On 13 March we will hold BCAM NAUKAS to celebrate PI DAY

It is arguably the most famous number in history. Pi, represented by Greek letter π, is one of the most important mathematical constants in history and has been studied for over 4,000 years. Such is the fascination with this number over the centuries that now it even has its own day on the calendar. Pi Day is celebrated in March all over the globe.

This international event was suggested by US physicist Larry Shaw in 1988. The way in which March 14th is written in US English and in Basque coincides with the first three digits of the number (3-14 = martxoak 14 in Basque / 3-14 = March 14th in English), and it is also Albert Einstein’s date of birth. Thus, in 2009 the US Congress officially declared March 14th as National Pi Day.

Pi Day is currently a well-known global celebration that goes beyond the realm of maths. This irrational number, defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is used in various scientific fields like physics, engineering and geology and has amazing practical applications in our everyday life.

We will be taking part in the celebrations in 2019 with the BCAM-NAUKAS event on 13 March at the UPV/EHU Bizkaia Aretoa building. BCAM-NAUKAS will include mathematical workshops for primary and secondary students during the morning, and a series of short lectures aimed at the general public in the afternoon.

The event is an initiative from the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), as part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, and the Chair of Scientific Culture of the University of the Basque Country.

Programme on 13 March – BCAM Naukas Pi Day

9:00 – 16:15 MATHEMATICAL WORKSHOPS

Workshops for students in the last years of primary school, and secondary school students. The objective is to introduce young people to mathematics in a playful and attractive way, aiming to make them interested in this science.

• Primary school 5–6 PS grades
  • 09:00 – 10:00: Paπroflexia matematikaz blai (in Basque) (José Ignacio Royo)
  • 10:30 – 11:30: Paπroflexia matematikaz blai (in Basque) (José Ignacio Royo)
  • 12:00 – 13:00: π, atracción fractal (Covadonga Rodríguez-Moldes y Cristina Montero)
  • 15:15 – 16:15: π, atracción fractal (Covadonga Rodríguez-Moldes y Cristina Montero)
• Secondary school 1 – 2 SS grades
  • 09:00 – 10:00: Juegos Gigantes (Pedro Alegría – Raúl Ibáñez)
  • 10:30 – 11:30: Juegos Gigantes (Pedro Alegría – Raúl Ibáñez)
  • 12:00 – 13:00: Juegos Gigantes (Pedro Alegría – Raúl Ibáñez)
  • 15:15 – 16:15: Juegos Gigantes (Pedro Alegría – Raúl Ibáñez)
• Secondary school 3 – 4 SS grades
  • 09:00 – 10:00: Fractales fabulosos (Caroline Ainslie)
  • 10:30 – 11:30: Fractales fabulosos (Caroline Ainslie)
  • 12:00 – 13:00: Math mystery box (in Basque) (Nerea Casas)
  • 15:15 – 16:15: Math mystery box (in Basque) (Nerea Casas)

The workshops are free and have a maximum capacity of 40 people. To attend, education centres must register by sending an email to kzk.ehu@gmail.com with the following details:

• Name of the workshop they would like to take part in
• Time of the workshop
• Number of participants
• Teacher’s name and surname
• Education centre
• Contact telephone number

19:00 – 21:00 BCAM-NAUKAS

Short, dynamic and accessible lectures, lasting 15 minutes each, will be given at the Mitxelena lecture theatre in the Bizkaia Aretoa building. The objective of these lectures is to make the fascinating nature of mathematics more accessible, and to find out the properties and applications of the number Pi in everyday life, among other things.

• 19:00-19:15: Presentation of the BCAM-NAUKAS event
• 19:15-19:30: Aniceto Murillo (University of Malaga): “E-pi-logo (Después de esto, mi carrera ha muerto)” (E-pi-logue (My Career Died After This)).
• 19:30-19:45: Paz Morillo (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya): “Matemáticas modernas” (Modern Maths).
• 19:45-20:00: Pedro Caro (BCAM-Ikerbasque): “Metamateriales, invisibilidad y la capa de Harry Potter” (Metamaterials, Invisibility and Harry Potter’s Cloak).
• 20:00-20:15: Luz Roncal (BCAM-Ikerbasque): “El problema de Josefo: cómo las matemáticas pueden salvarte la vida” (Josefo’s Problem: How Maths Can Save Your Life).
• 20:15-20:30: Alberto Márquez (University of Seville): “Pizza y terraplanistas” (Pizza and Flat-Earthers).
• 20:30-20:45: Deborah García Bello (University of A Coruña): “Palo seco”. (Dry stick)

Access to the BCAM-NAUKAS lectures is free, subject to available seating.

Come and celebrate Pi Day on March 14th at Bizkaia Aretoa and enjoy a mathematical day that will certainly be out of the ordinary!