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| October 29 is Integral Day! Why? The modern integral sign was first written on October 29, 1675. It was penned by the great German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) in an unpublished manuscript. Given the importance of Calculus (it’s one of the most useful inventions of the human intellect in the second millennium |
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A.D.) and the importance of integration (it’s one of the three essential concepts in Calculus), we just have to celebrate. "Calculus cookies" and "summation cider" are served, the Math Suite is adorned with integral/summation ornaments, and a bulletin board features a large Integral Day display. In the
| afternoon, courageous students compete in an integral contest, in which participants work individually on a list of integrals. Many components of our celebration have a Halloween theme, due to the proximity of Integral Day to October 31st. Integral Day is sponsored by the SBU Student Chapter of the MAA. In the spring, the SBU Student Chapter sponsors Pi Day. |
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.jpg "Integral Day Cookies!") |
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The Integral Day page is maintained by Dr. Chris Hill (chill@sbu.edu).
Integral Day 2009
Phil Winger, the Director of Maintenance at SBU, gave a fascinating demonstration of two mechanical integrators. A mechanical integrator is a device that mechanically solves a problem for you that would, if done analytically, require the computation of a definite integral. One of Mr. Winger’s devices computes the area of a region for you if you use part of the device to trace along the border of the region. How cool is that? With Mr. Winger's guidance, student volunteers demonstrated the use of the mechanical integrators. Mr. Winger also outlined the mathematics behind why the devices work.
Five courageous students participated in the integral contest. And the winner is...math major Allie Leis! Allie received a $20 gift card for the SBU Bookstore and a handsome trophy. This year’s contest was quite close, with all contestants doing commendably. Incidentally, the integral contest was held at 3:34 p.m. Why? Leibniz invented the modern integral symbol in 1675, so this year marks the 334th anniversary of his invention. I wonder what time the contest will be held next year...
Integral Days Past & Present
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Clockwise from upper left: Cathie Leary's beautifully decorated cookies; students
and faculty, with Dr. Godbout in the background writing... something; more delicious
cookies; strangely, Dr. Godbout wrote an integral; VP Mike Fischer (second from
the right) has visited most of our Integral Days; the evening before Integral Day,
Kris Austin '08 and Dr. Cox contribute calculus graffiti to the Integral Day display.
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Beth Hartnett '05 & '07 helped to create our Integral Day ornaments, which we hang from the ceiling of the Mathematics Suite. Each ornament features integration on one side and summation on the other.
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.jpg "Integral Day Decorations") |
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Professor Cathie Leary baked and hand-decorated 5! Integral Day cookies.
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The Integral Day display is created by first covering a large bulletin board with black
cardstock. Math students and faculty use chalk to write numerous integrals on this
"blackboard." Orange sheets are added to inform passersby about the meaning of Integral
Day, the nature of calculus, and the contributions of Gottfried Leibniz and Isaac Newton.
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