Biographical Sketch of Professor Dave Friday
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Professor Friday earned his B.A. in mathematics from Albion College in 2004 and his M.S. in mathematics from Michigan State University in 2006. From 2006 to 2012, he has worked an adjunct instructor of mathematics for Grand Rapids Community College. During his time there, he formed the Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics League, which trained for mathematical competitions such as the AMATYC Student Mathematics League Exam, the Michigan Autumn Take-Home Challenge, and the Lower Michigan Mathematics Competition. He has also served as a coach for Michigan's American Regions Mathematics League competition since 2009. Starting in the fall of 2012, he is a tenure track professor of mathematics at Macomb Community College.
The idea of almost right triangles has been a topic of interest since 2010, when the original question was posed. The talk has been given as a seminar at Grand Rapids Community College, a presentation at a MichMATYC conference at Muskegon Community College, and a talk at a Michigan chapter MAA meeting at Western Michigan University.
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An Introduction to Almost Right Triangles (Talk Abstract)
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A question was posed: for how many positive integer values of n will the sum of the first n positive integers be a perfect square? Through links to trigonometry, number theory, and algebra, several discoveries were made. One method developed to solve this interesting problem was the idea of an "almost right triangle", an idea studied by Pythagoras himself. Using these tools, the problem was solved and many new questions surfaced.
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Highlights
Awards Ceremony
will be held at Oakland University on
September 7th
Dave Friday
Oakland University
- Program
- Booklet
- Direction and Parking
Other Sponsors
Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
Oakland University
American Mathematical Society
Wolfram Research
Art of Problem Solving
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