History Lecture March 30

Anneliese Heider Tisdale will discuss her life as a young girl in Nazi Germany during a talk at Wartburg Sunday, March 30. Tisdale, a retired Cedar Rapids teacher — will give the James W. Lynes Jr. Memorial Lecture in History, hosted by the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society, at 1 p.m. in Whitehouse Business Center 214. Her memoir,Christmas Trees Lit the Sky, recounts her fears as a compulsory member of Hitler’s Youth Girls League as a preteen and life in Munich during the war. The title recalls red and green flares used to illuminate the sky for Allied bombers, reminiscent of Christmas tree lights.

MCSP Seminar - Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions

The final MCSP Seminar of the term will take place on Tuesday, March 25 at 11:30 in SC 134.  The featured speaker will be Kevin Gerstle, a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Iowa.  He will deliver a presentation entitled, "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions."
(See below for an abstract.)  As always, refreshments (cookies and beverages) will be provided.  We hope to see you and your students there!

-Ben


March 25 Speaker: Kevin Gerstle, University of Iowa graduate student

Title: "Brownian Motion and HMD-Functions"

Abstract:
Models of random motion can be used in all scientific disciplines to study phenomena ranging from the rise and fall of stock prices to the motion of pollen particles through water. In particular, models of Brownian motion can be used to describe the behavior of random, continuous motion through any number of dimensions.

By letting these randomly moving particles, ie: Brownian particles, travel through a two-dimensional domain, we can learn valuable information about the shape and structure of the domain by determining how far from their starting points Brownian particles will first hit the domain's boundary. In doing so, we will construct the "harmonic measure distribution functions" (HMD-functions) for these domains and discuss just what information these functions encode. For example: are the domains bounded? Do they have any corners or cusps? Do they have any holes in them? Are their boundaries connected?

We will examine the HMD-functions of several different types of domains using both geometrical and computational methods and then look in particular at a class of circle domains for which the HMD-functions are of particular interest. In doing so, we will use concepts from analysis, geometry, probability, and computational theory in order to define these functions and to explain their significance.

Scholars Culture Point Opportunity

I have heard from many of you that, although you have earned a lot of Scholars Culture Points, you haven't gotten around to reporting them.  Now that it is break, this is the time to sit down with a nice cup of something warming and report those events.  But that is not the point of this post.

Culture Point without Reporting Opportunity
The Controversial Coffee Conversations are fun, but it can be a bit intimidating to talk around all those people, some of whom you see every day in the hall.  Here is a proposal:

Find a TED Talk video on a topic you care about.  Organize a viewing and discussion with at least 3 other people (at least one other Scholar).  When that Scholar reports the discussion for one Culture Point and reports you as the organizer, you will AUTOMATICALLY earn two Culture Points (because you organized it).  Of course, you do have to get one of the attendees to report their participation.

The ACTC OSAP Student Summer Session in Oxford for 2014

The ACTC OSAP Student Summer Session in Oxford for 2014

The Association for Core Texts and Courses (ACTC) and the Oxford Study Abroad Programme (OSAP) jointly sponsor a Summer Session in Oxford in the liberal arts from May 20 to June 17, 2014. Offered in association with Oxford University’s New College, the program consists of a core text seminar on Human Nature and Technology, suitable to fulfill a core curriculum or elective requirement, and an Oxford tutorial, formed and chosen by each participating student in cooperation with an Oxford faculty member.

Students must apply on or before April 26, 2014.  The program’s entire description and its application form may be found at: http://www.coretexts.org/actc-oxford-study-abroad-programs/actc-osap-student-summer-session-in-oxford/

The Summer Session in Oxford program is offered exclusively to students of Member Institutions of ACTC. Potential participants and institutional administrators should check with their dean or provost and/or http://www.coretexts.org/organization/institutional-membership/ to see if their institution is a current members of ACTC.

The Human Nature and Technology seminar will be taught by Patrick Malcolmson, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at St. Thomas University, former provost and experienced professor of an interdisciplinary core text program. Credit for both the tutorial and the seminar will be provided by St. Bonaventure University, as CLAR 101 (seminar) and CLAR 201 (tutorial) and should be transferable to American institutions. Students can earn six (6) credits, but they are urged to check with their home institution on accepting the transfer credits for a degree.

ACTC is a national association of about seventy liberal arts and science colleges, working together to promote higher education through a better understanding of core texts (world classics) of Western and other civilizations. Please see the ACTC website: http:www.coretexts.org.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or write:

J. Scott Lee, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Association for Core Texts and Courses

ACTC Liberal Arts Institute

1928 Saint Mary’s Road

Saint Mary’s College of California

Moraga, CA 94556

Office in VT: 802 222 4376

Office in CA: 925 631 8597

www.coretexts.org

10th Anniversary Celebration

This is our tenth class of Wartburg Scholars and we are celebrating our Anniversary.  We would love to invite some alumni back to campus for our research day.  The Banquet is April 9 and the Senior Project Defenses are on RICE day, April 10.  Please contact us at scholars@wartburg.edu if you live close enough for an invitation.

2014 UMHC Motel Information

The Wartburg Scholars Program has arranged for special housing prices at several motels in Waverly.  We have 4 motels in town, but recommend the ones we have reserved room blocks with.

Super Eight Motel 

• Phone #: 319-352-0888
• Room Rate: $79.88 per night for up to two people. Add $10.00 per room if 3-4 people will be sharing room.
• The room block will be held for thirty days prior to event (March 24).
• Check-Out = 11:00 am
• They serve a continental breakfast from 6:00-9:00 am

There are also more hotels in Cedar Falls, but they are significantly less convenient.  We have not contacted these establishments, but have heard good things about them.  They are about 20 minutes south of Waverly.

• The Blackhawk Hotel - historic hotel.  Great for faculty.
• Country Inns and Suites - direct shot on the highway.

Comfort Inn (Wartburg’s most-used motel)

• Phone#: 319-352-0399
• Room Rate: $109.95 (up to two guests) plus $10.00 for each additional guest
• The room block will be held for one month prior to event (March 24). 
• Check-In = 3:00 pm; Check-Out = 11:00 am
• They serve a hot breakfast (two flavors of waffles, eggs, sausage, etc.). They also have an indoor pool and sauna.

2014 Science Demo Show