Exploring the unknown captures the imagination -- and that holds true for mathematics research, too. Mathematician David Bressoud will present a lecture on "Proofs and Confirmations: The Story of the Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture" at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 25) in the Burton D. Morgan Center Lecture Hall (150 Ridge Road). The free and open to the public event is intended for a general audience and should be accessible to anyone interested in the nature of research in mathematics. He will focus on the role of proofs in mathematics.

"Most of the time, the search for proof is less about establishing truth than it is about exploring unknown territory," Bressoud says. "In finding a route from what is known to the result one believes is out there, the mathematician often encounters unexpected insights into seemingly unrelated problems." He will illustrate this point with an example of recent research into a generalization of the permutation matrix known as the "alternating sign matrix."

Bressoud is the distinguished DeWitt Wallace professor of mathematics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and president-elect of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). He also is the chair of MAA's special committee on the undergraduate program in mathematics and their special interest group, teaching advanced high school mathematics.

The event is sponsored by Denison's Math and Computer Science Department through the Gordon Fund, which is named in honor of Doris Gilbert Gordon, a former high school mathematics teacher and friend of the University.

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Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville—Gordon Lecture Series presents Professor David Bressoud on "Proofs and Confirmations: The Story of the Alternating Sign Matrix Conjecture;" 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25; Burton D. Morgan Center Lecture Hall (150 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. Contact (740) 587-6206 for information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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