Archimedes Talks

Archimedes Talks is a speaker series aimed at high school students in Vancouver who are interested in mathematics and engineering. The goal of these talks is to provide promising students with opportunities to explore different aspects of math and applied science in an engaging environment.

Once a month in February, March, and April, students are invited to the University of British Columbia to hear talks by two expert speakers. Lunch is also provided.

February 2nd speakers and talk descriptions:

• Angela O'Neill, UBC Department of Zoology
  Talk tile: "Comparing Tetrapod Skulls: How Structure Affects Feeding"
  Description: Let's compare the structure of the skull in different groups of tetrapods and discuss how these structural differences affect the strength and flexibility of the skull.  In some tetrapods, the skull is specialized for strength, allowing it to withstand the force of a powerful bite, while in other tetrapods, the skull is specialized for flexibility, allowing these animals to swallow large prey whole!
• Stephen Gustafson, UBC Department of Mathematics
  Talk title: "Magnetic Mathematics"
  Description: We'll explore how we can learn something about magnets by finding the best way to arrange some unit-length vectors, and see how a bit of math can help us find the optimal arrangements.

The fee for each talk is $20, which includes lunch.

Scholarships are available for students experiencing financial difficulties. To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this survey.

Archimedes Talks is run by Profs. Seckin Demirbas and Elyse Yeager from the UBC math department.

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