The Mathematics Department will host alumna Gail Nelson, professor of mathematics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., for the inaugural “Ed Nelson Memorial Lecture Series,” at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in 114 Witmer Hall.

Refreshments will be served in the foyer outside of 114 Witmer Hall, starting at 3 p.m.

As part of her lecture, Nelson will discuss the “Magical Properties of Farey Sequences.”

What is a Farey sequence?  Take all the reduced fractions from 0 to 1 (inclusive) with denominators no larger than some maximum. Now arrange them in order of increasing value. And that’s a Farey sequence. And yet, from this very simple definition comes some amazing features.

About Professor Nelson:

Gail Nelson is an alumna of UND, where she received her bachelor of science degree. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota. She has served as a faculty member at Carleton College since 1988.