Media Release

For immediate release
July 21, 2005

Banff Centre highlights the life of mathematics genius Donald Coxeter

The Man Who Saved Geometry: A Lecture by Siobhan Roberts
Sunday, July 31, 8:00 p.m.
Max Bell Auditorium, The Banff Centre, Free

A hero in the rarefied circles of pure geometry, long-time University of Toronto professor Donald Coxeter had a vast influence on the mathematics, art, and science of the 20^th century. His work inspired the intricate Circle Limit drawings of M.C. Escher, and the finely balanced design of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. As a pure mathematician, Coxeter was driven by the beauty of symmetry, but his work found inadvertent application in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the carbon 60 molecule and string theory. Known as the man who almost single-handedly rescued classical geometry from its near extinction, Coxeter’s life is the subject of a public talk by Canadian journalist Siobhan Roberts July 31 at The Banff Centre.

A National Magazine Award-winning writer, Roberts has been working on a biography of Coxeter, which she began researching and writing before his death in 2003. She will present The Man Who Saved Geometry at The Banff Centre as part of Renaissance Banff, the 2005 Bridges Conference on the mathematical connections between art, music, and science.

Roberts’ investigation into Coxeter’s life traces his early years in England, his twin obsessions with math and music, his fast-tracking into Cambridge, his youthful investigations into modeling the fourth dimension, through his arrival at the University of Toronto in 1936, and a career as an artist and a scientist that evolved into his being widely recognized as “the greatest living classical geometer.” She also focuses on Coxeter’s years-long efforts to maintain the integrity and importance of classical (shape-based) geometry against the 20^th century’s penchant for abstract and algebraic mathematics.

A national reporter and freelance writer at the National Post for two years, Roberts has written for a range of Canadian publications including The Walrus, Toronto Life, Canadian Geographic, Saturday Night, Shift, Chatelaine, Quill & Quire, ROB and the Globe and Mail.

Renaissance Banff, co-organized by the Bridges Conferences, the Banff International Research Station at The Banff Centre, the Canadian Mathematical Society, and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences, presents a four-day program on the convergence between art and math. Its topics include mathematics in music and visual art, computer-assisted art, visualization, mathematical analyses of classical architecture and artistic forms, and math-art and education. There will also be an exhibition of visual art inspired by connections to mathematics, and a reading of a new mathematics-based play by playwright Ellen Maddow. The last day of the conference will be devoted to the artistic legacy of Donald Coxeter.

High resolution, downloadable photo of Donald Coxeter:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/media_room/images/renaissance/

More information on Renaissance Banff:
http://www.pims.math.ca/RenaissanceBanff/

Media Contact
Jill Sawyer
Media and Communications Officer, The Banff Centre
403.762.6475


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About Communications Media Releases In the News Media Services Images Contact	Media Release For immediate release July 21, 2005 Banff Centre highlights the life of mathematics genius Donald Coxeter The Man Who Saved Geometry: A Lecture by Siobhan Roberts Sunday, July 31, 8:00 p.m. Max Bell Auditorium, The Banff Centre, Free A hero in the rarefied circles of pure geometry, long-time University of Toronto professor Donald Coxeter had a vast influence on the mathematics, art, and science of the 20^th century. His work inspired the intricate Circle Limit drawings of M.C. Escher, and the finely balanced design of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. As a pure mathematician, Coxeter was driven by the beauty of symmetry, but his work found inadvertent application in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the carbon 60 molecule and string theory. Known as the man who almost single-handedly rescued classical geometry from its near extinction, Coxeter’s life is the subject of a public talk by Canadian journalist Siobhan Roberts July 31 at The Banff Centre. A National Magazine Award-winning writer, Roberts has been working on a biography of Coxeter, which she began researching and writing before his death in 2003. She will present The Man Who Saved Geometry at The Banff Centre as part of Renaissance Banff, the 2005 Bridges Conference on the mathematical connections between art, music, and science. Roberts’ investigation into Coxeter’s life traces his early years in England, his twin obsessions with math and music, his fast-tracking into Cambridge, his youthful investigations into modeling the fourth dimension, through his arrival at the University of Toronto in 1936, and a career as an artist and a scientist that evolved into his being widely recognized as “the greatest living classical geometer.” She also focuses on Coxeter’s years-long efforts to maintain the integrity and importance of classical (shape-based) geometry against the 20^th century’s penchant for abstract and algebraic mathematics. A national reporter and freelance writer at the National Post for two years, Roberts has written for a range of Canadian publications including The Walrus, Toronto Life, Canadian Geographic, Saturday Night, Shift, Chatelaine, Quill & Quire, ROB and the Globe and Mail. Renaissance Banff, co-organized by the Bridges Conferences, the Banff International Research Station at The Banff Centre, the Canadian Mathematical Society, and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences, presents a four-day program on the convergence between art and math. Its topics include mathematics in music and visual art, computer-assisted art, visualization, mathematical analyses of classical architecture and artistic forms, and math-art and education. There will also be an exhibition of visual art inspired by connections to mathematics, and a reading of a new mathematics-based play by playwright Ellen Maddow. The last day of the conference will be devoted to the artistic legacy of Donald Coxeter. High resolution, downloadable photo of Donald Coxeter: http://www.banffcentre.ca/media_room/images/renaissance/ More information on Renaissance Banff: http://www.pims.math.ca/RenaissanceBanff/ Media Contact Jill Sawyer Media and Communications Officer, The Banff Centre 403.762.6475 Register for a program Buy an event ticket Book a conference Donate to the Centre Find a job Learn about the Centre Webcam Site Map Facilities Get Directions Contact the Centre Français Español Deutsch Contact The Banff Centre Site Feedback Privacy Policy (FOIP) © 2012 The Banff Centre