Shenandoah Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Conference
at James Madison University, October 13, 2007
Opening Address
Groovy Graphs: Coloring, Scheduling and Solving Mysteries
Ann Trenk, Wellesley College
| Abstract:
A "graph" in
graph theory is not a
pie chart or a
parabola. It is a collection of
vertices (dots) with edges (lines) joining some pairs of vertices. We’ll explore graph coloring and some of its
applications and show how graph theory can be useful in problem solving. In one of our problems, six
professors
are suspects in a
library theft. We'll use their
testimony together with some graph theory to identify the guilty party.
Biography:
Ann Trenk is a Professor of Mathematics at Wellesley College where
she has taught since 1992. She has
published over 20 research articles focused primarily on structured
families of
graphs and partially ordered sets. Her
book, Tolerance Graphs, coauthored with Martin Golumbic, was published
by
Cambridge University Press in 2004. Professor
Trenk was awarded the Wellesley College Pinanski Prize
for Excellence in Teaching in 1995. She
has recently completed a term as Chair of the Mathematics Department
and is
currently serving as a member of the Executive Committee of the
Association for
Women in Mathematics and of the Editorial Board of the journal Involve. |