•   When: Friday, October 15, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
•   Speakers: Peter Winkler, Professor, Dartmouth University
•   Location: JC Cinema
•   Directions: Following University guidelines, if you are attending the on-campus Distinguished Lecture Series talk, you need to RSVP through the below link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8hLGh9z--8_CO0VsVPWtMTdmOKLRu472BmEugJ05k2OPJmg/viewform?usp=sf_link Participants must complete Mason COVID Health✓™ and receive a “green light” status on the day of the event. Masks are also required for attendance
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ABSTRACT

Many great puzzles present an algorithm for doing some task, then ask you whether that algorithm could work---and if it could, then, perhaps, whether it must work.

Since many real-life problems in applied/computational mathematics take the same form, it is not surprising that techniques for solving such puzzles are nice to know about.  Many of the best of these techniques involve potential functions, and the puzzles you will see are designed to help you appreciate the amazing things they can do.

BIO

Peter Winkler is the William Morrill Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College.  He is the author of about 160 research papers
and holds a dozen patents in marine navigation, cryptography, holography, gaming, optical networking, and distributed computing.  His research is primarily
in combinatorics, probability, and the theory of computing, with forays into statistical physics.  He is a winner of the Mathematical Association of America's
Lester R. Ford and David P. Robbins prizes.

Dr. Winkler has authored three books of mathematical puzzles, a book on cryptology in the game of bridge, and a portfolio of compositions for ragtime piano.

For the academic year 2019-2020, Dr. Winkler served as Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics at the National
Museum of Mathematics.