Mountain Day 2015
At 5:55 am this morning Williams College President Adam Falk canceled all classes and called us into the mountains, led by Scott Lewis, Mia Smith, and our beloved choral groups. … Continue reading »
General Interest
The Inferiorities of Mac Mail
smart phone When I got my new MacBook Air, I had to switch from my old email client, Eudora, to MacMail, which seemed like the best alternative. I often work offline, especially when traveling, because the internet can be expensive and often unavailable, so I need some… Continue reading »
Lego Brickumentary at Images: Aug 8 and 9
AFTER IMAGES — A LEGO BRICKUMENTARY: Steven J. Miller, Associate Professor of Mathematics and instructor of The Mathematics of LEGO Bricks, will join Images Cinema Executive Director Doug Jones in a post-screening discussion about the creative possibilities of LEGOs following screenings of the family-friendly A LEGO Brickumentary on… Continue reading »
May the Fourth be with you…….
For the past two winter studies I’ve taught a course on the Mathematics of LEGO bricks, with a goal of assembling a team to assemble the 3152 piece Superstar destroyer in under 10 minutes (we just missed by a few seconds the first year, and did it in under… Continue reading »
To bead, or not to bead….
It is often said that mathematics is universal; one of my greatest joys, both as a parent and as a professor, is finding interesting and novel ways to illustrate various concepts. Over the past few years I’ve been fortunate to work with many great SMALL students on projects related to… Continue reading »
Crash Takes Nash Four Days after Abel Prize
On the way home from receiving the million-dollar Abel Prize from King Harald of Norway, John Nash, along with his wife Alicia, was killed in a taxicab crash on the New Jersey Turnpike. I was at the Abel ceremonies May 21-22 myself to give the Science Lecture. Louis… Continue reading »
Math/Stat Awards Banquet
It was another glorious year in the Math/Stat department at Williams. We celebrated its end with our annual banquet, packed with over 150 faculty and students. As tradition, the new majors received a beverage wrench, and everyone joined in applauding the winners of this year’s awards. Colloquium… Continue reading »
Reimagining the Course Catalog
BACKGROUND At the start of the year, I was made chair of a committee to reimagine the Williams Course Catalog for 2015-2016. We were tasked with coming up with a “scheme and shape” for how the course catalog can be organized, and how different kinds of information can be visualized. Instead… Continue reading »
Best Jobs 2015
Mathematics and statistics are essential skills for most of the best six jobs in 2015, according to the latest rankings by CareerCast.com. Here are the top six jobs: 1. Actuary 2. Audiologist 3. Mathematician 4. Statistician 5. Biomedical Engineer 6. Data Scientist For more information see also the… Continue reading »
The James Function
Like many mathematicians, I’m happy when I can combine my work with my other passions. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I didn’t realize that all those games I watched when I was young was preparing me for a very productive career in sabermetrics, the science of applying math and… Continue reading »