The Niven Lecture: The Square Peg Problem

The Niven Lecture is an annual lecture given to graduating math students, their family members and the general public at UBC.

I will tell the story of a mathematical problem which can be understood and tested by a child, yet which has resisted solution for over a century, in spite of the efforts of many prominent mathematicians. I will describe in parallel the development of a seemingly unrelated mathematical movement inspired by physics which recently delivered unexpected insights into this problem. This is a talk about long thinking in mathematics, what makes problems difficult and interesting, and what the future may hold in store.

About Joshua Greene:

Joshua Greene is Professor of Mathematics at Boston College. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from Princeton University. His expository writing was awarded the 2023 Conant Prize from the American Mathematical Society. His work on The Square Peg Problem with his collaborator Andrew Lobb has enjoyed media coverage and honors, including a piece in Quanta Magazine and a 2025 Frontiers of Science Award.

About the Niven Lecture:

The Niven Lecture is made possible through a generous bequest received from Ivan and Betty Niven.

In honor of their generous support, the Department of Mathematics has established a permanent endowment fund, "The Ivan and Betty Niven Distinguished Lectures Fund", the income from which will fund a series of annual lectures on a broad array of topics in Mathematics.

Ivan Niven was a famous number theorist and expositor; his textbooks won numerous awards, have been translated into many languages and are widely used to this day. Niven was born in Vancouver in 1915, earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at UBC in 1934 and 1936 and his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1938. He was a faculty member at the University of Oregon from 1947 until his retirement in 1982. The annual Niven Lecture Series, held at UBC since 2005, is funded in part through a generous bequest from Ivan and Betty Niven to the UBC Mathematics Department.