The 15^th Annual Spring Conference was held in Stateline, NV on Dec 29-30, 2011 at the MontBleu Resort Casino and Spa.

At a Stanford mathematics conference in 1973, a young mathematician Vasek Chvatal asked the late Victor Klee of the University of Washington for an interesting geometry problem. Klee suggested the problem of finding the minimum number of guards sufficient to watch a polygonal art gallery. This problem inspired a new field of research in computational geometry. We will take an informal tour of the art gallery theorems.

If a mechanical puzzle is difficult to solve, the problem solver needs to try multiple strategies until a solution is found. This is exactly the skill we want for our students. Vanishing area puzzles, popularized by Sam Lloyd in the late 1800’s, and more recently by Martin Gardner and Jerry Slocum, make an excellent addition to almost any mathematics course. The puzzles are easy to make, but difficult to figure out, yet they can be explained with concepts from beginning algebra. The variety of designs appeals to everyone from third graders and elementary teachers, to college students and faculty. Even counterfeiters have made use of this type of puzzle. We will use a hands-on approach to explore and explain how it works, as well as take a historical tour of how they have been used and collected for more than 200 years.

Schedule of the Saturday Concurrent Sessions

Presentations provided can be found below.

Future CMC³ Conferences

Information about future conferences is available. For conference information, contact the Conference Chair. For registration information contact the Membership Chair