The Denison University mathematics and computer science departments will host mathematician Ed Burger to discuss "Magic with Mathematics: Is the Formula Faster than the Eye?" This inquisitive lecture, set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 24) in Higley Auditorium, does not require any mathematics background and no mathematics will be explicitly discussed.

Burger will focus on questions such as: "Is mind reading possible? Can you make your dorm room bigger without throwing out your roommate? Can you break the bank at Vegas with dice? Are you ready for the 2004 presidential election?" and "Do math professors know how to dress?" This event is free and open to the public with children and families especially invited.

Burger, a visiting professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, earned a bachelor's degree (1985)summa cum laudewith distinction in mathematics from Connecticut College and a doctorate (1990) from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, president of the Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and the associate editor of The American Mathematical Monthly.

Burger has received numerous honors including the 2002 Stanislaw Ulam Visiting Professor of Mathematics at University of Colorado at Boulder, 2001 Cecil and Ida Green Honors Professor at Texas Christian University and the 2001 Mathematical Association of America's Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. His many publications include "Mathematics Beyond the Ivy-Covered Hall: Can We Read the Writing on the Wall?" an article printed in The Mathematical Intelligencer, and the booksExploring the Number Jungle: A Journey into Diophantine AnalysisandThe Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking, the winner of a 2001 Robert W. Hamilton Book Award.

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.

For press inquiries:

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Barbara Stambaugh

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