dollar Mystery” at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 26.

 

March 30, 2010:  The History of Mathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Greenwich, England

          This day-long workshop will showcase approaches to mathematics history used in British universities, including the MacTutor History of Mathematics website at St Andrews University (John O'Connor and Edmund Robertson) and Open University courses and materials (Robin Wilson).

March 31, 2010:  Deadline for HOM SIGMAA Student Writing Contest

 

April 6-9, 2010:  British Congress of Mathematical Education, Manchester, England

          One of the themes of this conference, to be held at the University of Manchester, will be History of Mathematics.  For further information about history of mathematics activities to be held on April 7, 2010, please contact Tony Mann.


April 6-9, 2010:  Maths2010: British Mathematical Colloquium and British Applied Mathematics Colloquium, Edinburgh, Scotland

          One of the splinter groups at this conference, to be held at the Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh, will be in history of mathematics.  For information on history of mathematics activities, please contact Noel-Ann Bradshaw.


April 7, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled speaker for the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University is architect John Clagett on "A Case Study of Applied Projective Geometry." The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


April 8, 2010: Smithsonian Institution Free Public Lecture, Washington, DC

          Peggy Kidwell of the Smithsonian Museum of American History will deliver the free public lecture “Tools of American Mathematics Teaching,” Thursday, April 8, at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Smithsonian Museum of African Art (behind the Smithsonian Castle).  The presentation is sponsored by the Smithsonian Congress of Scholars.


April 8-10, 2010:  MAA Texas Section Annual Meeting, Abilene, Texas

          MAA Publications Director Ivars Peterson will deliver the invited address “Newton’s Clock: Chaos in the Solar System” at 9 a.m. and Keith Devlin of Stanford University the invited address “When Mathematics Changed Us” at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 10, at the MAA Texas Section Annual Meeting at Abilene Christian University.


April 9-10, 2010:  MAA Illinois Section Annual Meeting, Rock Island, IL

          Invited speaker David Bressoud is scheduled to tell “Stories from the Development of Real Analysis” on Friday, April 9, 12:50–1:50 p.m., at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.


April 9-10, 2010:  MAA Southwestern Section and ArizMATYC Joint Meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona

          The Joint Meeting of the MAA Southwestern Section and the Arizona Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, to be held at Scottsdale Community College, will feature two invited talks on the history of mathematics. Betty Mayfield of Hood College will discuss “Women and Mathematics in the Time of Euler” and Pat McKeague will speak about “Islamic Math and Culture Across the Curriculum.”


April 10, 2010:  MAA New Jersey Section Spring Meeting, Edison, New Jersey

          Invited speaker Robert Bradley of Adelphi University will deliver the address “From Differentials to Limits: Fleeting Flirtations and Lingering Loyalties” on Saturday, April 10, at the MAA New Jersey Section Spring Meeting, to be held at Middlesex County College in Edison.


April 10, 2010:  MAA Southern California-Nevada Section Spring Meeting, Claremont, CA

          Ken Ono of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will deliver the invited address “Unearthing the Visions of a Master: The Story and Legacy of Ramanujan” at the MAA Southern California-Nevada Section Spring Meeting, to be held on Saturday, April 10, at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California.


April 16–17, 2010:  MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting, Kent, Ohio

          Karen Parshall of the University of Virginia will deliver the invited address “The Internationalization of Mathematics in a World of Nations: 1800-1960” and MAA Publications Director Ivars Peterson the invited address “Newton’s Clock: Chaos in the Solar System” at the MAA Ohio Section Spring Meeting at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.


April 16–17, 2010:  MAA Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Fort Collins, Colorado

          Invited speaker David Bressoud of Macalester College will present “Proofs and Confirmations: The Story of the Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture” at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, at the MAA Rocky Mountain Section Meeting at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.


April 16–17, 2010:  MAA Wisconsin Section Annual Meeting, Oshkosh, WI

          Invited speaker Betty Mayfield of Hood College will deliver the address “Women and Mathematics in the Time of Euler” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 16, at the MAA Wisconsin Section Annual Meeting, to be held at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.

 

April 21-24, 2010:  NCTM Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA

          The Annual Meeting and Exposition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics always includes several presentations and workshops on incorporating mathematics history into elementary and secondary school classrooms.

April 22, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Alan Gluchoff of Villanova University on "The Introduction and Spread of Nomography in North America, 1900-1950." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.

April 23-24, 2010: MAA North Central Section Spring Meeting, St. Paul, Minnesota

          MAA Publications Director Ivars Peterson will deliver the invited address “Newton’s Clock: Chaos in the Solar System” at the MAA North Central Section Spring Meeting at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

May 5, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Janet Barnett of Colorado State University-Pueblo will speak on “Abstract awakenings in algebra: Teaching and learning group theory through the works of Lagrange, Cauchy, and Cayley” at the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University. The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

 

May 20-22, 2010: History and Teaching of Mathematics Conference, Szeged, Hungary

          Paper and poster submissions are due Feb. 28, 2010, for the History of Mathematics and Teaching of Mathematics Conference, to be held at the University of Szeged, Hungary, May 20-22, 2010.


May 29-31, 2010: Maghrebian Colloquium on the History of Arab Mathematics, Tunis, Tunisia

          The Tenth Maghrebian Colloquium on the History of Arab Mathematics will be held May 29–31 at the Cité des Sciences de Tunis, Tunisia.  Paper proposal deadline is March 1, 2010, and registration deadline is April 15, 2010.  For more information, please contact Mahdi Abdeljaouad.


May 29–31, 2010:  CSHPM Annual Summer Meeting, Montreal, Quebec

          The annual summer meeting of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (Société canadienne d'histoire et de philosophie des mathématiques) will be held in conjunction with the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


June 9–22, 2010:  MAA Mathematical Study Tour: Spain and Portugal - POSTPONED

          The 8th Annual MAA Mathematical Study Tour, titled “Mathematical Riches of Portugal and Spain,” has been POSTPONED to summer of 2011 with exact dates TBA.

 

June 13–15, 2010:  Nexus 2010, Porto, Portugal

          The 8th international, interdisciplinary, biennial Nexus conference for architecture and mathematics will take place Sunday-Tuesday, June 13-15 in Porto, Portugal. Hosted by the Faculty of Architecture (FAUP) and the Center of Mathematics (CMUP)/Faculty of Sciences (FCUP) of the University of Porto, Nexus 2010 is certain to have sessions that incorporate the history of architecture and mathematics.

 

June 26-27, 2010: ARITHMOS Reading Group Summer Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, June 26 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, June 27 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss selections from L'Hospital's Analyse des infiniment petits and Johann Bernoulli's Lectiones de calculo differentialium. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

 

July 10-19, 2010: Mathematical Tour of Greece

          The State University of New York Ulster County Community College will sponsor a 10-day mathematical tour of Greece, with an optional July 19-25 extension trip to Sicily and Rome, to be led by Fred Rickey of West Point and Douglas Furman of SUNY Ulster.


July 19-21, 2010: The 2010 Euler Conference, Garden City, NY

          The Euler Society will hold its ninth annual conference at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. Paper proposals are due by May 15, 2010.


July 19–23, 2010:  HPM European Summer University, Vienna, Austria

          The Sixth European Summer University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education (ESU) will be held Mon.-Fri., July 19-23, at the Vienna University of Technology. This annual conference is sponsored by the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM).


July 30, 2010:  Philosophy, History, Sociology of Maths Workshop , London, England

          This workshop, to be held at University College, London, on Friday, July 30, asks, “What does it mean to do the philosophy, history and sociology of mathematics in the 21st century?”  The workshop is funded by the British Society for the History of Mathematics, UCL Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences, and British Society for the Philosophy of Science, and hosted by UCL Science & Technology Studies.


August 5-7, 2010: MAA MathFest, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

          MathFest will include the Contributed Paper Session, “The History of Mathematics and Its Uses in the Classroom,” organized by Herbert Kasube, John Lorch, and Joanne Peeples.  Submit abstracts by April 30, 2010.

August 25-29, 2010: 35th Annual 4S Meeting, Tokyo, Japan

          The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) will hold its annual meeting Wednesday–Sunday, August 25–29, 2010, at the Komaba I Campus of the University of Tokyo.  The meeting will be held jointly with the Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies.

September 14-19, 2010: British Science Festival, Birmingham, England

         While the festival will feature many events throughout the week, the British Society for the History of Mathematics will sponsor “Pi-hunting – the story of a mathematical obsession” on Wednesday, September 15, at 3 p.m.

 

September 16, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Karen Hunger Parshall of the University of Virginia on "Algebra: Creating New Mathematical Entities in Victorian Britain."  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 2010: Society for History of Technology Annual Conference, Tacoma, WA

          The Society for History of Technology (SHOT) will hold its annual meeting Thursday, September 30 through Sunday, October 3, 2010, in Tacoma, Washington.

October 2, 2010: BSHM Autumn Meeting, Birmingham, England

          British Society for the History of Mathematics Autumn Meeting speakers will include Peter Neumann on Galois, Jenny Rampling on John Dee, and Patricia Rothman on William Jones, along with shorter talks by other members.  Submit titles and abstracts to Tony Mann by May 28, 2010.

 

October 8-9, 2010: ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, Ohio

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting Friday-Saturday, Oct. 8-9, at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The group will read the two papers in which Ernst Kummer (1810-1893) first introduced the notion of "ideal numbers." Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.

October 11-24, 2010:  USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington, D.C.

          The first-ever USA Science and Engineering Festival, to be held Oct. 11-24, 2010, at venues throughout the greater Washington, D.C., area with satellite events throughout the US, will culminate in a Science and Engineering Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 23 and 24, 2010.

October 13, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          George P. H. Styan of McGill University will present “Some comments on old magic squares illustrated with postage stamps” at the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University. The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

October 21, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Betty Mayfield of Hood College will present "Women, Mathematics, Euler and Undergraduates."  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

October 22-23, 2010: MAA Ohio Section Fall Meeting, Pepper Pike, Ohio

          The MAA Ohio Section Fall Meeting at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio, will feature invited addresses on mathematics and the arts, including architecture, design, music, and dance. John Stillwell of the University of San Francisco will make two presentations that also include mathematics history, “From Perspective Drawing to the Eighth Dimension” and “Hits and Memories: 1940-1970.”

October 23-24, 2010: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Oct. 24 at 12:30 p.m., to read and discuss Chapter 4 of L'Hospital's Analyse des infiniment petits. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

October 23-24, 2010: HPM West Coast Conference, Pasadena, California

          The Americas Section of the International Study Group on Relations Between History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) will meet Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 23-24, 2010, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Huntington Library. Submit titles and abstracts to Dave Roberts by September 15, 2010.

 

November 3, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Joseph Malkevitch of the City University of New York Graduate Center will speak on “A Brief History of the Mathematics of Convex Polyhedra” at the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University. The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

November 4, 2010: BSHM – Gresham College Lecture, London, England

         Patricia Fara of Cambridge University will deliver the Annual Joint British Society for History of Mathematics – Gresham College Lecture, “Getting the Big Picture,” Thursday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. (reception at 5:30 p.m.) at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London.


November 4-7, 2010: History of Science Society Annual Meeting, Montreal, Quebec

          Submit paper, poster, and session proposals by April 11, 2010, for the History of Science Society (HSS) annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  Submit proposals for 20-minute papers, especially those on mathematics in the Americas in the 18th, 19th or 20th centuries, for the panel, "Imagining Nationhood through Mathematics," to panel organizer Andy Fiss by April 7, 2010.

November 5-6, 2010: Fall Meeting of MAA Maryland-DC-Virginia Section, Fairfax, Virginia

          Betty Mayfield of Hood College will present "Women and Mathematics in the Time of Euler" during the Fall Meeting of the MAA Maryland - District of Columbia - Virginia Section at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

November 6, 2010: Joint Fall Meeting of MAA EPaDel and New Jersey Sections, Philadelphia, PA

          Bill Dunham of Muhlenberg College will present the invited address, “Two (More) Morsels from Euler,” on problems from number theory and analysis (infinite series), during the Joint Fall Meeting of the MAA New Jersey Section and Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware (EPaDel) Section at LaSalle University in Philadelphia.


November 6-7, 2010: AMS Fall Southeastern Section Meeting, Richmond, Virginia

          The Fall Southeastern Section Meeting of the American Mathematical Society, to be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 6-7, in Richmond, Virginia, will include the Special Session, "History of Mathematics: A Transnational Discourse," organized by Della Fenster and Frédéric Brechenmacher. The meeting also will include the special session, "Mathematics and the Arts."


November 11-14, 2010: AMATYC Annual Conference, Boston, MA

          The theme of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Annual Conference, to be held Thurs.-Sun., Nov. 11-14, in Boston, Massachusetts, is “Bridging Past to Future in Mathematics.”

November 18, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is John W. Dawson of The Pennsylvania State University on "The Role of Alternative Proofs in Mathematical Practice."  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.

November 18-20, 2010: 4th International ESHS Conference, Barcelona, Spain

          The theme of the Fourth International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science, to be held Nov. 18-20 in Barcelona, is “The Circulation of Science and Technology.”  The conference will include at least five symposia involving mathematics.

December 1, 2010: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Karen Parshall of the University of Virginia will speak on “Algebra: Creating New Mathematical Entities in Victorian England” at the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University. The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.

December 4-6, 2010: Canadian Mathematical Society Winter Meeting, Vancouver, BC

          The CMS Winter Meeting, to be held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, will include a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by Tom Archibald and Glen Van Brummelen.

December 9, 2010: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Paul Wolfson of West Chester University is scheduled to speak.  This monthly seminar meets in Room 103 of the Mendel Science Center at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, one Thursday per month at 6 p.m.


December 16-17, 2010: Symposium on History of History of Mathematics Research, Oxford, England

          Leading scholars in the history of mathematics will consider the history of the subject, presenting papers on historians and historiography, during this symposium to be held Thursday and Friday, Dec. 16-17 at All Souls College, University of Oxford. For more information, contact Benjamin Wardhaugh.

 

Future Mathematics History Events:  Convergence Calendar

 

2009

Through August 30, 2009:  Galileo Exhibit, Florence, Italy

          Galileo: Images of the Universe from Antiquity to the Telescope, is an exhibition at the Institute and Museum of History of Science, Palazzo Strozi, Florence, Italy, in honor of Galileo’s first use of the telescope 400 years ago. It covers the astronomy of ancient Greece, Arab astronomy, and the work of astronomers Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, and includes atlases, illuminated manuscripts, paintings, drawings, and sculpture.

 

August 6–8, 2009:  MAA MathFest, Portland, OR

          The Annual Summer Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America, MathFest, will have many events featuring the history of mathematics, including the following.

  • Wednesday, Aug. 5, 7:30–9 p.m.: Opening Banquet with speaker Ed Sandifer, Western Connecticut State University, presenting “Prove it again, Sam” in which Euler proves the same theorem in three ingenious ways
  • Thursday, Aug. 6, 1–3:20 pm: History of Mathematics Invited Paper Session, with talks by Fernando Gouvea, Charlotte Simmons, Jim Tattersall, Janet Beery, and Stacy Langton
  • Thursday, August 6, 8:00–9:30 pm: Reading of the Play Count, about the life and work of Georg Cantor, by authors John Martin and Timothy Craig and readers Bonnie Shulman, George Heine, and Hal Huntsman
  • Friday, Aug. 7, 8:30–11:45 am and 1–6:20 pm: The History and Philosophy of Mathematics, and Their Uses in the Classroom Contributed Paper Session, organized by Janet Beery, Bonnie Gold, Amy Shell-Gellasch, and Charlotte Simmons

 

 September 17, 2009: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Craig P. Bauer, York College, on "Cryptology on campus during World War II." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.


September 17, 2009: Huntington Library History of Science Lecture Series, San Marino, CA

          In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, Noel Swerdlow, professor of the history of astronomy at Caltech, speaks on "Galileo and His Impact on Science and Astronomy" at 7:30 p.m. in Friends' Hall, Huntington Library and Gardens, San Marino, California.


September 19, 2009: BSHM Autumn Meeting, London, England

          The annual Autumn Meeting of the British Society for the History of Mathematics will be held Saturday, Sept. 19 at the London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London. Speakers will include Mary Croarken on “Nevil Maskelyne - the Seaman’s Astronomer”, A.E.L. Davis on Kepler, and Stephen Pumfrey on “Gilbert, Galileo and Lunar Theory”. Organizers: Noel-Ann Bradshaw and Tony Mann.


September 19-20, 2009: ARITHMOS Reading Group Fall Meeting, Danbury, CT

          Readings in the History of Mathematics from Original Sources (ARITHMOS) will meet at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, beginning Saturday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. and ending Sunday, Sept. 20 at 12:30 p.m., to read selections from the Cohen/Whitman translation of Newton's Principia. ARITHMOS meets three to five times per year, and is organized by Ed Sandifer, Rob Bradley, and Chuck Rocca.

 

September 28–October 1, 2009:  Australian Mathematical Society Meeting, Adelaide
 
          The Annual Meeting of the Australian Mathematical Society will be held at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. The program will include a special session on the History and Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Clemency Montelle, with speakers Eleanor Robson (UK), Clemency Montelle (NZ), Kathy Clark (USA), John Hannah (NZ), and Clare Bycroft (NZ).


September 28–October 3, 2009:  Astronomy and its Instruments Before and After Galileo, Venice, Italy

          In celebration of the UNESCO International Year of Astronomy, the International Astronomical Union and the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) Astronomical Observatory of Pavola, Italy, will hold this joint symposium on San Servolo Isle, Venice, Italy.

 

October 2–3, 2009:  ORESME Reading Group Fall Meeting, Cincinnati, OH

          The Ohio River Early Sources in Mathematical Exposition (ORESME) Reading Group will hold its Fall Meeting at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. The meeting will begin Friday, Oct. 2 with dinner (optional) at 6 pm and first reading session 8–10 p.m. It will continue Sat., Oct. 3 with breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and second and final reading session 10 am–noon. Please contact the organizers for the selection to be read from Gauss’s 1809 Theory of the motion of heavenly bodies moving about the sun in conic sections (Dover, 1963). Organizers Daniel J. Curtin (Northern Kentucky University) and Daniel E. Otero (Xavier University) welcome your inquiries. Meetings usually are held in September or October and in January or February.

 

October 7, 2009: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          Scheduled speaker for the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University is Danny Otero of Xavier University on "Determining the Determinant." The colloquium usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 3:45 p.m., and is followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


October 8, 2009: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Danny Otero of Xavier University presenting "Determining the Determinant." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.


October 15, 2009: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is Frank Swetz on "Glimpses of Chinese Mathematics." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.

 

October 30-31, 2009: MAA Ohio Section Fall Meeting, Gambier, Ohio

          Invited speaker Judith Grabiner will deliver two addresses, “It’s All for the Best: Optimization in the History of Science,” Oct. 30 at 8 pm, and “Lagrange, Symmetry, and Space,” Oct. 31 at 11:50 am, both at Kenyon College.


November 2, 2009:  BSHM–Gresham College Lecture, London, England

          The annual British Society for the History of Mathematics – Gresham College Lecture, “Mathematics, motion, and truth: the Earth goes round the Sun”, will be given by Jeremy Gray on Monday, Nov. 2 at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London, with a reception from 5:30 pm and lecture at 6 pm.


November 6, 2009:  IMA Conference on the History of Mathematics, London, England

          The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications will hold its first Conference on the History of Mathematics with speakers Jan van Maanen, Victor Katz, Benjamin Wardhaugh, Norman Biggs, Martin Campbell-Kelly, and Ioan James at the Royal Statistical Society, London. Organizers are Snezana Lawrence and Amy Marsh.


November 7, 2009:  MAA Eastern Pennsylvania - Delaware Section Fall Meeting, Philadelphia, PA

          Invited speaker Betty Mayfield will deliver the address, “Women and Mathematics in the Time of Euler,” at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.


November 7, 2009:  MAA New Jersey Section Fall Meeting, Morristown, NJ

          Invited speaker David Cox will deliver the address, “Why Eisenstein proved the Eisenstein criterion and why Schoenemann discovered it first,” and also will lead a lunchtime discussion on “Using History in Mathematics Courses” at the College of Saint Elizabeth.


November 7–8, 2009:  AMS Fall Western Section Meeting, Riverside, CA

          The Fall Western Section Meeting of the American Mathematical Society, to be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7–8, at the University of California, Riverside, will include a Special Session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics, organized by Shawnee L. McMurran and James J. Tattersall, on Sat., Nov. 7, 8:30–11 am and 3–6 pm.


November 9, 2009:  Gresham College Maths and Music Series, London, England

          On Monday, Nov. 9, at both 1 pm and 6 pm, lecturer Robin Wilson answers the question, “Why are pianos out of tune?” This lecture, to be held at Gresham College, Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn, London, explores tuning and temperament from the time of Pythagoras, via Isaac Newton and J.S. Bach, to the present day.


November 18, 2009: Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics, Garden City, NY

          The speaker for the Frederick V. Pohle Colloquium in the History of Mathematics at Adelphi University is Ethan Coven of Wesleyan University on "The Origins of Modern Symbolic Dynamics." The colloquium meets at 3:45 p.m., and will be followed by dinner with the speaker at a local restaurant.


November 19, 2009: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Independent scholar Shelley Costa compares the careers of l'Hopital, du Chatelet, and Agnesi in "Throwing the book at mathematical talent." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.


November 20-21, 2009: MAA Northeastern Section Fall Meeting, Springfield, MA

          Invited speaker Fernando Gouvea delivers the Christie Lecture on "The Dedekind Move in History and in the Classroom" at 9 am on Sat., Nov. 21, at Western New England College.  The conference runs from 3 pm, Fri., Nov. 20 to 4:30 pm Sat., Nov. 21.

November 21, 2009: Motivations for Mathematics, London, England

          An afternoon of talks in the Smith Centre of the Science Museum, Exhibition Road, London, by Robin Wilson, Allan Chapman (on "Mathematics, power, and peace: How navigators, surveyors, and instrument-makers laid out the world"), Snezana Lawrence, and David Singmaster.


November 26–28, 2009:  Congress IX of the Italian Society of History of Mathematics, Perugia, Italy

          The main themes of the conference, to be held at the University of Perugia, will be Mathematics in the Renaissance and Mathematics in the 20th Century.  Organizer is Maria Clara Nucci.


December 5–7, 2009:  Canadian Mathematical Society Meeting, Windsor, Ontario

          The annual Winter Meeting of the Canadian Mathematical Society, to be held at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, will include a session on History and Philosophy of Mathematics organized by Tom Archibald.


December 10, 2009: Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics

          Scheduled speaker is John W. Dawson on "Development of Compactness." This monthly seminar meets at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, usually on a Thursday at 6 p.m., and begins with a light dinner.


December 12, 2009:  BSHM Special December Lecture, London, England

          Sponsored by the British Society for the History of Mathematics, Volker R. Remmert, Mainz University, presents “Visual representations of the mathematical sciences in the early modern period” at 2 pm on Saturday, December 12, 2009 in the Hardy Room, London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, 57-58 Russell Square, London.


December 16-18, 2009:  Conference on Numeracy, Oxford, England

          The full title of this conference, to be held at St. Anne's College, Oxford, is Numeracy: Historical, Philosophical, and Educational Perspectives.

 

For Future Mathematics History Events:  Convergence Calendar