In this talk we will solve the problem posed in the title, one first solved by Louis Mordell in the 1960's. More interesting than the question itself, perhaps, is the method of solution, which serves to introduce the beautiful subject of elliptic curves. This is a field of lively current research interest and the gateway to techniques used in the recent acclaimed proof of Fermat's Last Theorem and to problems of cryptogtraphy.
Ed Schaefer earned his Ph.D. from U. C. Berkeley in 1992 and has been at Santa Clara University ever since. His main research interests are arithmetic geometry and cryptography. Arithmetic geometry uses geometry to solve problems from number theory, as we'll see in the talk. This summer he lectured on arithmetic geometry in Peru before being detained by rebels in Bolivia ... he'll be back in time for the talk.
| 101 | From US Highway 101, take the De La Cruz Boulevard/Santa Clara exi t 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. |