03/24/11 MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT, FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY

MATH COLLOQUIUM, THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 11:00 AM, STR 138

SPEAKER: Robert McCullough, Professor, Department of Mathematics, FSU

TITLE: Of Spaceflight Anniversaries, Sabbaticals and Space Shuttle Tiles …

ABSTRACT: Next month (April12) will mark the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the greatest adventure that humanity has ever embarked upon – sending people into space. Last spring I was on sabbatical studying the concept of Lissajous curves and their applications. With the end of the space shuttle program fast approaching, I found out that NASA is giving away authentic shuttle heat tiles to academic institutions, and I decided that Ferris needed a tile. In this non-technical talk, I will attempt to somehow tie all of these seemingly unrelated topics together into one coherent message.

REFRESHMENTS: 11:00 am, STARR 138

Please visit Math Colloquium website at

http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/artsands/Math/MATH_COLLOQUIUM/ColloquiumWeb/index.html