Sometimes, but not often, graphs that students are assigned to draw on various tests and homework assignments contain sharp turning points. Mathematicians call such points cusps. Some curves with cusps have names (like cycloid or cardioid); some are less famous. In real life, however, curves with cusps appear much more often than in algebra or calculus books. The speaker will bring numerous transparencies and demonstrate cusps, which arise in very natural geometric problems.
Dmitry Fuchs is a distinguished Professor of Mathematics at UC Davis. He is a graduate from, and was a professor at Moscow State University in Russia. His research ranges from topology to homological algebra and representation theory that has applications in string theory and quantum field theory. The author of about 100 publications, including several mathematics textbooks, Fuchs is a brilliant expositor, actively participating in popularizing mathematics. He has been involved in all kinds of work with mathematically curious high school students both in Russia and in the United States.
| 101 | From US Highway 101, take the De La Cruz Boulevard/Santa Clara exit and follow the signs to El Camino and the main campus entrance. |
| 280 | From I-280, take I-880 north toward Oakland to the Alameda exit. Turn left onto The Alameda (which becomes El Camino Real) to the main campus entrance. |
| 880 | From I-880, take the Alameda exit, travel north (The Alameda becomes El Camino Real) to the main campus entrance. |