The math department offers two honors seminars every quarter, providing opportunities for our students to delve into topics in mathematics that are not covered in typical coursework.  Check out the information below to learn more about current honors seminars and past seminar topics.

Upcoming Honors Seminars - 2022 - 2023

Check out the topics and times below to learn more.

SPRING 2023 SEMINARS 

Math 207.  The Secrets of Mental Math (31224)
Monday 11:00 - 11:50. Instructor: Dr. Klyve.

Description: Amaze your friends!  Confound your enemies!  Astound the world with your ability to do complex calculations in your head! Mental arithmetic isn’t something people are born knowing; it’s a skill that anyone can learn. Improve your ability to multiply and square numbers, to calculate logarithms, and to calculate days of the week for historical dates in your head.

This seminar is open to all students at Central!

Math 407. Some Things Every Math Major Should Know (31246)

Friday 11:00 - 11:50. Instructor: Dr. Linhart.

Do you know how to derive the quadratic formula and prove the Pythagorean Theorem?  Can you prove that there are infinitely many primes and that the square root of 2 is irrational?  Can you derive Newton's Method and show that the real numbers are uncountable? 

We will be exploring the list of Things that Every Math Major Should Know and making sure that we do, indeed, know!

Past Seminar Topics have included:

Lower-Division (Math 207)

• Mental Math (Spring 2023, Klyve)
• Game, SET, Math!  (Winter 2023, Boersma)
• Mental Math (Spring 2022, Klyve)
• Mathematical Joy (Winter 2022, Wiegers)
• Mathematics for Human Flourishing (Winter 2021, Temple)
• Mathematical Iterations (Spring 2020, Boersma)
• Mental Math (Winter 2020, Klyve)
• The Math of Recreational Games (Fall 2019, Montgomery)
• The Mathematics of Voting and Elections (Spring 2019, Boersma)
• Math and Fiber Arts (Winter 2019, Temple)
• Mechanical Computation (Fall 2018, Montgomery)
• Mathematical Knot Games (Spring 2018, Wiegers)
• Project Euler (Winter 2018, Linhart)
• Mathematics of Social Justice (Fall 2017, Klyve)
• Iteration (Spring 2017, Boersma)
• Mathematics of the Game of Set (Winter 2017, Bisgard)
• Probability Games (Fall 2016, Wiegers)
• Math at Central Fieldtrip Seminar (Spring 2016, Wiegers)
• Creating Contextual Problems (Winter 2016, Miller)
• Mathematical Patterns  (Fall 2015, Wiegers)
• Triangles
• Number Theory
• Weird Numbers
• Recursive Functions
• Intuitive Topology

Upper Division (Math 407)

• Some Things Every Math Major Should Know (Spring 2023, Linhart)
• Celestial Mechanics (aka Rocket Science) (Winter 2023, Montgomery)
• Problem-Solving and Mathematical Engagement (Fall 2022, Wiegers)
• Number Theory via Primary Sources (Spring 2022, Klyve)
• Interacting Particle Systems (Winter 2022, Temple)
• Iteration, Fractals, and Chaos (Fall 2021, Montgomery)
• The Early Breaking of Enigma (Spring 2021, Boersma)
• Gödel, Escher, Bach (Part 1) by D. Hofstadter (Winter 2021, Wiegers)
• Game, SET, Math!  (Fall 2020, Boersma)
• Mathematical Biology (Winter 2020, Wiegers)
• Applied Mathematics (Fall 2019, Wiegers)
• Astrodynamics (Spring 2019, Montgomery)
• Singular Value Decomposition (Winter 2019, Bisgard)
• Math Meets the Real World (Fall 2018, Linhart)
• Mathematical Knot Theory Questions (Spring 2018, Klyve)
• Elliptical Curves (Winter 2018, Boersma)
• Putnam Exam Preparation/ Problem Solving (Fall 2017, Bisgard)
• Fractals Everywhere! (Spring 2017, Fassett)
• Math and Art (Winter 2017, Wiegers)
• Putnam Exam Preparation/ Problem Solving (Fall 2016, Bisgard)
• Three-Dimensional Printing (Spring 2016, Wiegers)
• Gödel, Escher, Bach (Part 1) by D. Hofstadter (Winter 2016, Wiegers)
• Fractals and Chaos (Fall 2015, Fassett)
• The sum-of-divisors function
• Model Theory and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem
• Partially-ordered Sets