Sep 16, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

Robert L. Devaney

Michael Moody

Professor Robert L. Devaney of Boston University will present the third lecture in the Michael E. Moody Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Sept. 30, 2011 in the Galileo McAlister Lecture Hall at Harvey Mudd College.

Entitled “Chaos Games and Fractal Images,” Devaney’s presentation will show how the simple steps of the Chaos Game, when repeated millions of times, produce the intricate images known as fractals. Devaney will also share how the technique is applied in data compression and by Hollywood. Students who attend the lecture have a chance to win a computer if they beat the professor at the Chaos Game.

Devaney is the author of more than one hundred research papers in the field of dynamical systems and has delivered more than 1500 lectures in all 50 U.S. states and more than 30 countries. He served as the “Chaos Consultant” for several theaters’ presentations of Tom Stoppard’s play, Arcadia, and, in 2007, was the mathematical consultant for the film 21, starring Kevin Spacey.

The Michael E. Moody Lecture Series was established by the HMC Mathematics Department in honor of Professor Michael Moody, who served as the department chair from 1996 to 2002. Under Moody’s leadership, the department revised its curriculum, rejuvenated the senior-thesis program and tripled the number of math majors. He was also the guiding force that led to the department’s receipt of the American Mathematical Society’s inaugural award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department in 2006. Moody passed away in January 2010 after a long and difficult battle with lymphoma. He was posthumously named an Honorary Alumnus of Harvey Mudd College in 2010.

The Michael E. Moody Lecture Series is offered free of charge and open to the public. For more information, visit www.math.hmc.edu/moodylectures.

Media Contact: Judy Augsburger
judy_augsburger@hmc.edu
909.607.0713