Hello everyone,

The Pi Fest, organized by the Association for Women in Mathematics OSU Chapter is finally here! We have several fun events planned and organized by our chapter members! All the events come with refreshments! We appreciate it if all of you can advertise our Pi Fest to your students and mathematically inclined friends too! We really hope to see undergrads and grad students in large numbers at the events.

Here is the description and the schedule for the events:

Talk by Dr. Henry Segerman: 3/9 Wednesday: Math Talks by Dr. Henry Segerman (See below to find the abstract) ………..….…..4:00-5:30 pm in MSCS 101 Mathematical dice design, Variants of the 15-puzzle and the effects of holonomy

3/10 Thursday: Math Puzzle Contest ...................................................................................................................4:00-5:00 pm in MSCS 101 Think you can solve some geometric puzzles and answer some logical questions? Then come join us for the math puzzle contest, to stand a chance to win some cool prizes and some free snacks!

Poster Puzzle: Scan the QR Code on the Pi Fest poster, solve the math puzzles and win a prize!

Movie Screening (with some popcorn and drinks!)..........................................................................5:30-8:00 pm in MSCS 514 The incredible untold true story of three brilliant African-American Women working at NASA who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history, the launch of Astronaut John Glenn into orbit.

3/11 Friday: Pizza and π Gathering…………………………………………......................................................................2:00-3:00 pm in MSCS 114

This is the closing ceremony of our Pi Fest! We w​ill have some Pizza, Pie a Pi-recitation competition! We will also distribute the prizes for events!

Abstract of Dr. Segerman's talks:

Mathematical dice design

Robert Fathauer and I started making injection molded dice as "the dice lab" in 2014, and have since produced over 30 different dice designs. I'll talk about the mathematical, functional, and aesthetic aspects of our work.

Variants of the 15-puzzle and the effects of holonomy

I'll discuss some variants of the classic sliding tile "15 puzzle" that involve holonomy - the phenomenon of traveling around a loop in a curved surface and coming back rotated. I'll demonstrate physical puzzle designs with positive and with negative curvature, and discuss design considerations and consequences.