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Celebration of 3.1416 to occur on 3.15

by Pat Anfinson
March 15, 2007

Science Center Lobby, 3:30 p.m.

The Math department will hold its annual celebration of Pi on March 15. Pie, served in the lobby at 3:30, will be followed by Luke Anderson '02 giving his 8th annual Pi Day lecture at 4:00 pm in SC 278.

In the talk, titled "A Slice of Pi," Luke will lead the audience through the history and mystery of pi, with a few quirky tributes along the way. In recent years, to emphasize the broad and interdisciplinary appeal of the number, he has opened his talk with "A Pi for All Majors," where he asks the audience to call out about 20 St. Olaf majors, from German to Political Science, and then tells a story about pi that relates to each field of study. The session culminates in his recital of 250 digits of the number from memory; and live performances of Luke's "gangsta rap" parody, "Lose Yourself (In The Digits)," and a piano love song whose melody is determined by the digits themselves. The rap, which Luke posted on his website, TeachPi.org, has been downloaded more than 7,000 times by teachers and students all over the country. Luke launched TeachPi.org in early 2006 as a free resource for teachers in planning their own Pi Day lessons, activities, and celebrations. Luke, a math, economics, and philosophy major, finds great satisfaction in any efforts he can make toward "getting kids excited about math."

Contact Pat Anfinson at 507-786-3032 or panfin@stolaf.edu.