Kicking Off MathPath 2020

With the help of our entire community, MathPath 2020 is officially underway! This summer’s program certainly looks quite different from any other in our 19-year history, but that’s not to say we aren’t enjoying the same breakouts, “Glenaries”, activities, and counselor group bonding we have in years past. Physical classrooms have turned to virtual workspaces, lecture halls to giant video conferences, and board games to online play-rooms — but MathPathogens are still absorbing new mathematics, applauding each Problem of the Day winner, and making new friends over a game of chess.


We kicked things off on Sunday with an exciting opening plenary from Annalisa Crannell, where we took a look at Albrecht Dürer’s St. Jerome in His Study from a projective geometric perspective. Dr. Crannell bent our minds towards the point at infinity while teaching us how to draw better three-dimensional cubes, all in one talk!


St. Jerome in His Study by Albrecht Dürer


Week-one breakouts got rolling on Monday, including some tried-and-true MathPath favorites such as “Elementary Graph Theory” with Dr. Jane, “Number Theory I” with Prof. B and “Heavenly Mathematics” with Glen. New topics proved popular as well — Prof. Cahn’s “Wallpaper Patterns and the Klein bottle” takes a look at some interesting symmetry groups and Dr. V’s “The Other Triangular Numbers” delves into some surprising patterns that arise when drawing equilateral triangles on a hexagonal lattice.


Topological hands from Prof. Cahn’s “Wallpaper Patterns and the Klein bottle”


Our first week featured many never-before-seen MathPath activities as our counselors put their creativity to the test in the new remote environment. From “Household Item Show & Tell” to “Penguin drawing”, this year’s activities are as bizarre as ever! Games such as online Pictionary and “Quiplash” became quick fan-favorites, and chess retained its usual dedicated following.



Ellie’s Pictionary group
Corinne’s group’s penguins


While much of the planning for this summer was focused on maintaining MathPath’s traditions, we can’t help but admire the ways in which our community has embraced this unique setting as an opportunity for new ideas and growth. We hope you are as excited as we are for the weeks to come!

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