October 12, 2013 – Cosmin Pohoata – Non-standard Induction

Abstract: We prove a few combinatorial gems by using induction on unexpected quantities.

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AwesomeMath Year-Round

[from the AwesomeMath Newsletter, The Gold Standard]

Just because the summer camp season is behind us for this year doesn’t mean you can’t still work with our AwesomeFaculty on interesting problems.  AwesomeMath Year-Round gives students the chance to continue developing their insights and delve into important mathematical concepts and methods of proofs for problems and challenges that range to the Olympiad level.  Our website describes the program as follows:

“The AMY is broken into six independent segments, each investigating one circle of ideas in depth. Every two months, students receive a packet of materials organized around a set of notes which comprise a short course in the topic. The courses cover each topic from the very basics all the way to fascinating and difficult results; we believe that everyone has something to learn! The notes will be accompanied by scores of problems, running the gamut from simple to quite hard. Students are expected to write up solutions so that we may provide individual feedback and teach the invaluable skill of proof-writing.”

The 2013-2014 segment topics have been posted:

Segment	Author	Topic
Aug. – Sept. 2013	Titu Andreescu and Cosmin Pohoata	Gems in Euclidean Geometry
Oct. – Nov.	Titu Andreescu and Cosmin Pohoata	Harmonic Divisions Revisited
Dec. 2013 – Jan. 2014	Titu Andreescu and Adithya Ganesh	Gems in Algebra
Feb. – Mar.	Cosmin Pohoata	Topics in Combinatorial Geometry
Apr. – May	Titu Andreescu	Gems in Number Theory
June – July	Titu Andreescu and Adithya Ganesh	Sums and Products

Register today for this unique opportunity to work with qualified instructors on Olympiad level math with individualized feedback.

“We believe that Olympiad math is naturally focused on ideas accessible to young people while at the same time provoking boundless intellectual challenges. Olympiad math helps students build creative logical thought, a skill that will be a great asset to them no matter what they choose to do in the future.” ~Dr. Titu Andreescu

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October 27, 2012 – Cosmin Pohoata – Everything about Symmedians!

Cosmin Pohoata will return to the Metroplex Math Circle this week to give a talk on symmedians.  This will be an excellent lecture particularly for some of our more advanced students and those preparing for mathematical contests where symmedians can be a powerful part of their tool kits.

Abstract: We will introduce symmedians from scratch and prove the entire collection of interconnected results that characterize them.  Applications from contests around the world will also be presented if time permits.

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October 29, 2011 – Cosmin Pohoata – “Apollonius’ Delight: Ruler and Compass Constructions”

Constructions using only the compass and the unmarked ruler (straightedge) have always been something to be enjoyed by triangle geometers throughout time and to inspire many Olympiad problems nowadays. Here, we will see why this subject can be so appealing and will cover a few basic constructions for afterwards to challenge ourselves and see how these serve as natural “macros” for constructions which at first sight seem out of reach.

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