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"Great Ball of Fire" by Eve Torrence |
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"Lisbon Oriente Station" by Bruce Torrence |
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"Courtyard at Pena Palace 2" by Bruce Torrence |
2/9/12
Randolph-Macon College
Mathematics Professors Bruce and Eve Torrence recently attended the 2012 Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM) of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MMA). The meeting, held in Boston, Massachusetts, gave attendees the opportunity to present their work, attend the annual Prize Ceremony and see a wide range of exhibitors.
Approximately 7,200 mathematicians, exhibitors and students from 36 countries attended the meeting, the largest gathering of its kind. As co-editor of the MAA Journal Math Horizons, Bruce Torrence says he loves to attend the annual meeting.
“There are keynote addresses by some of the most influential mathematicians working today, as well as historical lectures, workshops, mini courses, student poster sessions, an art exhibit, mathematical theater, mathematical poetry, and mathematical knitting, just to name a few highlights,” he explains. “The meetings are important to me primarily because I get to hear about cutting-edge research, often before it is formally published, and because it provides an excellent means of networking with fellow mathematicians. There are always ideas for new ways to present interesting mathematics to students, so the meetings help me to develop both as a teacher and a researcher.”
Both Torrences contributed pieces to the Mathematical Art Exhibition, a juried event.
Bruce Torrence submitted two panoramic photographs, “Lisbon Oriente Station” and “Courtyard at Pena Palace 2.”
Click on panoramic photographs to read more about the photos and the inspiration behind them. Both panoramas are based on photos that Torrence took in Portugal.
Eve Torrence’s sculpture, “Great Ball of Fire,” is based on the third stellation of the dodecahedron. “Through the process of building a model I am able to truly understand its form,” she says.
Click on sculpture to read more about the piece. National Public Radio covered the art show in its Studio360 blog.
Click on Studio360 to view NPR’s video, which includes Bruce Torrence’s two panoramic photographs. Bruce Torrence joined the faculty of Randolph-Macon in 1993. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Tufts University, a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in mathematics from University of Virginia. In 2009, he was named the first recipient of the
Dorothy and Muscoe Garnett Professorship in Mathematics. He serves as chair of the Department of Mathematics.
Eve Torrence joined the faculty of Randolph-Macon College in 1994. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. She is president of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society. In 2007 she was co-recipient (with R-MC colleague Adrian Rice) of the MAA’s Trevor Evans award for excellence in mathematical exposition.