Fun with fractals: Math department campus conference slated for June 16-20

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

The complex, symmetrical and seemingly haphazard world of fractals will come to life at the Conference on Analysis and Probability on Fractals, June 16-20, at Cornell's Department of Mathematics in Malott Hall. The conference is intended for any mathematicians or scientists interested in the subject.

A fractal -- which is an irregularly shaped object, or any of its smaller parts, that is similar in shape to its whole -- looks like a video-game image gone awry. Understanding fractals has serious mathematical and scientific applications. By grasping the equations that make fractals, mathematicians may be able to build new models of the environment; astronomers may be able to understand the chaotic nature of the universe; and meteorologists may be able to develop accurate long-range forecasts from apparently aimless weather patterns.

The area of analysis and probability on fractals, created about 15 years ago, seeks an understanding of dynamic processes taking place in them. For example, how would a fractal vibrate if it were hit by a hammer? Or how would it diffuse if a blowtorch were applied to it?

"We wanted to do something that is not often done and that is to bring together mathematicians working in this area, and also graduate students and researchers from related areas, who would like to learn more about it," said Robert Strichartz, Cornell professor of mathematics, who is organizing the conference. It will include a short course -- intended to bring those mathematicians unfamiliar with analysis and probability on fractals up to speed on the subject. The course will start with basic definitions and examples, and ultimately reach to the frontiers of research.

There also will be a presentation by Alex Smith '02, who graduated from Cornell in May and who worked with Strichartz through Cornell's Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Smith has developed numerical analysis algorithms to study differential equations on the fractal called the pentagasket.

To register for the conference, contact Donna Smith at dls37@cornell.edu. or 255-6757.