Community Outreach - College of Arts and Sciences

Community Outreach Activities

The Department sponsors the following three activities for the community:

Julia Robinson Festival

Beginning in 1958, the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Santa Clara University sponsored an annual High School Mathematics Contest. Designed to test mathematical ingenuity, the contest rewarded winners with cash prizes. For most of its history, the contest was directed by Professor Leonard Klosinski, who retired in 2020.

The first twenty-five exams were published in the book, Santa Clara Silver Anniversary Contest Book, by G.L. Alexanderson, A. Hillman, L.F. Klosinski, D. Logothetti (Palo Alto: Dale Seymour Publications, 1985). (This book is now out of print.)

Now, instead of a competition, the Mathematics and Computer Science Department sponsors the Julia Robinson Math Festival each Spring at the Foundation for Hispanic Education. Undergraduate students (who are enrolled in Math 195: Mathematics Education and Social Justice) facilitate engaging, fun, problem-solving activities for local high school students.

Alexanderson Lecture Series

Gerald L. "Jerry" Alexanderson taught in the SCU Department of Mathematics and Computer Science from 1958-2018 and served as our Chair for more than 35 years. It is no exaggeration to say that he built the department that thrives today.

When Alexanderson retired, his colleague and former student, Professor Richard Scott, proposed an annual lecture to honor his love, not just for mathematics, but for mathematics communicated well. In only a few months, generous alumni provided enough support to fund the Alexanderson Lecture for many years. At the inaugural lecture in December 2018, Persi Diaconis set a very high standard for speakers. We are proud to share the growing list of those selected to offer the Alexanderson Lecture. Links to recordings are provided when available.

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2018: Persi Diaconis, Stanford University. Universality and the Taming of Randomness.

2019: Jordan Ellenberg, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Breaking up is hard to do: The art of decomposition in arithmetic and geometry

2021: Laura DeMarco, Harvard University. Complex Dynamics and Arithmetic Geometry.

2022: Ami Radunskaya, Harvey Mudd University. The recording of the talk is poor, but Radunskaya opened the evening with three pieces for cello and piano.

2023: Bruce Sagan, Michigan State University. Stalking the Wild Fibonomial.

2024 Steve DeBakker, University of Michigan. "Well-known" gems in Number Theory, Geometry, and Analysis.

2025 Hortensia Soto, Colorado State University. Embodied Cognition: What's Math got to do with it?

2026 William Dunham, Bryn Mawr College. How odd are odd perfect numbers?

Bay Area Mathematical Adventures

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Bay Area Mathematical Adventures (BAMA) is a series of broadly accessible talks about mathematics and related subjects. Our mission is to share the joy of mathematical inquiry with people of all ages, but especially high school students.

You can find information about current talks at our departmental events page. Anyone who would like to receive announcements of talks can write to Frank Farris at ffarris@scu.edu.

Want to receive occasional email announcements about this and other department events? Please complete this short form.

The links below lead you to each year's recorded talks.