January 19, 2013 – Ivan Borsenco – “Exploring the world of Probability”
January 26, 2013 – Dr. Jonathan Kane – “Constructions with Straight Edge and Compass and Other Implements”
Learn all about the classic theory of geometric objects with only straight edge and compass. What can you construct, and what is impossible? Which regular polygons can you construct? What if you have help by being given a fixed parabola? Come with your pencils and be ready to draw (compasses provided, or bring your own)!
February 2, 2013 – Dr. Branislav Kisačanin – “A Tour of Mathematical Functions”
In this lecture we will retrace the steps of Archimedes, Newton, Euler, and other great mathematicians and learn about important mathematical functions, their properties, history, and applications. We will look at several interesting competition topics that often show up on AMC 10/12, related to exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, hyperbolic, and other functions. We will also see how these functions turn up in solutions of some fundemental problems in math, physics, and engineering. We will have fun using them to draw important curves: cicloids, cardioids, catenaries, circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, parabolas, and will discover which one of them is brachistochrone and which one is tautochrone.
February 9, 2013 – Dr. Tatiana Shubin – “Have Colors – Will Paint”
Abstract: This session will be about geometric combinatorics, which is a relatively new and rapidly growing branch of mathematics. It deals with geometric objects described by a finite set of building blocks.
Problems encountered within geometric combinatorics come in various forms; some are easy to state. Nevertheless, there are lots of problems that are extremely hard to solve, including a great many that remain open despite the efforts of some leading mathematicians. In this session we’ll encounter some such problems, in particular, chromatic numbers of Euclidean spaces.
February 16, 2013 – Dr. Branislav Kisačanin – “A Tour of Mathematical Functions II”
In a follow up lecture on mathematical functions, we will explore more stories and problems related to polynomials, trigonometric functions, and functional equations. Furthermore, we will dive deeper into the original historical context of functions – curves such as cycloids, cardioids, catenaries, circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, parabolas. Finally, we will try to understand why exponential and trigonometric functions turn up in solutions of so many fundamental problems in math, physics, and engineering. Come and learn with us!
February 23, 2013 – Dr. Dimiter Nickolov Vassilev – “Inversion and conformal transformations in the plane and 3-D space.”
We will consider angle preserving transformations in Euclidean space and learn about the differences between the 2-D and 3-D cases. Then we will focus on the most interesting case of such a transformation in the plane and how it can be used.
March 2, 2013 – Dr. Titu Andreescu – “More Interesting Problems.”
With the upcoming AIME don’t miss out on this opportunity to hear Dr. Andreescu talk through some more of his favorite problems.
March 9, 2013 – No Math Circle – Spring Break
March 16, 2013 – No Math Circle – Spring Break
March 23, 2013 – No Math Circle – State MATHCOUNTS
March 30, 2013 – No Math Circle – Easter Weekend
April 6, 2013 – PurpleComet Problems and Student Presentations
Join us in the first hour to hear MMC students present some of their favorite problems and mathematical concepts. In the second hour we will work on problems from the PurpleComet contest and talk about this exciting opportunity to compete with other students around the world.
April 13, 2013 – Dr. Paul Stanford– Primes and Misdemeanors
For 2ⁿ – 1 to be prime we also need n itself to be prime, but that is not sufficient. For example, 2¹¹ – 1 is composite even though 11 is prime. However, if you look at tables of Mersenne primes it is interesting to note that if you start with 2 and use that to make a new number 2ⁿ – 1 with n = 2 you get 3, then recycling the 3 you get 7, use n = 7 and you get 127, another prime! How long could this go on?
April 20, 2013 – Dr. Branislav Kisačanin – “Geometry of Triangles”
In this talk about geometry of triangles we will see two different proofs of Stewart’s theorem, derive formulas for important cevians, and solve several interesting geometric problems.
We will also look at other important points in triangles (Fermat point, centers of excircles, …) and look at the Euler line, the nine-point circle, and related problems.
End of the 2012-2013 Sessions – We will see you again in the fall
Fall Semester 2012
September 22, 2012 – Dr. Jeyakesavan Veerasamy – “Enjoyable Introduction to Programming”
How did we learn to ride a bicycle? We had to learn 2 things together: Balancing & pedaling to go forward. That is why we used training wheels to take care of balancing while learning to pedal. Learning to program has similar characteristics. When students are introduced to C/C++/Java language directly, they are expected to learn & apply the syntax and logic together. After struggling with syntax for hours, good % of students want to run away & never come back to programming!
September 29, 2012 – Dr. Vincent Ng – “Making Machines that Can Learn”
Machine learning is a fascinating scientific discipline concerned with the design of algorithms that enable a computer to automatically learn and improve with experience. Learning algorithms operate by recognizing complex patterns in data, which can then be applied to make intelligent decisions. As the amount of electronic data grows, so does the importance of machine learning. In fact, machine learning is one of the fastest-growing subareas of artificial intelligence, and is the core technology underlying many successful software applications, such as speech recognizers, spam filters, and product recommendation systems.
In this talk, I will give you an overview of the basics of machine learning, including its major paradigms, some of its successful stories, and the inner workings of one of the earliest machine learning algorithms that was popularly used in the 1990s.
October 6, 2012 – Dr. Branislav Kisačanin – “First Encounter with Calculus”
Last year one of our most popular sets of lectures was on Calculus. Take this opportunity to hear, Dr. Branislav Kisačanin, introduce even our younger students to this beautiful topic.
October 13, 2012 – No MMC Meeting – To allow our students to participate in the MEANT Olympiad if they wish
October 20, 2012 – Titu Andreescu – AMC 8 Preparation
October 27, 2012 – Cosmin Pohoata – “Everything about Symmedians”
November 3, 2012 – Titu Andreescu – “More Interesting Problems”
November 10, 2012 – Mathew Crawford – “Exploring Recursion”
November 17, 2012 – No MMC Meeting – Thanksgiving Break
November 24, 2012 – No MMC Meeting – Thanksgiving Break
December 1. 2012 – No MMC Meeting
December 8, 2012 – No MMC Meeting – UTD Graduation
December 15, 2012 – Titu Andreescu – “Some of my Favorite Problems”
Metroplex Math Circle 
How do we attend these workshops?
Is it a free for all or is there registration?
Metroplex Math Circle is free and there is no registration required.
What is the room number and at what time do we meet?
MMC starts at 2:00 and usually takes place in either room 2.410 or 2.412 (right next to each other) in the Engineering and Computer Science South (ECSS) building. If we move to another room we will have someone outside of 2.410-2 to direct you.
Appreciate time and location for AMC8 preparation scheduled for Oct 20, 2012.
We will meet at our regular time of 2:00 CST in the ECSS building at UT Dallas. We have been experimenting with rooms to support our new video broadcasts and will meet in either 2.410, 2.412 or the TI Auditorium (2.102).
We will have signs and people to direct you to the correct room (which are all next to each other).
I would appreciate it if you could schedule out topics at least a month in advance so I could share them with my GT students. Who’s the speaker and what’s the topic for November 17?
David, Kathy, & all the hosted experts – Thank you for sharing your valuable time, and knowledge. Looking forward to the next academic year. – Yad.