The national mathematics honor society hosted Dr. Michael Dorff of Brigham Young University for a special guest lecture on March 4, 2015.
A national leader in undergraduate research, Dorff presented an entertaining colloquium on “How Mathematics is Changing the World” to a crowd of 45 Elon students and faculty.
In his talk, Dorff explained how mathematics is used in a variety of careers in business, industry and government. For example, he described how mathematics plays a large role at Pixar Animation Studios, helping the company create realistic movements and special effects for their movies.
Dorff ended the talk by listing the top four things job recruiters have told him they look for when hiring mathematics majors. These include: problem solving skills, communication skills, experience with undergraduate research/internships and knowledge of a programming language.
Three students received door prizes: Jenny Faig ’17, Kelly Reagan ’17 and Nicholas Rhyne ’17.
The event concluded with Pi Mu Epsilon’s faculty adviser, assistant professor of mathematics Chad Awtrey, promoting the society’s final two events for the spring semester: guest lectures by Dr. Tim Goldberg (Lenoir-Rhyne University) and Dr. Karin Saoub (Roanoke College).