This year, the Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics at Case Western Reserve University will be hosting its third annual Elizabeth Meckes Memorial Lecture, featuring mathematician Henry Segerman.
Receiving her BS and MS from Case Western Reserve University, Elizabeth Meckes served as a professor in the department of mathematics, applied mathematics, and statistics at CWRU from 2007-2020. She received her Ph.D in 2006 from Stanford University and focused her research on probability theory. Meckes was described as a strong proponent of mathematical outreach until her passing in 2020.
Husband and professor in the mathematics department, Mark Meckes, noted that “Elizabeth had wanted for several years to establish an annual public lecture hosted by the department.” Just a few years later, an endowment towards a series of lectures were given in her name.
In 2023, Eugenia Cheng from the Art Institute of Chicago gave a lecture titled “How to Bake Pi: Mathematics Made Tasty”, and in 2024 Persi Diaconis from Stanford University gave a lecture titled “The Mathematics of Solitaire”.
This year’s speaker, Henry Segerman, is an associate professor in the department of mathematics at Oklahoma State University. He is deeply interested in three-dimensional (3D) geometry and topology as he works in 3D printing, spherical video, virtual, and augmented reality. Segerman and [Elizabeth] Meckes were officemates in graduate school, and the two spoke about the lecture series before her passing.
In his lecture titled “Artistic Mathematics: Truth and Beauty”, Segerman will discuss mathematical visualization and what it takes to make accurate, effective, and beautiful pictures, models, and experiences of mathematical concepts.
“He’s an excellent speaker and expert on the intersection of mathematics and art.” complemented [Mark] Meckes.
This year’s Elizabeth Meckes Memorial Lecture, and Segerman’s talk will be Friday, April 18 from 12:45-1:45 p.m. at the Amasa Stone Chapel. Help support the Elizabeth S. Meckes Memorial Endowed fund for future lectures.