The R. Kent Nagle Lecture Series

The Nagle Lecture Series (NLS) was established in honor of the late R. Kent Nagle, a mathematician deeply interested not only in mathematics in itself, but also in mathematics education and the impact of mathematics on society.

In this spirit, the NLS has invited world-renowned scholars to speak on such matters in lectures designed for the general public.

Next Lecture: April 4, 2019

Previous Nagle Lecturers

Here is a list of the Nagle Lecturers, including their affiliation when they delivered their address, and the title and date of their lecture, in reverse chronological order:

Colin Adams, Thomas J. Read Professor of Mathematics at Williams College

Blown Away: What Knot to do When Sailing
April 12, 2018

Michele Mosca, co-founder of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo

Cybersecurity and the Quantum Era
April 6, 2017

Ken Ono, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Emory University

Ramanujan: The Inspirational Story and a Glimpse of his Mathematics
March 10, 2016

Robert W. Ghrist, Andrea Mitchell Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania

Applied Topology
March 12, 2015

Charles R. Keeton, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University

A Ray of Light in a Sea of Dark (Matter)
April 3, 2014

Erez Lieberman Aiden, Harvard Society of Fellows and Visiting Faculty at Google

How the Human Genome Folds
April 18, 2012

Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary, Canada

Plants, Computers and Math
April 7, 2011

Arlie O. Petters, Benjamin Powell Professor and Professor of Mathematics, Physics, and Business Administration at Duke University

Einstein, Higher Dimensions, and Black Holes
April 1, 2010

John H. Conway, von Neumann Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University

From Topology to Symmetry
November 1, 2007

Fang-Hua Lin, Silver Professor of Mathematics, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University

Problems for the Millennium: The Navier-Stokes Equations
March 29, 2007

Louis H. Kauffman, Professor of Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Unknots, Collapsing Tangles and DNA Recombination
February 16, 2006

Andrew M. Odlyzko, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota

Cybersecurity, Mathematics, and Limits on Technology
February 24, 2005

F. Alberto Grünbaum, Professor of Mathematics at UC Berkeley

Mathematics in Medical Imaging: the Present and the Future
November 1, 2001

A. K. Dewdney, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo

Do Aliens Do Math?
October 12, 2000

Jerrold E. Marsden, Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems at the California Institute of Technology

Dynamical Systems and Space Mission Design
March 9, 2000

Simon A. Levin, George Moffett Professor of Biology at Princeton University

The Rise and Fall of Biodiversity
January 21, 1999

Joseph B. Keller, Professor of Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering (Emeritus) at Stanford University

Mathematics of Games and Sports
November 5, 1998

Steven G. Krantz, Professor of Mathematics at Washington University

Contemporary Issues in Mathematics Education
March 19, 1998

Arjen Lenstra, Corporate Technology Office of Citibank

Securing the Net: The Fruits of Incompetence
October 23, 1997

Persi Diaconis, Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University

Mathematics and Magic Tricks
March 20, 1997

Robert Devaney, Professor of Mathematics at Boston University

Chaos, Fractals, and Dynamics
February 13, 1997

George E. Andrews, Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University

Ramanujan, Sums, and the Lost Notebook
November 14, 1996

Peter Borwein, Professor of Mathematics at Simon Fraser University

Mathematics in the Presence of Computers: The Rapidly Changing Face of Pure Mathematics
October 17, 1996

Harold Stevenson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan

Asia's Young Achievers in Mathematics
September 19, 1996