Science Week 2017

The ICMAT is once again participating this year in the Community of Madrid Science and Technology Week under the auspices of the CSIC Vicepresidency of Scientific Culture with a programme consisting of four activities aimed at students and the general public. This will take place on November 7th and 8th in Madrid and Alcobendas.

 

"Maths scavenger hunt"

Date and time: 8th of November, 12:30 – 14.

Venue: Centro Cultura Pablo Iglesias (Alcobendas).

Summary: A scavenger hunt is a game in which the participants (mainly organized in groups) have to overcome different tests, in most cases linked together in sequence, by following a series of clues and indications. The winning group is the one that is first to complete all the tests. In this particular case, the challenges to be overcome are of a mathematical nature. In particular, they will consist of recreational mathematics (topological games, puzzles, cryptography, riddles, etc) aimed at enabling students to enjoy mathematics as a tool for solving problems in an entertaining way. This purpose of this activity is also to stimulate teamwork, companionship and collaboration

Participating researchers: Tania Pernas Castaño (CSIC-ICMAT), Juan José Marín (CSIC-ICMAT), Eric Latorre (CSIC-ICMAT), Rodrigo Sato (CSIC-ICMAT), Diego Alonso (UAM-ICMAT), Javier García (UAM-ICMAT).

Public: 3rd and 4th grade secondary school students.

Collaborating bodies: Alcobendas Municipal Mediatheques. Alcobendas Town Hall.

"I can’t live without Pi"

Date and time: 7th of November, 12:00 – 13:30.

Venue: IES San Mateo (Calle de la Beneficencia, 4, 28004 Madrid).

Summary: The number Pi appears simply in the mathematical universe as the relation between the radius and the perimeter of a circumference, but it is also a constant in the natural world that surrounds us. In this talk some mathematical curiosities concerning this constant are presented as well as its calculation throughout history, its relation with prime numbers, probability, etc.

Participating researchers: David Martín de Diego (ICMAT-CSIC).

Public: Baccalaureate Science students.

Collaborating bodies: IES San Mateo

"Dance and mathematics"

Date and time: 8th of November, 12:00 – 13:30.

Venue: Centro Cultura Pablo Iglesias (Alcobendas).

Summary: Cristina Sardón is a dancer and a mathematical physicist as well as a post-doc researcher at the ICMAT. Her knowledge enables her to build bridges between these two disciplines that at first sight seem so far apart. In this talk she will describe the movements in classical ballet as a set of geometric objects (rotations, spins, symmetries…); the dance floor as a space without curvature; the suspension and balance of a dancer on the basis of action and reaction in classical mechanics; the linked sequence of movements as algebraic curves, etc.

Participating researchers: Cristina Sardón (ICMAT-CSIC).

Public: Baccalaureate Science students.

Collaborating bodies: Alcobendas Municipal Meditheques. Alcobendas Town Hall